Acquisition Program Manager Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Stellar Solutions, a nationally recognized "Great Place To Work", has exciting opportunities providing Engineering solutions for innovative new-entrant space companies, as well as established space systems manufacturers, commercial space system operators and service providers, and other industry stakeholders including investors.

At Stellar Solutions, we offer talented, energetic, and immediately productive resources to satisfy our customers' critical needs in systems engineering and integration, mission operations, program management and strategic planning. We are a leading service and expertise provider for high-tech commercial ventures, spanning communications, earth observation and remote sensing systems and data products, to the infrastructures that support earth orbiting and beyond earth orbit businesses.

Stellar Solutions is seeking a Senior Acquisition Program Manager to support next-generation Tactical SATCOM capabilities for the U.S. Space Force. This role supports SSC in planning, architecting, and executing complex space and ground system acquisition programs that enable resilient connectivity, joint warfighting readiness, strategic deterrence, and national security. The position requires a leader who can operate across strategic enterprise priorities and tactical execution needs while integrating technical, programmatic, and stakeholder activities across the portfolio.

This is a mission-critical acquisition leadership role supporting a Government customer focused on delivering modernized Tactical SATCOM capabilities across space and ground segments. The selected candidate will provide expert guidance across the acquisition lifecycle, helping the program office make informed decisions on performance, cost, schedule, risk, technical direction, procurement strategy, and industry engagement. Success requires close coordination with government clients, industry partners, technical leads, mission partners, and DoD stakeholders in a high-visibility, rapid-response environment.

Key responsibilities include:

Support planning, execution, and oversight of major SSC space and ground system acquisition efforts.
• Manage and assess program performance, cost, schedule, risk, and contractor execution.
• Prepare, review, and coordinate acquisition documentation consistent with Space Force and DoD policy.
• Develop recurring and ad hoc program artifacts, reports, briefings, and decision-support materials.
• Provide engineering and procurement expertise across multiple segment developers.
• Drive system integration through close coordination with technical leads, mission partners, and contractor teams.
• Participate in source selections, including technical evaluation of proposals.
• Provide technical guidance at both the execution level and enterprise-strategic level of the program.
• Advise government leadership on acquisition strategy, technical risk posture, integration plans, and program priorities.
• Engage with OSD-level or Air Force HQ-level stakeholders to support cross-organizational coordination.
• Communicate complex technical and programmatic information clearly to senior decision makers.
• Produce high-quality, rapid-turnaround work products using Microsoft Office and modern productivity tools, including GenAI platforms.

Required Qualifications

• Senior Materiel Leader experience leading strategic and tactical portfolio efforts.
• Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical and/or Mechanical Engineering.
• Completion of DoD strategic leadership training, such as Eisenhower School.
• Proven ability to provide technical guidance at both execution and strategic levels.
• Experience supporting OSD-level or Air Force HQ-level organizations.
• Demonstrated servant attitude and mindset with strong interpersonal and collaborative skills.
• Expertise producing rapid-turn, high-quality deliverables using Microsoft Office and GenAI tools.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional engineering and acquisition teams.
• Ability to adapt quickly to evolving requirements, short-turn deadlines, and high-visibility taskings.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience supporting Tactical SATCOM, space, ground, or integrated communications acquisition portfolios.
• Experience coordinating technical, programmatic, and strategic activities across government, industry, and DoD stakeholder communities.

Clearance & Additional Requirements

• Secret clearance

Location

This position is full-time, on site in El Segundo

Compensation

The typical salary range for this position is USD $150,000 - $185,000 per year. Individual pay is determined by many factors including work location, job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for a comprehensive total rewards package that includes an annual performance bonus, an employer-funded Profit-Sharing Plan (PSP) contribution based on base compensation, and comprehensive employer-paid medical benefits, PTO pay-out options, along with additional company-sponsored benefits. All of these benefits represent an additional 30-40% to your base compensation for a total compensation package.

Deliverables will be in the format of reports, briefings, spreadsheets, or other documents as directed by the Government, using government approved and/or mandated systems/software and processes governed by guidance/instructions/policy or direction.