Re Entry Program Manager Jobs in Austin, TX (NOW HIRING)

Working Relationship with the PI/Director

The PM reports directly to Prof. Moriba Jah, who serves concurrently as Principal Investigator and Director of SDA TAP Lab Texas. This dual role means the PI/Director sets both the scientific and technical vision and the programmatic priorities for the lab. The PM is the operational complement to that leadership - converting direction into schedules, actions, and outcomes - and must be able to receive, internalize, and execute technical guidance with minimalhand-holding.

The ideal candidate functions as a trusted operational partner - proactive, technically literate, and deeply aligned with the PI/Director's mission priorities. Effective candidates will:

• Internalize and operationalize the PI/Director's technical direction without requiring re-explanation of underlying scientific rationale.

• Anticipate the PI/Director's needs, surface emerging issues before they escalate, and bring proposed solutions rather than problems alone.

• Represent the PI/Director's technical and programmatic positions accurately and confidently to cohort teams, USSF partners, and UT Austin administration.

• Maintain a seamless operational cadence with the PI/Director through regular briefings, shared dashboards, and a mutual commitment to mission success over bureaucratic friction.

• Exercise independent judgment on day-to-day operational matters within the boundaries set by the PI/Director, escalating strategic or technical decisions appropriately.

• Serve as the resident operations officer for TAP Lab Texas,maintainingdaily situational awareness of all active cohort activities, resources, and timelines.

• Sit with cohort teams during sprint cycles tofacilitatethe integration of their tools, applications, and datasets into the SDA TAP Lab Texas infrastructure and data environment.

• Coordinate access to lab computational resources, secure data feeds, andGaiaGraphintegration pipelines on behalf of cohort teams.

• Manage onboarding and off-boarding of cohort participants, including data-sharing agreements, lab access, and orientation to USSF mission context.

• Serve as the primary operational interface between cohort teams and TAPLabtechnical leads, ensuring that technical direction from the PI/Director is clearly communicated, understood, and executed by cohort participants.

Cost / Schedule / Performance Management

• Own the integrated master schedule (IMS) for all TAP Lab Texas activities, tracking milestones across cohort cycles, infrastructure buildout, and reporting obligations.

• Monitor grant expenditures against the approved budget, coordinate with UT Austin Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) on financialreporting, andproactively flag variances and risks to the PI/Director to enabletimelycourse correction.

• Prepare and deliver periodic programmatic and financial status reports to the Texas Space Commission, USSF mission partners, and UTAustinleadership.

• Maintain risk registers and mitigation plans; proactively escalate issues that threaten cost, schedule, or performance baselines.

• Ensure deliverablescomply withTSC grant terms, UT Austin sponsored project policies, and applicable federal regulations (2 CFR Part 200, DoD flow-down clauses).

Stakeholder Coordination & Liaison

• Serve as the primary liaison to U.S. Space Force System Delta 85 and the SDA TAP Lab national program officelocatedin Colorado Springs, CO (sdataplab.org).

• Coordinate with the SDA TAP Lab Maui node on shared cohort resources, joint activities, and cross-site programmatic alignment.

• Represent TAP Lab Texas at USSF headquarters meetings, program reviews, and coordination sessions as directed by the PI/Director.

• Cultivate andmaintainproductive relationships with DoD program officers, AFRL, AFWERX/SpaceWERX, DIU, and other innovation ecosystem partners.

• Interface with UT Austin's Office of Sponsored Projects, Office of Research, and legal/contracts offices on sub-award, teaming, and compliance matters.

Technology Transition & Reporting

• Track the technology readiness levels (TRLs) and transition status of cohort solutions,maintainingan up-to-date capability mapping aligned to USSF mission threads.

• Support the PI andGaiaVerseGaiaGraphteam in benchmarking cohort performance andidentifyinggapsrelativeto operational priorities.

• Contribute to after-action reports, cohort outcome summaries, and transition packagessubmittedto TSC and USSF mission partners.

• Support preparation of presentations, white papers, and briefings for DoD audiences under the direction of the PI/Director and in coordination with JDIG staff.

Travel

• Travel as mission requirements demand to:

• U.S. Space Force Headquarters, Colorado Springs, CO - program reviews, partner coordination, and SDA TAP Lab national program office meetings.

• SDA TAP Lab Maui node - cross-site coordination and joint cohort activities.

• Other locations asrequiredfor conferences, technology demonstrations, or stakeholder engagement.

• Master's degree or PMP / PMI-ACP certification.

• Prior experience working with or within the U.S. Space Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, DoD innovation hubs (AFWERX,SpaceWERX, DIU), or a university-affiliated defense research center.

• Familiarity with Space Domain Awareness, astrodynamics, cybersecurity, or AI/ML applications in defense contexts.

• Experience with technology accelerator or cohort-based R&D programs.

• Active DoD security clearance (Secret or higher).

• Experience with sub-award management, teaming agreements, and SBIR/STTR program administration.