Senior Program Manager – DCPDS

Leidos is seeking an accomplished Senior Program Manager (PM) to lead the operation, sustainment, modernization, and lifecycle management of the Defense Civilian Personnel Data System (DCPDS), a mission-critical enterprise human resources platform supporting Department of Defense and non-DoD organizations. The DCPDS program provides operational support, maintenance, versioning, upgrades, modernization, and continuous improvement across a complex suite of enterprise HR applications and supporting environments. The program supports DoD Components including the Air Force, Army, Navy, Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and National Guard, as well as non-DoD customers including the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM).

The environment includes DCPDS production, SQT environments and on production environments as well as Reduced Sign-On (RSO), MyBiz+, MyPerformance, Corporate Management Information System (CMIS), Current Record Mart (CRM/NDCRM), SAP Business Intelligence/Business Objects (BOBJ), External Interface Transfer System (EXITS), and associated interfaces, databases, infrastructure, cybersecurity, test, and support capabilities.

Success requires more than traditional program management. The DCPDS PM must be a mission-focused, technically credible leader who can integrate operations, application sustainment, infrastructure, cybersecurity, testing, modernization, contractual, and financial priorities while maintaining strong customer confidence and positioning the program for continued growth and future modernization.

WORK LOCATION: Remote but MUST be in driving distance of the Mark Center in Alexandria

Primary Responsibilities & Measures of Success

• Lead Overall DCPDS Program Performance
• Provide leadership and accountability for all aspects of DCPDS program execution, including application operations and sustainment, infrastructure, cybersecurity, development, testing, modernization, contractual performance, financial performance, workforce management, schedule, quality, and customer satisfaction.
• Organize, direct, and manage multiple complex and interrelated technical and operational workstreams performed across contractor, subcontractor, Government, and partner organizations. Establish clear priorities, accountability, performance expectations, and decision authority across the program.
• Ensure program activities, task plans, deliverables, staffing, schedules, and costs remain aligned to contractual requirements and customer mission priorities.

Success looks like: DCPDS operational, technical, contractual, financial, and schedule commitments are consistently achieved; ownership is clear across the organization; and emerging risks are addressed before they materially affect mission delivery or customer confidence.

Integrate DCPDS Operations, Sustainment and Modernization

• Lead the lifecycle management of DCPDS and its supporting applications, infrastructure, databases, interfaces, test environments, and cybersecurity capabilities.
• Ensure effective integration across application sustainment, systems engineering, infrastructure operations, database administration, interfaces, testing, release management, cybersecurity, help desk, and modernization initiatives.
• Balance modernization and improvement activities with the need to maintain the stability, availability, security, and performance of ongoing production operations.
• Drive continuous improvement through adoption of industry best practices, automation, DevSecOps, improved testing, technical debt reduction, operational efficiencies, and modernization of legacy capabilities.

Success looks like: Sustainment and modernization activities are executed without compromising operational stability, security, or customer mission needs, and DCPDS continues to evolve while maintaining reliable service delivery.

Drive Disciplined Execution, Risk Management and Governance

• Establish and maintain a disciplined program operating model that creates visibility, predictability, and accountability across all functional areas.
• Manage integrated schedules, program metrics, staffing, actions, decisions, risks, issues, financial performance, contractual deliverables, and executive reporting.
• Identify and mitigate technical, operational, cybersecurity, financial, contractual, schedule, workforce, and organizational risks. Escalate significant concerns early and drive cross-functional decisions to resolution.
• Ensure program leadership and functional leads clearly understand responsibilities, dependencies, priorities, and expected outcomes.

Success looks like: Risks are surfaced early, decisions are timely, commitments are measurable, and the program minimizes avoidable rework, cost growth, schedule impacts, production disruptions, and customer escalations.

Own Financial, Contractual Performance, and Workforce Performance

• Maintain accountability for program financial performance, staffing, labor utilization, subcontractor execution, funding, scope, schedule, and contractual obligations.
• Develop and maintain technical, financial, and performance reporting that clearly communicates program health to Leidos and Government leadership.
• Monitor scope and emerging requirements to identify potential out-of-scope work, contract changes, staffing impacts, and funding requirements before execution risk is introduced.
• Ensure staffing levels, skill mix, organizational structure, and leadership are aligned to operational needs and future program objectives.

Success looks like: The program operates within funded and contractual parameters, maintains disciplined cost and scope management, achieves financial objectives, and has the right workforce aligned to mission requirements.

Lead, Develop and Motivate DCPDS Team

• Lead a high-performing, cross-functional workforce supporting a complex enterprise mission.
• Establish clear expectations and accountability, develop future leaders, remove organizational barriers, and create an environment where teams surface problems early and work collaboratively across functional boundaries.
• Motivate teams through periods of high operational tempo, modernization, change, or customer scrutiny while maintaining focus on mission outcomes.
• Foster strong collaboration among Leidos personnel, subcontractors, Government stakeholders, and technology partners.

Success looks like: Employees understand their role in the mission, leaders take ownership of outcomes, teams collaborate effectively, and the program attracts, develops, and retains strong technical and program talent.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is an experienced DoD enterprise IT and application program leader who combines strong executive-level program management with sufficient technical depth to lead a complex, mission-critical HR environment.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of relevant experience, or master's degree with 10+ years of relevant experience; additional relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• 7+ years of experience managing complex IT, software, application sustainment, or enterprise technology programs.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams across operations, engineering, application development, sustainment, cybersecurity, testing, and program management.
• Experience serving as a Program Manager, Deputy Program Manager, or equivalent leader on a complex Government or DoD program.
• Strong experience managing program financials, staffing, scope, schedule, risk, subcontractors, and contractual deliverables.
• Demonstrated experience briefing senior Government and corporate executives.
• Experience managing mission-critical production environments requiring high availability, disciplined release management, and operational continuity.
• Strong written and verbal communication, negotiation, organizational leadership, and problem-solving skills.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent program management experience.
• Must have a current Public Trust Clearance or higher.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting DoD personnel, human capital, ERP, Oracle E-Business Suite, or enterprise HR systems.
• Previous DCPDS, DMDC, DHRA, or comparable DoD enterprise application experience.
• Experience managing Oracle-based enterprise application environments, databases, reporting platforms, data warehouses, and complex system interfaces.
• Experience leading modernization, cloud migration, DevSecOps transformation, test automation, API/interface modernization, or major database/application transformation efforts.
• Experience integrating application sustainment, infrastructure operations, cybersecurity, systems engineering, testing, and modernization into a unified delivery model.
• Experience supporting RMF/ATO, FIAR/audit activities, cybersecurity compliance, and DoD production environments.
• Demonstrated experience developing follow-on strategies, shaping customer requirements, identifying on-contract growth, and supporting captures or proposals.
• Proven ability to lead successfully during periods of modernization, production challenges, organizational change, or heightened customer scrutiny.

What Success Looks Like

The successful DCPDS Program Manager will create an environment where the Government has confidence in Leidos' delivery, program leadership has clear visibility into performance and risk, functional organizations understand their accountability, employees understand the mission and priorities, and issues are surfaced and addressed before they become customer surprises.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.