Project/Product Manager at Unissant in Ashburn, VA, USA

Job description

• We are seeking a Project/Product Manager to join our team and support our client, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This is a remote position.
• The ideal candidate is an experienced IT product and program leader who can direct delivery across a complex enterprise artificial intelligence portfolio. This individual will coordinate FEMA stakeholders, product owners, solution teams, and subcontractor personnel to deliver secure, production-ready AI capabilities through Agile and System/Software Engineering Life Cycle processes.

Responsibilities

• Direct day-to-day program execution, including staffing, schedule, quality, risk, dependencies, and stakeholder coordination for complex AI initiatives.
• Lead Agile ceremonies; manage sprint backlogs and the integrated master schedule using JIRA and FEMA-provided management tools.
• Establish and operate a Joint Development Team model that enables continuous product-owner engagement, work-in-progress demonstrations, and documented Government feedback.
• Produce and maintain required program artifacts, including weekly work reports, sprint planning, performance and retrospective reports, monthly status reports, communications plans, risk and issue registers, and executive-level reporting.
• Coordinate AI solution architects, engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity personnel, subcontractors, and FEMA program offices to translate mission needs into prioritized releases.
• Ensure recommendations and delivery plans align to FEMA's current architecture, operating environment, security requirements, and future enterprise capability goals.
• Manage subcontractor performance, staffing continuity, quality assurance, and timely completion of all deliverables.
• Communicate program status, decisions, delivery risks, and mitigation strategies to technical and executive stakeholders.

Requirements

• Five (5) to ten (10) years of experience managing complex IT, software-development, AI/ML, or cloud-modernization programs.
• Experience managing Agile delivery, product backlogs, sprint cycles, integrated schedules, risk management, and executive reporting.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams delivering cloud-hosted, data-driven, or AI-enabled applications.
• Working knowledge of front-end technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Strong stakeholder-management, facilitation, communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related field required.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to facilitate Agile ceremonies and present program performance, risks, and recommendations to technical and executive audiences.
• Ability to write clear, concise content and manage sensitive information in a highly confidential manner.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Favorably adjudicated FEMA Public Trust suitability is required before the employee's start date.
• Must complete applicable DHS/FEMA security awareness, privacy, OPSEC, insider-threat, unauthorized-disclosure, and FOUO/CUI safeguarding training.
• PMP, PMI-ACP, Certified ScrumMaster, Product Owner, or comparable Agile/project-management certification preferred.

Skills

Required

• Agile delivery management
• Product backlog management
• Sprint cycle management
• Integrated schedule management
• Risk management
• Executive reporting
• Stakeholder management
• Facilitation
• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Organizational skills
• JIRA