Principal, Strategy & Chief of Staff - ISR

Job Title: Principal, Strategy & Chief of Staff – ISR

Job Code:

Job Location: Rockwall, or Greenville, TX

Job Schedule: 9/80 - Employees work 9 out of every 14 days – totaling 80 hours worked – and have every other Friday off

Job Description:

We’re seeking a Principal, Strategy & Chief of Staff to serve as a trusted advisor and force multiplier to the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Sector President. This role blends strategy development, portfolio shaping, operating cadence leadership, and cross functional execution. You will translate sector strategy into action, drive velocity across the enterprise, and ensure ISR is aligned, resourced, and performing against our growth and mission objectives.

Essential Functions:

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. DoD security clearance (Secret or Top Secret, depending on program need).
• ~25–40%, domestic and international travel based on business needs.

• Strategic Planning & Portfolio Shaping
  • Lead the annual AOP/LRP planning cycle; synthesize market, competitive, customer, and technology trends across ISR, communications, networking, and EW to inform investment, divestment, and growth priorities.
  • Shape portfolio strategy by developing investment themes, market entry options, and stage-gate decision briefs for R&D, IRAD, and bid/capture activities, grounded in mission outcomes, customer demand, and financial returns.
  • Partner with Business Development, Strategy, and Programs to create growth roadmaps, pipeline health assessments, and win strategies for priority market segments.
  • Support portfolio reviews, make-buy-partner assessments, and strategic initiatives that strengthen competitive positioning and long-term value creation.

• Operating Cadence & Executive Office
  • Run the sector operating rhythm, including MBRs/QBRs, program reviews, capture gates, and OKR progress reviews; drive follow-through on decisions and remove friction to execution.
  • Serve as the President’s proxy in select forums, ensuring alignment of actions, messaging, and priorities across the leadership team and key stakeholders.
  • Prepare executive briefs, board materials, and strategic narratives for internal and external audiences.
  • Create and maintain executive dashboards across financial performance, delivery, risk, growth, and talent with clear KPIs, leading indicators, and recommended actions.
  • Establish governance mechanisms and decision frameworks that improve speed, rigor, and accountability across the organization.

• Business Operations & Financial Rigor
  • In partnership with Finance/FP&A, track P&L performance, margins, cost takeout, and productivity initiatives; proactively surface risks/opportunities and corrective actions.
  • Coordinate capital planning, facilities/secured spaces strategy, and compliance with export controls and cyber/security requirements.

• Cross-Functional Leadership & Major Initiatives
  • Drive complex, cross-functional programs - spanning engineering, production, supply chain, security, and corporate functions - to on-time, on-budget outcomes.
  • Lead special projects such as acquisition integration, production variance reduction, organizational design, digital operations enablement, and other high-priority executive initiatives.
  • Act as an integrator across functions to align priorities, resolve trade-offs, and accelerate execution of strategic objectives.

• Stakeholder Engagement & Communications
  • Build trusted relationships with customers, partners, and internal leaders; support strategic negotiations and executive engagements.
  • Orchestrate internal communications, including All Hands, leadership updates, and executive messaging, to align teams and reinforce business priorities.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree and minimum 12 years of prior program management/business operations experience.
• Graduate Degree and a minimum of 10 years of prior related experience.
• In lieu of a degree, a minimum of 16 years of prior program management/business operations experience. 
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in aerospace/defense, strategy, program management, operations, or consulting, including cross-functional leadership.

Preferred Additional Skills

• Experience with ERP/MRP and CRM tools.
• Advanced degree (MBA, MS/Systems/EE/CS, or similar).
• Experience running operating cadence, leading portfolio/strategy work, and partnering closely with executives.
• Financial experience commensurate to role level (P&L, margin drivers, portfolio tradeoffs); ability to translate complex technical and market insights into actionable business decisions.
• Experience engaging with internal/external stakeholders including executive level and discretion in handling sensitive topics.
• Familiarity with ISR, RF, EW, C2, resilient communications, or telemetry domains.
• Experience in capture/negotiation for complex, multi-site programs.
• Experience with data-driven operations (e.g., Power BI, SQL) and modern collaboration tooling. 
• Active clearance preferred.

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