Senior Defense Project Manager

WHO WE ARE: Teague is an independent design consultancy that combines technology expertise with a deep understanding of human behavior to design what’s next for companies in automotive, commercial aviation, smart cities and infrastructure, advanced mobility, technology, space, and defense. On any given day, you might be prototyping a new space station, designing cutting-edge technology, or traveling around the world conducting research. We just celebrated our one-hundred-year anniversary and are proudly employee-owned. Our culture fosters collaboration, accountability, and stability—because when we succeed, we all win. Come be a part of something bigger than just a job—build your career with an employee-owned company that invests in you! ABOUT THE ROLE: Teague's Senior Defense Project Managers lead complex defense, government, and space programs from pursuit through delivery—driving execution across scope, schedule, budget, risk, security, and client communications. Working alongside Business Development and Creative Leadership, you'll guide multidisciplinary teams, navigate classified and regulated environments, and ensure projects meet the highest standards of quality, compliance, and client service. You'll lead initiatives with budgets up to $10M and teams of 1–20 employees and partners, balancing strategic thinking with disciplined execution. Success in this role means building trusted client relationships, proactively managing risk, and delivering exceptional results in some of our most complex and mission-critical programs. 5% Business travel required for project-related, business development, and/or industry engagements. WHO YOU ARE:  You're an experienced project leader who thrives in complex, fast-paced environments where strategic thinking, disciplined execution, and strong client relationships are essential. You have a proven track record leading multidisciplinary projects through the creative process while balancing scope, schedule, budget, risk, and quality. You communicate with confidence, build trust quickly, and know how to align clients, partners, and cross-functional teams around a common goal. You're comfortable navigating competing priorities, making sound decisions with incomplete information, and bringing structure to complex challenges. You understand the unique demands of defense, space, and government programs, owning the project classification process, assessing export control requirements, determining appropriate ITAR, EAR, and CUI handling, and continuously improving these practices as needs evolve. You proactively identify issues before they become problems and lead teams through challenges with professionalism and sound judgment. Above all, you're a collaborative leader who values accountability, develops strong working relationships, and is passionate about delivering exceptional experiences for clients while enabling creative teams to do their best work. WHAT YOU’LL DO: OWNING Represent Teague with professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment in client, partner, and internal interactions, particularly within regulated or security-sensitive environments. Establish trust through consistent follow-through, clear communication, and accountability for commitments made to clients, partners, and internal teams. Lead through ambiguity and change, creating clarity, alignment, and accountability across multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders. Take ownership of compliance readiness across Teague’s Space & Defense work, ensuring requirements are understood, integrated into project planning, and addressed with the appropriate internal partners. Support defense and space business development by participating in initial client discussions, leading solution development, leveraging personal networks to identify and cultivate leads, and bringing delivery insight to spot follow-on opportunities and shape practical, credible pursuit strategies. THINKING Partner with Business Development, Creative Leadership, and technical teams to shape defense, government and space pursuits, including their project strategies, scopes, and delivery approaches that align with client, mission, and business objectives. Apply structured problem solving and sound judgment to develop estimates, resourcing plans, schedules, and risk strategies for complex work, balancing the opportunity with delivery confidence and financial performance for Teague. Assess changing project conditions and make timely recommendations to adjust delivery approaches, resources, controls, or priorities to protect project outcomes. Evaluate incoming pursuits and projects for export & security classification and other compliance considerations, ensuring the appropriate procedures, resources, and tools are in place before work begins. Maintain visibility into current and future defense and space work, identifying resource needs, delivery constraints, and opportunities to improve planning and project execution. Identify opportunities to strengthen Teague’s defense and space delivery practices, tools, and readiness as client, program, and regulatory needs evolve. DOING Lead complex defense, government, and space projects through execution and delivery, maintaining control of scope, schedule, budget, resourcing, risk, and client commitments. Partner with Business Development, Creative, and technical teams to shape pursuits, develop scopes and estimates, and establish clear project plans and delivery strategies. Serve as a primary client contact following contract execution, building trusted relationships and leading clear communication across clients, teams, and leadership. Maintain project health through proactive financial management, forecasting, risk management, and timely escalation of issues requiring leadership support. Lead multidisciplinary teams by creating alignment across resources, staffing, facilities, and external partner