Contracts Manager, Government Programs

Quartermaster is building the world’s most comprehensive maritime intelligence platform. Our SmartMast™ system transforms commercial and civilian vessels into a persistent, distributed sensing network—combining HD video, AI, radar, RF sensing, and AIS to deliver real-time maritime domain awareness at global scale. With 600+ sensors deployed across 25+ countries and more than 400,000 vessels identified outside of AIS, we are setting a new standard for what ocean surveillance and safety can look like.

We are a mission-driven, high-velocity team building dual-use technology for defense agencies, coast guards, and commercial maritime operators. If you want to shape our growth efforts and how we scale across the government, this is the place.

We are hiring a Contracts Manager, Government Programs to own the government contract lifecycle end to end. Our growth owners find opportunities and carry the customer relationships, our proposal team writes the technical bids, and finance owns pricing and margin. This role owns the discipline that connects them: federal procurement rules, contract negotiation, and the post-award actions that keep work funded as requirements change.

You will be Quartermaster’s primary voice to U.S. Government contracting officers and to the prime contractors we subcontract under. As our contracts grow more complex, and as our transition path runs toward programs of record, this function becomes the difference between winning work and being able to execute and bill it.

This is our first dedicated contracts hire. You will carry the workload and establish the function at the same time.

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• Active Secret or TS/SCI clearance, or eligibility to obtain one.

• Former Warranted Contracting Officer experience (e.g., DoD, IC, DHS), including administrative or unlimited warrant authority.

• Subcontract administration under large prime contractors and experience supporting the transition of prototypes into programs of record.

• DAWIA certification, DAU coursework, or NCMA credentials (CFCM, CPCM, CCCM).

• Familiarity with Salesforce or a comparable CRM for maintaining contract and pipeline data.

• You will build the contracts function with real authority over how we do it.

• Your work is directly measurable in company outcomes: the actions you negotiate and execute determine what we can bill and what we retain.

• You will work at the center of growth, proposals, and finance rather than at the end of the process.

• Mission impact: safer mariners, more secure sea lanes, and an ocean that can no longer go dark.

• Hybrid, based in the DC/Northern Virginia area, with travel to customer and program offices as needed.

• Startup atmosphere with high ownership and autonomy.

• Competitive salary with comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits.