Program Contracts Manager

Red Cell Partners is an incubation firm building and investing in rapidly scalable technology-led companies that are bringing revolutionary advancements to market in three distinct practice areas: healthcare, cyber, and national security. United by a shared sense of duty and deep belief in the power of innovation, Red Cell is developing powerful tools and solutions to address our Nation’s most pressing problems.

ABOUT DEFCON AI

RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF DISRUPTION. DEFCON AI is an insights company that leverages artificial intelligence, mathematical optimization, data analytics, and software engineering for resilient optimization of complex systems.
In today’s dynamically changing world, DEFCON AI’s technology aligns outcomes with operational goals, better decision making, and empowers customers to anticipate assess, and mitigate the impacts of disruptions.

As we expand our U.S. Marine Corps program, we are seeking a Program Contracts Manager to build and own the contract operations backbone that enables successful program execution.

The Program Contracts Manager will own contract operations, subcontract administration, milestone acceptance coordinator, invoice readiness and execution governance for a major US defense program. 

You will build the systems, processes, templates, and operating rhythms that allow the program team to execute effectively while ensuring subcontractors, deliverables, invoices, modifications, and contractual obligations remain aligned. You will serve as the day-to-day owner of routine contract and subcontract execution.

• Manage the full lifecycle of contracts and subcontracts, teaming agreements, and consulting arrangements
• Draft, review, negotiate, and administer subcontract agreements and modifications
• Translate prime agreement requirements into executable subcontract structures
• Maintain subcontract records, deliverables, milestones, and commercial terms
• Coordinate with program leadership and finance on business positions and negotiations 

• Develop and manage milestone tracking and contract execution artifacts
• Coordinate acceptance-package development across technical, program, and finance stakeholders
• Build invoice-support packages and readiness documentation
• Identify and flag contractual and compliance risks including terms ambiguity, flow-down gaps, undocumented scope changes, and invoice or acceptance exposure before they become program or legal issues
• Maintain audit-ready records and submission documentation

• Design templates, trackers, governance processes, and escalation paths
• Build process that fits where the program is today while laying the foundation for where it needs to go
• Improve discipline around contract execution without slowing delivery
• Establish standards for documentation, reporting, and contract governance
• Operate independently and effectively without established playbooks, defined predecessors, or a contracts team to hand work off to

• Conduct change-impact assessments and modification analysis
• Develop decision-ready recommendations for leadership review
• Support customer correspondence, clarification requests, and issue resolution
• Escalate complex issues with facts, options, and recommended courses of action

• Experience administering and negotiating contracts and subcontracts in a U.S. defense contracting environment
• Experience drafting, redlining, and negotiating contract language
• Experience translating prime contract requirements into subcontract flow-downs
• Experience supporting milestone-based deliverables and contract execution
• Experience building lightweight repeatable processes in fast-moving or immature environments
• Ability to operate independently within a matrixed organization
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity, making defensible decisions without complete information, and adjusting as the program evolves
• US Citizen

• Experience supporting defense technology or software programs
• Familiarity with Other Transaction (OT/OTA) contracts
• Experience working with acceptance-based invoicing models
• Experience supporting multi-party subcontractor ecosystems
• Familiarity with DoW program execution environments
• NCMA CPCM or CFCM

This role sits at the center of program execution. You will help ensure that contracts, subcontracts, milestones, deliverables, and payments stay aligned while enabling technical and program teams to focus on mission delivery. The right candidate is a builder, operator, and problem-solver who enjoys creating order from complexity and establishing scalable systems in a rapidly growing company.