Head of Programs

About this role

About Loft Federal

Loft Federal is committed to delivering the U.S. national security space community a fast, affordable, and streamlined pathway to orbit. As a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Loft Orbital Solutions, Inc., we specialize in providing mission-ready space infrastructure with unmatched efficiency.

At Loft, we empower our team with autonomy, ownership, and bold problem-solving opportunities while fostering a tight-knit, supportive environment. We believe that diversity, inclusivity, and community are the foundation of an open and innovative culture. We value kind, collaborative, and mission-driven teammates who excel in problem-solving and communication—because great solutions come from great teams.

Are you ready to embark on this exciting journey with us?

Loft Federal is seeking a Head of Programs to lead customer contract execution and build the program management function for Loft Federal.

This role will serve as the senior program execution leader for the Federal business. The Head of Programs will be responsible for driving disciplined execution across active customer contracts, proposals transitioning into award, subcontractor-supported programs, internal program reviews, customer commitments, and cross-functional operating cadence.

The Head of Programs will define and mature the program operating model needed to support a growing U.S. government and national security business. This includes clarifying roles and responsibilities, establishing program management rhythms, improving program controls, strengthening customer-facing execution, integrating Inc and Federal delivery teams, and building the Federal programs team as the business scales.

The person in this seat must be able to directly manage complex program execution today while building the team, processes, tools, and operating cadence required for a larger federal portfolio tomorrow.

Final title and leveling will be determined based on the selected candidate’s experience and demonstrated operating depth. Likely leveling ranges from Director to Senior Director, with potential VP-level consideration for an exceptional candidate with proven business-unit program leadership in government contracting, aerospace, defense, space, or national security technology.

The Head of Programs will partner directly with Federal leadership, the Loft Orbital Inc VP of Programs, Growth, Engineering, Mission teams, Contracts, Legal, Finance, Security, Quality, Supply Chain, and external customers.

Why This Role Matters

Loft Federal is scaling from a small, operator-led business unit into a more mature federal operating organization. The business needs stronger customer contract execution, clearer program accountability, better program controls, tighter Inc-Federal integration, and a repeatable operating model for delivering complex national security space missions.

Program execution is where strategy becomes customer trust. Spacecraft, hosted payloads, mission software, security requirements, subcontractors, mission operations, revenue timing, and federal contract obligations all have to come together in a disciplined operating rhythm.

The person in this seat will have direct influence on how Loft Federal delivers current customer commitments, scales future programs, protects margin, builds customer confidence, and creates the execution credibility required to win larger federal work.

What You Will Own

• Lead customer contract execution across Loft Federal programs, task orders, studies, demonstrations, hosted payload efforts, mission software efforts, and other federal customer commitments.

• Establish the Federal program management operating model in partnership with the Loft Orbital Inc VP of Programs.

• Build and run a clear program cadence across internal reviews, customer reviews, program status, risk reviews, schedule reviews, financial reviews, subcontractor reviews, and executive operating reviews.

• Own program execution visibility across cost, schedule, technical performance, contract deliverables, risks, issues, decisions, staffing, subcontractors, revenue timing, and customer commitments.

• Partner with Program Managers to ensure each program has a clear baseline, execution plan, schedule, budget, risk register, deliverable tracker, stakeholder map, and escalation path.

• Serve as the senior escalation point for program execution issues that cut across engineering, mission operations, finance, contracts, security, quality, suppliers, and customers.

• Partner with Growth and Capture to ensure proposals are executable, properly scoped, and connected to real delivery assumptions.

• Support proposal strategy, execution planning, staffing assumptions, BOEs, schedules, risks, customer commitments, subcontractor inputs, and transition from award into execution.

• Improve proposal-to-execution handoff so contract scope, assumptions, risks, pricing logic, deliverables, staffing plans, and customer expectations carry cleanly into program startup.

• Partner with Finance on program budgets, forecasts, EACs, ETCs, burn rates, margin visibility, labor utilization, material needs, subcontractor spend, accruals, invoices, and revenue timing.

• Partner with Contracts and Legal on contract execution, deliverables, modifications, funding status, periods of performance, flowdowns, compliance obligations, customer correspondence, and closeout.

• Partner with Engineering and Mission teams to manage technical execution, dependencies, interface control, verification, test readiness, delivery readiness, mission readiness, and customer acceptance.

• Partner with Security and Quality to ensure program execution accounts for classified work, CUI, export controls, facility needs, personnel security, mission assurance, documentation, and customer requirements.

• Coordinate with Supply Chain and subcontract management to ensure critical suppliers are integrated into program schedules, budgets, deliverables, risks, and…