Senior Manager, Government Solutions & Operations

Company Overview

Iridium is an award-winning satellite communications company operating the world's only truly global voice and data network, delivering reliable connectivity anywhere on Earth. For more than 20 years, Iridium has powered mission-critical communications for governments, businesses, aviation, maritime, and the rapidly expanding Internet of Things.

Now part of Iridium, Aireon is the world’s only space-based air traffic surveillance system, providing real-time visibility of aircraft over oceans, the poles, and remote regions. Together, Iridium and Aireon are helping build a safer, more connected, and more efficient future for global aviation.

Join our team and help shape how the world stays connected. We foster a collaborative, inclusive culture where employees are empowered to innovate, grow professionally, and make a meaningful impact.

What We’re Looking For:

If you are a seasoned technical leader with extensive experience supporting U.S. Government customers and translating complex mission needs into practical solutions, you will be excited about the Senior Manager, Government Solutions & Customer Engagement opportunity with Iridium. In this role, you’ll independently lead a team of customer-facing Field Solutions Engineers (FSEs) supporting Iridium’s Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) program and broader U.S. Government (USG) customers. Working within established USG strategy and business priorities, you’ll translate objectives into executable FSE plans, guide complex technical and customer engagements, strengthen service delivery, and help expand adoption of Iridium capabilities. You’ll thrive in this role if you bring proven people leadership, deep technical credibility, sound operational judgment, and the ability to engage senior government stakeholders and deliver measurable business results from day one.

This position requires an active/current Top Secret Security Clearance (A U.S. Security Clearance that has been active in the past 24 months is considered active).

What You’ll Do:

Foster and develop a highly effective team of Field Solutions Engineers (FSEs) supporting EMSS and broader USG customers, providing direction, coaching, development, and technical leadership to drive team performance and effective customer support

Mentor and train your team by evaluating employees’ performance, recognizing areas for improvement, and providing reliable solutions to problems that may impact your team’s effectiveness

Translate established USG strategy and business priorities into actionable FSE operating plans, team objectives, and execution priorities; monitor progress and adjust activities to deliver results

Independently manage day-to-day FSE operations, assign resources, prioritize competing customer and technical needs, and resolve complex issues within established organizational priorities and authority

Serve as an experienced technical and customer-facing leader, engaging with warfighters, Combatant Commands, government program offices, operational units, mission partners, and industry partners to understand mission needs, operational challenges, and emerging requirements

Lead the development and implementation of technical solutions that translate complex customer and mission requirements into actionable capabilities, service improvements, and operational outcomes

Lead technical briefings, demonstrations, training, and solution-design sessions with government and industry stakeholders to demonstrate Iridium capabilities and drive adoption and operational use

Coordinate across Engineering, Operations, Sales, Contracts, Customer Support, and other functions to resolve customer needs and drive technical, Helpdesk, and Order Fulfillment actions through completion

Lead the planning and execution of USG outreach, EMSS Academy, training, and exercise support activities, ensuring engagements are aligned with operational priorities, customer requirements, and measurable adoption objectives.

Provide operational leadership and oversight of Field Solutions Engineering, Helpdesk, and Order Fulfillment activities, establishing performance expectations, improving responsiveness, resolving escalated customer issues, and ensuring accountability for service delivery, provisioning, and customer support.

Translate customer feedback, operational lessons learned, and emerging mission requirements into technical requirements, service enhancements, and opportunities to expand EMSS adoption and support growth across the USG portfolio

Actively support USG business development and capture efforts by identifying customer opportunities, contributing technical solutions and customer insights, and supporting proposals and customer engagements in alignment with leadership-defined capture strategy.

Drive measurable outcomes from customer engagement, outreach, and technical support activities, including increased device adoption, IMEI sales, service activations, and qualified opportunities that contribute to USG revenue and margin objectives

What You’ll Need to Succeed:

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, telecommunications, business, or any technical related field

10+ years of relevant experience in solutions engineering, field engineering, systems engineering, SATCOM/telecommunications, government customer engagement, or a related technical field

Previous management experience required

Experience working directly with U.S. Government and/or Department of Defense (DoD) customers in technical, operational, or mission-focused environments

Strong understanding of satellite communications, telecommunications, or other complex technical systems and the ability to translate technical capabilities into solutions that address customer mission needs

Demonstrated experience gathering and analyzing complex customer requirements and developing effective technical and operational solutions

Experience leading complex customer engagements involving multiple internal and external stakeholders

Capable of being a strong motivator and source of direction for your team and role modelling commitment to your team’s goals

Have a people-oriented mentality and be able to build meaningful relationships with senior leadership on your team and in other departments

Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey products, deliverables, analyses, and/or issues clearly and confidently, and recognize and adapt to different communication techniques

Be able to analyze and understand a situation or problem and think critically to make decisions, come up with and evaluate unique solutions, and see those solutions through to completion

Be independent and self-motivated and demonstrate a high degree of creativity, flexibility, and resourcefulness

Have a strong sense of urgency in driving projects to completion and be motivated to achieve outcomes and results

Can thrive in a dynamic environment and efficiently manage multiple or complex projects while continuously looking for new and enhanced ways of doing things

Things That Would be Great if You Brought to the Table:

Experience supporting DoD SATCOM, COMSATCOM, or other satellite communications programs

Familiarity with EMSS and Iridium’s role within the U.S. Government satellite communications ecosystem

Experience working directly with Combatant Commands, operational units, or other warfighter organizations

Experience leading Field Solutions Engineering, customer engineering, or another customer-facing technical team

Experience supporting capture and proposal activities for major U.S. Government opportunities

Working knowledge of the government acquisition process and FAR

We’ll also need you to:

Be able to travel up to 30%