Program Manager, Defense Contracts

Hyliion is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable clean, flexible and affordable electricity production. The Company’s primary focus is to develop distributed power generators that can operate on various fuel sources to future-proof against an ever-changing energy economy. Job Purpose The Program Manager, Defense Contracts is responsible for leading Hyliion’s government and defense programs from opportunity review and proposal development through contract execution and customer delivery. The role coordinates engineering, operations, finance, business development, supply chain, and external partners to turn customer requirements into executable plans and keep scope, schedule, cost, risks, and deliverables on track. The position serves as the primary customer interface for assigned programs, including government program offices, contracting officers, and technical points of contact. The role also leads the preparation of government proposals, including Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposals, Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs), and white papers. The position supports contract administration, reporting, and government compliance activities required by each program. AI at Hyliion At Hyliion, AI is core to how we work. We equip every team member with leading AI tools and count on you to use them — to move faster, solve harder problems, and help us realize the full potential of KARNO technology for the world. Duties and Responsibilities • Lead cross-functional planning and execution of government and military programs, coordinating internal teams, suppliers, and external stakeholders. • Review solicitations, contracts, statements of work, specifications, and customer commitments, and translate them into a requirements and deliverables matrix, work plans, schedules, owners, and acceptance criteria. • Build and maintain integrated program schedules, such as Gantt charts, and track milestones, dependencies, decisions, risks, issues, and corrective actions. Identify schedule or delivery concerns early and develop recovery plans. • Coordinate technical and operational work to keep requirements and specifications aligned with system designs and customer expectations. Track hardware, software, and system deliverables through prototype and production schedules. • Serve as the primary customer interface for assigned programs, managing day-to-day communication with government program offices, contracting officers, and technical points of contact, and ensuring customer priorities are reflected in program execution. • Lead regular internal and customer program reviews. Prepare status materials covering technical progress, schedule, deliverables, risks, and spending, and provide weekly health updates and monthly reports as required. • Develop program spend forecasts and track actual costs, commitments, and variances with Finance. Ensure program financial information meets customer reporting requirements. • Work directly with customers, Tier 1 suppliers, and external stakeholders to resolve delivery issues, remove roadblocks, and maintain progress against commitments. • Participate in the review of government contracting opportunities and coordinate proposal planning, schedules, and required inputs. • Lead the writing, editing, coordination, and submission of proposals and other responses, including Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposals, Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs), white papers, and related government requests. • Coordinate technical, programmatic, cost, schedule, and compliance contributions from internal teams and partners, and ensure submissions address solicitation requirements and meet deadlines. • Maintain contract requirement matrices, supporting records, and audit trails, and tr