Project Manager, Government Contracts

Project Manager

El SEGUNDO, CA | FULL-TIME Onsite/Remote

Cambium is a global company building the advanced materials base for reindustrialization from AI-driven molecular design to agile domestic manufacturing. Defense, aerospace, and other high-performance applications demand materials that are stronger, lighter, and more resilient, delivered at unprecedented speed and scale. Our team of world-class scientists and engineers was assembled specifically to take on those challenges. Whether enabling hypersonic flight or protecting critical systems, our solutions solve mission-critical problems and push the limits of what's possible. Come join us and revolutionize advanced materials for defense, aerospace, and beyond.

THE ROLE

Your projects are yours; from first concept and funding through delivery and closeout. You're accountable for each project's execution, cost, schedule, scope, and margin. You'll work daily with all core functions of the company - chemists, materials engineers, executives, sales, and finance, and you'll be the main point of contact for the customer.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own cost, schedule, scope, and margin for each project from kickoff through closeout.
• Turn research goals into action plans: work breakdown, schedules, resourcing, and spend plans that hold up when experiments drift or fail.
• Work with scientists and engineers to scope technical tasks, set realistic milestones, and decide when to push forward, change direction, or stop.
• Manage the path from lab to production: coordinate scale-up, process development, testing, and handoff to our manufacturing teams.
• Track spend and forecast where each project will land.
• Own deliverables: technical reports, milestone reviews, test data packages, and the deadlines tied to them.
• Proactively manage customer relationships.
• Brief status, risks, and decisions candidly and cross-functionally.
• Write full proposal packages and statements of work to win funding government and commercial sources.
• Manage outside test labs, suppliers, and consultants: scope, purchase orders, schedule, change orders, and quality of work.
• Keep cost tracking and project records accurate and audit-ready.
• Capture lessons learned are incorporated into future program planning and execution.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, or business, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years managing technical research and development projects.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• 10+ years managing research, development, and testing programs, including multi-year, multi-million-dollar projects.
• Technical background in materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, or aerospace engineering.
• Experience taking a new material or technology from lab scale to manufacturing.
• A record of writing proposals that won, then running those projects.
• Experience managing Government projects or Contracts.
• Experience in a dynamic, fast paced manufacturing environment.
• Master of Business Administration or Project Management Professional certification.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel); experience with reporting and visualization tools.

You'll Do Well Here If

• You're comfortable planning work where the answer isn't known yet.
• You give executives and customers bad news early, with a recovery plan attached.
• You can dig into test data with a chemist in the morning and rebuild a budget forecast in the afternoon.
• You're comfortable on a lean team and will build some of the tools and templates you use.
• You lean on AI to enhance and expand your capabilities, not as a crutch.

Additional Requirements

• Full-time on-site at our headquarters in El Segundo.

BENEFITS: Cambium offers a highly competitive compensation and benefits plan. This includes excellent medical/dental/vision benefits, and a matching 401(k) plan, professional development reimbursement, and an opportunity for equity for most full-time positions