The Program Manager will lead the planning, execution, and alignment of cloud infrastructure services with CMS' modernization goals, focusing on security, reliability, and user-centered design for Medicare systems.
About Nava
Nava is a consultancy and public benefit corporation working to make government services simple and effective. Since 2015, federal, state, and local agencies have trusted Nava to help solve highly scrutinized technology modernization challenges.
As a client services company, we guide agencies constrained by legacy systems to a future with sharp user experiences built on secure, reliable, fault-tolerant cloud infrastructure. We bill for our time, offering our expertise and problem-solving approach to help our government partners enhance their digital products and services. People are at the heart of our work, from members of the public who rely on benefit programs to government agency staff. Through human-centered design and modern engineering best practices, we help our government partners understand user needs and deliver on their missions more effectively. This focus gives everyone at Nava the opportunity to do work that is meaningful, impactful, and deeply connected to public good.
Position summary
The Program Manager will play a critical leadership role in accelerating CMS’ modernization of the Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) shared systems. This position supports the Operations & Site Reliability Engineering (OSRE) team—responsible for establishing and implementing common DevSecOps, infrastructure, site reliability, and platform engineering practices across multiple Application Development Organizations (ADOs) within the Medicare Payment System Environment (MPSE). The Program Manager ensures OSRE’s work is delivered with a high bar for security, reliability, scalability, and human-centered design, while safeguarding uninterrupted Medicare claims processing.
What You’ll Do
- Lead end-to-end program planning, execution, and performance for OSRE services, ensuring alignment with CMS’ modernization goals and program objectives.
- Manage delivery of DevSecOps, cloud infrastructure, SRE, security engineering, and compliance activities across multiple teams.
- Ensure all work meets CMS standards for security, privacy, availability, reliability, and maintainability.
- Serve as primary liaison across CMS leadership, ADOs, security stakeholders, and technical partners to ensure cohesive delivery of shared platform capabilities.
- Facilitate communication, dependencies, and alignment between infrastructure and application development teams.
- Oversee technical coordination for cross-system incident response, platform support, and modernization activities.
- Guide teams in applying Agile, SAFe, and modern delivery practices to increase responsiveness and predictability.
- Support backlog prioritization, capacity planning, release coordination, and program increment (PI) execution.
- Ensure OSRE services and products are shaped using human-centered design principles, user research inputs, and measurable business outcomes.
- Identify and mitigate program risks, technical blockers, and organizational challenges.
- Oversee compliance with CMS security frameworks, governance requirements, and technical standards.
- Monitor platform performance, service-level metrics, and delivery KPIs to ensure continuous improvement.
- Provide clear, data-driven program updates, briefings, and decision support to CMS leadership.
- Translate complex technical issues into actionable insights for business stakeholders.
- Track and communicate progress of modernization efforts and their impact on CMS’ long-term transformation goals.
Required skills
- Years of experience: 5-8 years experience managing programs involving cloud infrastructure, site reliability engineering, DevSecOps, or platform engineering.
- Understanding of security engineering, compliance, and regulated environments.
- Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams in complex, high-stakes environments.
- Strong command of Agile and SAFe delivery methodologies.
- Expertise in risk management, dependency coordination, and program governance.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence, negotiate, and build trust with senior stakeholders.
- Ability to translate between technical and business perspectives in a clear, actionable way.
- Experience launching new production systems with high public visibility.
- Experience managing projects that provide production operations and support alongside ongoing product/feature development.
Desired skills
- Program Management experience within a government space preferably within federal health programs (CMS experience a plus).
- Familiarity with large-scale enterprise modernization.
- Commitment to collaboration, transparency, and human-centered leadership.
Other requirements
All roles at Nava require the following:
Legal authorization to work in the United States
Ability to meet any other requirements for government contracts for which candidates are hired
Work authorization that doesn’t require visa sponsorship, now or in the future
May be subject to a government background check or security clearance, depending on the contract
Perks working with Nava
Health coverage — comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans to support your overall health needs
Insurance coverage — Nava provides disability, life, and accidental death insurance at no cost
Time off — vacation, holidays (including Juneteenth), and floating holidays to rest and recharge
Company holidays — enjoy 12 paid federal holidays each year on top of your regular PTO
Annual bonus — when Nava meets its goals, eligible employees receive a performance-based annual bonus
Parental leave — paid time off for new parents, plus weekly meals delivered to your home
Wellness program — full platform offering physical, mental, & emotional health resources & support tools
Virtual care — see doctors online with no copay through UnitedHealthcare’s virtual visit program
Sabbatical leave — earn extended unpaid leave after continuous service for personal growth or rest
401(k) match — Nava matches 4% of your salary to support your retirement savings plan
Flexible work — remote-first environment with flexibility built around your schedule and responsibilities
Home office setup — company laptop & setup assistance provided via Staples for remote work needs
Utility support — monthly reimbursement to help offset eligible home office utility expenses
Learning opportunities — internal training programs and resources to help grow your professional skills
Development opportunities — LinkedIn Learning access & an annual allowance for courses, tuition, & certs
Referral bonus — get rewarded when you refer great people who join the Nava team
Commuter benefits — pre-tax commuter programs to support in-office travel when applicable
Supportive culture — A collaborative and remote-friendly team environment where people genuinely care
Location
We have fully remote options if you reside in one of the following states:
Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
*If you are not living in one of the states listed above, unfortunately, you will not be considered for a position at this time.
Stay in touch
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Please contact the recruiting team at [email protected] if you would like to request reasonable accommodation during the application or interviewing process.
We participate in E-Verify. Upon hire, we will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. This role requires you to work from the contiguous United States.
Top Skills
Agile
Cloud Infrastructure
Devsecops
Safe
Site Reliability Engineering
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