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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Xenon Program Analyst

💰 $ - $

Program ManagementProgram AnalystSystems AnalysisData AnalysisProject ManagementDefense/Aerospace

🎯 Role Definition

The Xenon Program Analyst supports the full program lifecycle for the Xenon portfolio — from requirements definition and contract administration to budget forecasting, earned value management (EVM), and stakeholder reporting. The analyst coordinates across engineering, finance, contracts, and leadership to drive milestone achievement, mitigate program risk, and provide authoritative program metrics and decision-quality analysis. This is a hands-on role for an analytical self-starter who can manage competing priorities, produce executive-level briefings, and ensure compliance with organizational and regulatory processes.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Program Analyst / Program Coordinator with 1–3 years of experience
  • Business Analyst or Financial Analyst supporting technical projects
  • Systems Engineer or Technical Lead transitioning into program support

Advancement To:

  • Senior Program Analyst
  • Program Manager or Technical Program Manager
  • Portfolio Manager or Program Controls Lead

Lateral Moves:

  • Systems Engineer (program-focused)
  • Data Analyst / Business Intelligence Analyst
  • Contracts Specialist or Financial Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead end-to-end program control activities for the Xenon program, including development and maintenance of integrated master schedules (IMS), baseline management, milestone tracking, and schedule risk analysis to ensure on-time delivery.
  • Own Earned Value Management (EVM) processes: develop and maintain cost/schedule performance baselines, generate variance analyses (CV, SV, CPI, SPI), and prepare corrective action plans to preserve program health.
  • Prepare and deliver clear, data-driven executive briefings and program status reports (weekly, monthly, quarterly) that synthesize technical, cost, and schedule performance for senior leadership and external stakeholders.
  • Develop, validate, and maintain program budgets and forecasts; conduct what-if and sensitivity analyses to support funding decisions and reprogramming requests.
  • Manage requirements traceability from customer needs through design, verification, and delivery using recognized requirements management tools and processes to minimize scope creep and ensure compliance.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for cross-functional working groups (engineering, finance, contracts, QA, logistics), facilitating integrated product team (IPT) meetings and driving closure of action items against schedule.
  • Execute risk management activities: identify, quantify, prioritize, and track program risks and mitigations; produce risk registers and run periodic risk reviews with program leadership.
  • Support contract management activities including statement of work (SOW) interpretation, deliverable acceptance, invoice review, and liaison with contracting officers to escalate and resolve issues.
  • Perform detailed variance and root-cause analysis on cost and schedule deviations, recommend mitigation strategies, and monitor implementation of corrective actions to restore program baseline.
  • Lead the development and maintenance of program-level performance metrics and dashboards (Power BI, Tableau, Excel) that provide near-real-time visibility into schedule, cost, technical performance, and quality indicators.
  • Support proposal and capture activities for follow-on work: contribute cost and schedule estimates, win themes, resource plans, and technical risk assessments.
  • Coordinate and consolidate inputs for Integrated Baseline Reviews (IBR), Design Reviews, and Program Reviews (PDR/CDR), including data packs, review agendas, and action item tracking.
  • Conduct contract change management and configuration control board (CCB) support: analyze proposed changes, assess impact on cost, schedule, and technical baseline, and prepare change proposals.
  • Maintain program documentation and knowledge repositories (Confluence, SharePoint, DOORS) to ensure version control, audit readiness, and institutional knowledge preservation.
  • Execute ad-hoc financial and technical analysis to inform decision-making, including burn-rate analysis, milestone slippage modeling, and resource reallocation recommendations.
  • Coordinate with supply chain and manufacturing leads to monitor long-lead items, material availability, and supplier performance metrics that affect program schedule and cost.
  • Ensure compliance with organizational policies, industry standards, and applicable regulatory requirements (e.g., ITAR, DFARS, ISO processes) where relevant to program execution.
  • Mentor junior analysts: coach on program controls best practices, reporting templates, and analytical techniques to build team capability.
  • Facilitate stakeholder communications and customer-facing status updates; draft clear executive summaries and technical narratives that address customer concerns and highlight program value.
  • Implement continuous process improvements: identify inefficiencies in reporting, systems, or workflows and pilot automation or standardization to increase accuracy and reduce cycle time.
  • Support schedule compression and recovery planning during high-risk periods, developing multiple recovery scenarios and resource-loaded plans to accelerate delivery.
  • Maintain positive relationships with external partners and subcontractors; track subcontractor performance against milestones and escalate issues that jeopardize program objectives.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Program management and program controls: integrated master schedule (IMS) development, baseline management, and configuration control.
  • Earned Value Management (EVM) proficiency, including variance analysis (CPI, SPI), BCWP/BCWS/ACWP, and corrective action planning.
  • Budgeting and financial forecasting, including cost estimating, burn-rate modeling, and resource-loaded schedule development.
  • Advanced scheduling tools: Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, or equivalent.
  • Data visualization and reporting: Power BI, Tableau, Excel (advanced functions, pivot tables, Power Query).
  • Requirements and systems engineering tools: IBM DOORS, Jama, or equivalent requirements management platforms.
  • Issue, risk, and action item tracking tools: JIRA, Rally, or comparable ALM/PM tools.
  • SQL and/or scripting (Python, R, or VBA) for data extraction, transformation, and automated reporting.
  • Contract and subcontract management fundamentals: SOW interpretation, deliverable acceptance criteria, and claims/change order analysis.
  • Familiarity with Agile and traditional Waterfall development lifecycles and the ability to contextualize metrics across both.
  • Knowledge of regulatory/compliance frameworks relevant to defense/aerospace contracts (ITAR, DFARS) where applicable.
  • Technical writing and documentation: creating SOWs, status reports, executive summaries, and risk mitigation plans.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional communication: translate complex technical and financial data into concise executive briefings and customer-facing updates.
  • Strong analytical reasoning and structured problem-solving to identify root causes and recommend data-driven remediation.
  • Stakeholder management and influence: ability to build consensus across multi-disciplinary teams and external partners.
  • Attention to detail and rigor in maintaining audit-ready documentation and ensuring data integrity.
  • Time management and prioritization in a dynamic environment with competing deadlines.
  • Proactive ownership and accountability for program outcomes and deliverables.
  • Adaptability to shifting priorities and changing program scope while maintaining composure.
  • Mentorship and team development to uplift junior staff and improve team performance.
  • Collaborative mindset: excels in cross-functional teams and virtual work environments.
  • Negotiation and facilitation skills to resolve conflicts, manage vendor expectations, and close action items.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Systems Engineering, Finance, Project Management, Computer Science, or related technical/business discipline.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree (MBA, M.S. in Systems Engineering, or M.S. in Data Analytics) or relevant professional certification (PMP, PgMP, PMI-ACP, CSP).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Systems Engineering
  • Program/Project Management
  • Finance / Accounting / Business Administration
  • Computer Science / Data Analytics
  • Industrial Engineering / Operations Research

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–7 years of progressive program controls, program analysis, or systems engineering experience supporting technical programs.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of direct experience in program management or program controls for complex technical, defense, aerospace, or government-contracted programs.
  • Demonstrated experience with EVM-compliant programs, schedule risk analysis, and contractor oversight.
  • Prior exposure to contracts and procurement processes; experience supporting Integrated Baseline Reviews (IBR) and design reviews.
  • Active or eligible for security clearance (if the Xenon program is classified) is highly desirable.
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