Project Scheduler

Location: Onsite at Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, IL (limited telework may be authorized)

Employment Type: Contract-to-Hire / Right to Hire

Contract Compensation: up to $38/hour W-2

Conversion Salary: up to $90,000 base salary

Clearance: Active Secret Clearance required

Certification: Active DoD 8140-compliant certification required (Security+, A+, SSCP, or qualifying equivalent, subject to position requirements)

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Project Planner and Quality Assurance Specialist to support a mission-critical Department of Defense (DoD) cybersecurity program at Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, IL.

This role focuses on developing and maintaining integrated project schedules, coordinating activities across technical and operational teams, monitoring project performance, and ensuring the quality and timely completion of program deliverables.

The ideal candidate brings strong project scheduling and program management experience, an understanding of critical path analysis, and the ability to coordinate multiple workstreams in a structured federal environment. You'll work closely with Government and contractor stakeholders supporting cybersecurity initiatives, including Risk Management Framework (RMF), assurance operations, system scanning, Zero Trust, and DevSecOps.

The position also involves using authorized automation and AI-assisted productivity tools to improve project tracking, reporting, and quality assurance while maintaining appropriate human oversight.

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and manage integrated master project schedules covering the full project lifecycle.

• Coordinate scheduling activities across program management, engineering, operations, and cybersecurity teams.

• Establish and track project milestones, dependencies, critical paths, and deliverable deadlines.

• Perform schedule analysis, assess project risks, identify potential delays, and recommend corrective actions.

• Support the Program Management Office (PMO) by maintaining Microsoft Teams Planner, task tracking, status updates, and project documentation.

• Develop and maintain project dashboards, schedule-performance metrics, and leadership status reports.

• Coordinate with Government and contractor stakeholders to monitor workloads, resource availability, and competing priorities.

• Track action items, approval packages, checklists, and deliverables through completion and review.

• Review contract deliverables for quality, accuracy, completeness, consistency, and compliance with established requirements.

• Identify and resolve scheduling conflicts, documentation discrepancies, and project coordination issues.

• Prepare supporting materials for program reviews, schedule audits, and management briefings.

• Use approved AI and automation tools to assist with reporting, task management, documentation reviews, and workflow improvements.

• Independently validate AI-generated outputs for accuracy, completeness, relevance, and security before use.

• Support continuous improvement of project planning, quality assurance, and program management processes.

Required Skills & Experience

• Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining integrated project schedules across multiple technical or operational workstreams.

• Strong understanding of project scheduling methodologies, including critical path method (CPM), milestones, dependencies, and schedule-risk analysis.

• Experience with program and project management principles, practices, and reporting.

• Experience coordinating activities across multidisciplinary teams and managing competing project priorities.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, Planner, or comparable project management and task-tracking applications.

• Experience reviewing project documentation or deliverables for accuracy, completeness, and adherence to requirements.

• Ability to use authorized AI-assisted productivity tools responsibly and validate their outputs.

• Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and time-management skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across technical teams, management, and stakeholders.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Computer Engineering, Project Management, or a related field. Relevant professional experience may be substituted for the degree.

• Current DoD 8140-compliant certification appropriate to the position, such as CompTIA Security+, CompTIA A+, SSCP, or a qualifying equivalent.

• Active Secret security clearance.

• Ability to work onsite at Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, Illinois.

Nice to Have (Not Required)

• Experience supporting DoD, federal government, or other regulated programs.

• Familiarity with cybersecurity program activities such as RMF, Authority to Operate (ATO), vulnerability scanning, Zero Trust, or DevSecOps.

• Experience supporting integrated master schedules for complex cybersecurity or IT programs.

• Familiarity with workflow automation and tools used to streamline project tracking and reporting.

• Experience developing project dashboards, data visualizations, or advanced schedule-performance reports.

• Experience using AI-assisted productivity tools to improve documentation, status reporting, or quality-control workflows.

• Familiarity with federal program reviews, compliance documentation, or deliverable approval processes.