5G Project Manager

Systems Engineering Services is seeking a 5G Project Manager based in the Fayetville NC area to work at Fort Bragg Military base.

5G Implementation Project Manager – Federal/DoD
Location: Hybrid – periodic onsite support required at Fort Bragg, NC
Clearance: Active Secret clearance required
Employment Type: Contract / Consulting
Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced Project Manager with 5G, wireless, telecommunications, or private network implementation experience to lead the delivery of a complex technology deployment supporting a U.S. Department of Defense environment.
The Project Manager does not need to be a hands-on 5G engineer but must have enough technical understanding of 5G network implementations and supporting infrastructure to effectively manage technical teams, communicate with engineers and customer stakeholders, understand dependencies and risks, and drive the project through completion.
This person must be comfortable operating independently, leading customer and technical meetings, managing schedules and deliverables, coordinating multiple technical workstreams, identifying and escalating risks, and maintaining accountability across the project.
The successful candidate will be someone who can take ownership of the engagement and run the project with limited day-to-day supervision.
Key Responsibilities

• Lead the planning and execution of a private 5G / wireless network implementation within a federal or DoD environment.
• Develop, maintain, and manage the integrated project schedule, milestones, dependencies, deliverables, and critical path.
• Lead recurring project meetings, technical coordination meetings, status reviews, and customer discussions.
• Coordinate activities across engineering, networking, wireless/5G, infrastructure, cybersecurity, testing, deployment, and customer teams.
• Establish clear action items, owners, due dates, and follow-up processes to ensure commitments are completed.
• Monitor project status and proactively identify schedule, technical, resource, and dependency risks.
• Maintain project risk, issue, action, and decision tracking and drive issues to resolution.
• Communicate project status, risks, dependencies, and decisions clearly to both technical teams and management.
• Work closely with 5G engineers and technical architects without needing to perform detailed engineering activities personally.
• Coordinate onsite deployment and integration activities at Fort Bragg as required.
• Support planning around installation, integration, interoperability testing, system acceptance, cybersecurity, and operational readiness activities.
• Coordinate with cybersecurity and technical teams where project activities intersect with RMF / Authorization to Operate (ATO) requirements.
• Manage customer expectations and ensure technical and program teams remain aligned on scope, schedule, priorities, and deliverables.
• Operate independently and take ownership of project execution from planning through deployment and completion.

Required Experience

• Strong experience managing complex technical infrastructure, telecommunications, wireless, networking, or 5G implementation projects.
• Demonstrated understanding of the overall architecture and lifecycle of a 5G or private wireless network implementation.
• Ability to communicate effectively with 5G, network, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and systems engineering teams.
• Experience developing and managing detailed project schedules with multiple technical workstreams and dependencies.
• Demonstrated experience independently running projects, leading meetings, driving action items, and holding teams accountable for deliverables.
• Strong risk, issue, dependency, and change management experience.
• Experience working directly with customers and senior stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to translate technical discussions into project actions, risks, dependencies, and decisions.
• Ability and willingness to travel to / work onsite at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as required.
• Active U.S. Government Secret clearance.

Preferred Experience

• Previous experience delivering 5G Standalone (5G SA), private 5G, private LTE, or wireless network deployments.
• Familiarity with 5G concepts including:
  • Radio Access Network (RAN)
  • 5G Core
  • RU / DU / CU architecture
  • Open RAN / O-RAN
  • Edge computing
  • Network orchestration
  • Device onboarding and interoperability testing
• Experience managing technology deployments within DoD or other federal government environments.
• Familiarity with federal cybersecurity requirements including RMF and Authorization to Operate (ATO).
• Understanding of how cybersecurity, testing, system integration, and accreditation activities affect technical implementation schedules.
• Experience working with systems deployed in secure, disconnected, tactical-edge, or restricted-access environments.
• Experience coordinating hardware, software, network, cybersecurity, and field-deployment teams.
• PMP or similar project/program management certification is preferred but not required.

Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is not simply a general IT Project Manager.
We are looking for someone who has managed technically complex network or telecommunications implementations and understands enough about 5G and private wireless deployments to effectively lead engineers, ask the right questions, recognize dependencies and risks, and communicate confidently with both technical teams and government stakeholders.
This person should be capable of stepping into the engagement, establishing structure, running meetings, managing the schedule, driving decisions and action items, and independently keeping the overall implementation moving forward.

Jake Lutman

Technical Recruiter

Systems Engineering Services