Exercise Planner / Project Manager

🌏 Be the connective tissue between strategy and execution in one of the world's most important operational theaters. 🔗

SOSi is seeking a self-driven Project Manager / Exercise Planner to lead end-to-end mission support across Japan and the Western Pacific. Working directly with senior military and coalition leadership, you'll manage critical requirements, coordinate regional operations, and ensure every mission delivers measurable impact from intake through closeout.

Essential Job DutiesTheater Liaison and Account Leadership

• Serve as the primary point of contact for USFJ, USARJ, and CNFJ: maintain the relationship with each component's government representative, forecast upcoming contract demand, and help customers submit complete requirements (scope, need date, site POC, and funding).
• Serve as the in-country liaison for PACOM J698, supporting leadership travel, partner engagements, and VIP visits in Japan.
• Engage service component headquarters and coalition partners in Japan and Korea to identify partner-specific requirements, security constraints, and policy limitations affecting contract capability delivery.
• Advise branch and government leadership on component and partner initiatives that align with or diverge from contract strategy and anticipate future requirements arising from theater plans and exercises.

In-Theater Execution

• Coordinate with field service engineers (FSEs) in Japan on in-theater tasks, site access, and scheduling, and help deconflict FSE workload across projects and exercises.
• Plan and coordinate site surveys, installations, decommissions, and sustainment actions for assigned requirements, and support other project managers' in-theater needs.
• Coordinate with host-nation facilities, base communications offices, and local vendors to resolve access, scheduling, and logistics issues.
• Manage schedule, risks, and dependencies for assigned requirements; communicate blockers to the Branch Chief and affected project managers within one business day.

Exercise Support

• Plan and coordinate contract support to theater exercises executed in Japan (e.g., Keen Sword, Yama Sakura) in line with the program's exercise support plan.
• Participate in in-theater planning events, site surveys, and technical exchanges; support on-site execution and provide after-action input.
• Identify gaps in plans or exercises where contract support is or may be needed.

Reporting and Briefing

• Remain fully informed on all contract efforts in Japan, so as to brief component government representatives and program leadership on current status at any time.
• Keep status, dates, and site details current in the program's system of record (ServiceNow) for all in-theater work.
• Submit weekly activity input to the branch Weekly Activity Report and brief Japan status at the branch sync.

Key Working Relationships

• Program Support Branch Chief (supervisor) and branch Deputy.
• Program project managers and exercise planners supporting requirements in the Western Pacific.
• Government representatives at USFJ, USARJ, CNFJ, and PACOM J698.
• Contract field service engineers in Japan, and engineering and SOC teams in Hawaii.

Minimum Requirements

• Active TOP SECRET clearance with SCI eligibility.
• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or a related field; or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 10 years of IT, communications, or cyber experience, including at least 5 years in a joint, coalition, or OCONUS military environment.
• PMP certification, or ability to obtain it within six months of hire.
• Resides in Japan with authorization to work there, or able to relocate and obtain the required status before start date.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating field technicians or engineers across multiple sites.
• Experience working with or for DoD organizations or in a DoD contracting environment.
• Working knowledge of project management, systems engineering, and IT lifecycle practices.
• Able to brief senior military officers and government civilians clearly, verbally and in writing.
• Able to work independently, with limited oversight, away from the Hawaii program office.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional working proficiency in Japanese.
• Prior assignment or contract experience with USFJ, USARJ, CNFJ, 5th Air Force, or III MEF.
• Military background in signal, communications, or cyber operations.
• Experience with coalition networks and bilateral U.S.-Japan exercises.
• CAPM; CompTIA Security+ or higher; familiarity with ServiceNow or a similar ITSM platform.

Work Environment:

• Fast-paced office environment on U.S. installations in Japan, with regular work at customer and partner sites.
• Requires non-traditional hours to overlap with the Hawaii program office, and extended hours, nights, or weekends during exercise execution.
• Regular travel within Japan; periodic travel to Korea, Okinawa, and Hawaii.

Working at SOSi:

All interested individuals will receive consideration and will not be discriminated against for any reason.