Program Manager - Teleport & Uplink Infrastructure

Company Profile  

At Sand Cherry Associates, we excel in the design and delivery of strategic customer-centric initiatives through digitally native, data-empowered solutions.  Our client’s confidence in us is centered on exceptionally skilled, high-energy talent working with the support of the full Sand Cherry team.  Finding the right match for this role is a critical aspect of continuing that success.   

Overview

We're seeking an experienced Program or Project Manager to lead the planning, coordination, and execution of satellite teleport and uplink infrastructure projects across company-owned facilities and third-party sites. This role will manage infrastructure deployments, upgrades, and modifications, including antenna installations, uplink systems, and supporting ground infrastructure. The ideal candidate brings strong project management fundamentals, demonstrated experience delivering complex infrastructure projects, and previous experience with satellite ground infrastructure, teleport operations, uplink systems, or antenna deployments. The Project Manager will coordinate internal engineering and operations teams while overseeing third-party vendors and contractors responsible for construction, equipment installation, integration, and testing. Success requires strong execution, vendor management, financial oversight, and the ability to manage multiple workstreams, schedules, risks, and dependencies. This is a remote role working EST hours. Minimal travel may be required. All qualified candidates MUST be authorized to work in the United States without requiring visa sponsorship or visa transfers. Please note that we do not work C2C.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end project planning and execution of teleport and uplink infrastructure projects across company-owned and third-party facilities.
• Develop and manage comprehensive project plans, including scope, schedules, milestones, budgets, resource requirements, dependencies, and deliverables.
• Establish and maintain project governance, roles and responsibilities, stakeholder communications, and reporting cadences.
• Develop and maintain project schedules, critical paths, work breakdown structures, RAID logs, action trackers, and project documentation.
• Manage project budgets, forecasts, expenditures, purchase orders, change requests, and financial reporting.
• Coordinate internal engineering, teleport operations, network operations, facilities, procurement, and other technical teams to align requirements, resources, and implementation activities.
• Manage third-party vendors and contractors responsible for antenna construction, civil works, equipment procurement, installation, cabling, integration, and related infrastructure activities.
• Oversee vendor scopes of work, schedules, deliverables, performance, contractual commitments, and acceptance criteria.
• Coordinate site surveys, technical assessments, site readiness, permitting, construction, equipment delivery, installation, testing, commissioning, and operational handover.
• Track procurement activities, equipment manufacturing lead times, logistics, and installation dependencies to identify and mitigate schedule risks.
• Facilitate coordination among RF engineering, teleport operations, network engineering, and external implementation partners to resolve technical dependencies and implementation challenges.
• Proactively identify, track, escalate, and resolve project risks, issues, decisions, and dependencies to maintain project momentum.
• Manage project scope changes, assess schedule and budget impacts, and coordinate approvals through established change control processes.
• Coordinate installation testing, system integration, acceptance testing, and operational readiness with engineering and operations teams.
• Prepare and deliver project status reports, executive presentations, financial updates, and milestone reporting.
• Ensure project activities comply with applicable safety, site access, regulatory, and operational requirements.
• Manage multiple concurrent infrastructure projects while maintaining alignment with broader business and program priorities.

• Minimum of 5-7+ years of demonstrated project management experience delivering telecommunications, satellite communications, engineering, construction, or complex physical infrastructure projects.
• Strong command of project management fundamentals, including scope management, schedule development, critical path analysis, budget management, resource planning, risk management, change control, stakeholder management, and project reporting.
• Previous experience managing physical infrastructure deployments, equipment installations, construction activities, and third-party implementation vendors.
• Demonstrated experience managing outsourced construction and installation work, including vendor coordination, deliverable tracking, schedule accountability, and issue resolution.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional technical teams and manage multiple concurrent projects from initiation through completion and operational handover.
• Experience developing and maintaining detailed project schedules, RAID logs, budgets, forecasts, executive status reports, and other project management deliverables.
• Strong financial management capabilities, including budget tracking, forecasting, vendor expenditures, and change management.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project, Excel, PowerPoint, and project tracking and reporting tools.
• Strong organizational, communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to work independently, drive accountability, and proactively identify and resolve project challenges.

• Previous project management experience supporting satellite teleport facilities, uplink infrastructure, satellite ground systems, earth stations, or antenna installations.
• Experience coordinating satellite antenna construction, installation, replacement, relocation, or infrastructure upgrades.
• Working knowledge of RF infrastructure, uplink systems, satellite communications equipment, and associated ground infrastructure.
• Experience managing projects across company-owned facilities and third-party infrastructure sites.
• Familiarity with satellite infrastructure regulatory requirements, FCC requirements, or spectrum clearing initiatives.

• Remote position requiring availability primarily during Eastern Time business hours.
• Flexibility to work outside normal business hours as needed to support site activities, equipment installations, testing, commissioning, and operational cutovers.
• Travel to teleport facilities, third-party sites, or vendor locations may be required.
• Successful completion of a background check, subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Telecommunications, Construction Management, Business, or related field preferred.
• PMP certification preferred.
• Relevant satellite communications, RF infrastructure, or telecommunications certifications a plus.

Compensation

Sand Cherry Associates is required by Colorado law to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This compensation range considers a wide range of factors considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and delivery model. This is a long-term consulting opportunity with an annual salary range of $100,000-$150,000. Years of experience, level of education, geographic location, unique skills/qualifications for the specific role and potential certifications can be key factors in the final compensation for this role.

Our team is unique — we are passionate about what we do. At Sand Cherry, our Consultants know they are impacting and shaping our clients’ industries. We recognize our employees for their contributions. Our culture is one of the most friendly and communicative in the consulting industry. Sand Cherry is not a top-heavy organization. We offer the opportunity to be part of a digital workforce. Discover the experience that only comes with self-responsibility in the workplace. Our team members manage their own workloads and are expected to deliver exceptional work for our clients. Professional career growth is one of our main priorities, as we affirm that investing in our Consultants and empowering our people will also deliver the best results and value for our clients.