Senior Director, Canada Defence — Client & Program (ESCPP)

Telesat (Nasdaq and TSX: TSAT) is a leading global satellite operator, providing reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications solutions worldwide to broadcast, telecommunications, corporate and government customers for over 55 years.  Backed by a legacy of engineering excellence, reliability and industry-leading customer service, Telesat has grown to be one of the largest and most successful global satellite operators.

Telesat Lightspeed, our revolutionary Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, scheduled to begin service in 2027, will revolutionize global broadband connectivity for enterprise and Government users by delivering a combination of high capacity, security, resiliency and affordability with ultra-low latency and fiber-like speeds. Telesat is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and has offices and facilities around the world.
 
The company’s state-of-the-art Satellite fleet consists of 12 GEO satellites, the Canadian payload on ViaSat-1 and one LEO 3 demonstration satellite.  For more information, follow Telesat on X and LinkedIn or visit www.telesat.com

We are looking for an exceptional Senior Director to be the single face of this program from Telesat to DND – owning the customer relationship and orchestrating delivery from build through to operational service. If you are energized by high-stakes defence programs, thrive at the intersection of customer, commercial and engineering, and want to help shape a nation’s strategic communications capability, this is a rare and career-defining role. This is as much a technical and program-delivery leadership role as it is a customer role: you will bring genuine engineering fluency and deep program management discipline to steer a complex, multi-segment space and ground system from build through to in-service operation.

Role Summary

The Senior Director oversees the development, initial deployment, and ongoing engagement over the entire life of the ESCP-P program (LEO Mil-Ka and MEO UHF/X-band). You will be the primary relationship owner and “one face” of the program to DND – accountable for customer trust, implementation progress, program health, and the seamless coordination of every Telesat function that touches the mission. In the initial program phase, to succeed, you must pair strong technical background with deep, hands-on program management experience: you will engage credibly with engineering and systems teams on architecture, conops, design, integration, test and acceptance, while engaging with the Program Delivery team to hold the program to rigorous schedule, cost, risk and quality discipline.

This is a matrixed leadership role: while you own the customer-facing program, you will work laterally across sales, engineering, product, network operations, security, supply chain, legal, finance and program management teams and Telesat’s strategic partner MDA Space to keep commitments on track. Success depends on influence, orchestration and executive presence as much as direct authority. It also demands real technical depth and program management rigor: you will be trusted to translate between the customer’s mission needs and Telesat’s engineering and delivery teams, interrogate technical trade-offs, and keep a large, multi-year build predictable and auditable.

 

Key Responsibilities

• Own the customer relationship – serve as the single, trusted point of contact and “one face” of Telesat to DND, building durable, credible relationships across the customer’s program, technical and executive stakeholders.
 
• Lead end-to-end program engagement – oversee the development, initial deployment, and ongoing service engagement across the full ESCP-P lifecycle from initial service access to full operational capability, spanning LEO Mil-Ka and MEO UHF/X-band capabilities.
 
• Orchestrate across a matrixed organization – coordinating with Program Delivery, align and drive contributions from engineering, network operations, product, security, supply chain, legal, finance and Go To Market.
 
• Govern program health – in conjunction with Program Delivery, manage scope, schedule, cost, risk and quality against contractual commitments; establish the cadence, governance and reporting that keep the program predictable and on track.
 
• Co-ordinate technical program leadership – bring an engineering-literate perspective to engage the technical teams with customer expectations regarding system design, integration, verification and acceptance across the LEO Mil-Ka and MEO UHF/X-band portions of the program, working with Program Delivery to ensure technical trade-offs, dependencies and risks are well understood and soundly managed.
 
• Apply deep program management rigor – working with Program Delivery, deploy proven program management methods (integrated master schedule, earned-value/cost control, risk and dependency management, and formal milestone/gate reviews) to keep a complex, multi-year build disciplined, transparent and auditable.
 
• Translate mission needs into delivery – ensure customer requirements, timelines and mission priorities are clearly understood internally and reflected in system and product specifications and operational roadmaps and procedures.
 
• Lead the joint governance – represent Telesat in the DND / Telesat Joint program management office and associated working groups, driving decisions, resolving issues and escalating effectively.
 
• Protect commercial and contractual outcomes – partner with commercial, legal and finance teams to safeguard revenue, manage change, and ensure obligations are met with full compliance and transparency.
 
• Champion assurance and security – working with Program Delivery and engineering teams, uphold the security, sovereignty and mission-assurance standards expected of a defence program of national importance.

Ideal Candidate Requirements

You are a seasoned program and customer leader who has carried the trust of major clients on complex, high-value programs. You combine that a solid technical background and deep, demonstrable program management experience on large, technically demanding programs. Specifically, you bring:

• Large customer / account leadership background – a proven track record managing major, complex customer relationships and large-scale programs, ideally as the senior accountable interface to the client.
 
• Large technical program experience - a solid grounding in complex engineering programs (ideally satellite, space, telecommunications, networks or systems integration), with the ability to engage credibly with engineering teams on architecture, integration, test and acceptance, and to challenge, interpret and communicate technical detail. Extensive, hands-on experience directing large, multi-year technical programs, with mastery of integrated scheduling, earned-value/cost control, risk and dependency management, and formal milestone/gate governance; recognized program management credentials (e.g., PMP or equivalent) are a strong asset
 
• Canadian defence experience – direct experience working with the Canadian defence community (DND / CAF and related agencies), with a strong understanding of how defence programs are governed, delivered and assured.
 
• Government of Canada Secret Security clearance – you currently hold, or are eligible to obtain, a Secret-level security clearance.
 
• Ottawa-based – located in (or willing to relocate to) the Ottawa, Ontario area to enable close, on-site engagement with the customer and Telesat leadership.
 
• Matrixed leadership ability – demonstrated success leading and delivering through influence in a highly matrixed organization, aligning diverse technical and commercial teams toward shared outcomes.
 
• Executive presence & communication – exceptional stakeholder management, negotiation and communication skills, comfortable operating from the boardroom to the technical working group.
 
• Program discipline – strong command of program governance, risk, schedule and financial management on large, multi-year engagements. You are comfortable with an integrated master schedule and earned-value reporting, and leading technically complex delivery to plan.
 
• Preferred – background in satellite, telecommunications or a related technology domain, and familiarity with defence procurement, ITB and program delivery frameworks.

Why Join Us

• Take the lead on one of Canada’s most strategically significant defence communications programs with visible national impact.
• Own the customer relationship end-to-end and shape how a next-generation LEO network is delivered into service.
• Work at the forefront of Telesat Lightspeed, a global-first LEO constellation, alongside world-class engineering and commercial teams.
• Apply and deepen your technical expertise and program management craft at the leading edge of space systems engineering and large-scale defence program delivery.
• A senior director-level platform with executive visibility, meaningful autonomy, and the opportunity to build and grow a program franchise.