ME Ucal
Senior Technical Program Manager · Los Angeles, CA

Mehmet Ekrem Ucal

15+ years shipping mission-critical systems — from the Zumwalt-class destroyer and AEHF satellite payload to $10M+ cloud programs for federal clients.

Clearance TS / SCI
Experience 15+ Years
MBA Duke Fuqua
MS EE USC Viterbi
Connect on LinkedIn Email
Portrait of Mehmet Ekrem Ucal
ROLESr. Technical Program Manager
ORGBooz Allen Hamilton
LOCLos Angeles, CA
// 01

Profile

Accomplished IT Leader with over 15 years directing top-performing teams and delivering IT initiatives across defense, aerospace, federal civilian, and enterprise SaaS — from writing technical requirements for the DDG-1000 Zumwalt destroyer and simulating the AEHF satellite uplink at Northrop Grumman, to running a 25-FTE, $10M+ cloud implementation at Booz Allen today. Credible history of leading all phases of the Software Development Life Cycle while managing agile teams and administering on-premise to cloud migrations on AWS and Azure.

Comprehensive expertise in establishing standardized processes, performance metrics, and SaaS architecture — conveying complex technical information to build consensus with key project stakeholders. Articulate communicator leveraging technical and business acumen to foster relationships with clients, executives, and teams.

// 02

Experience

2020 — Now
Booz Allen Hamilton
Senior Technical Program Manager
Los Angeles, CA
  • Leading the implementation of a cloud-based software application with a team of 25 FTEs and an annual budget of $10M+. Serving as Product Owner — responsible for product roadmap / backlog, functional requirements, system design, training, change management, and team operating procedures.
  • Developed and manage the annual budget, integrated master schedule, risk register, and system integration activities. Brief executive-level clients weekly, monthly, and quarterly on multiple Information Technology programs.
2020
Maxar Technologies
Technical Program Manager
Washington, DC
  • Supported strategy development and program management for a government agency focused on closing technology gaps in AI / ML.
  • Led outreach and partnership engagement with commercial vendors, FFRDCs, and UARCs — including formal agreements and technology transition efforts on behalf of the agency.
2017 — 2020
Opexus
Technical Program Manager
Gaithersburg, MD
  • Oversaw multiple project teams and led strategy, planning, and implementation of 20+ SaaS projects with a combined value of $10M+.
  • Administered agile projects end-to-end: contract & SOW compliance, customer discovery, resource delegation, schedule / risk management, and acting as the primary liaison between customer and company.
  • Led hybrid on-premise-to-cloud migrations utilizing Microsoft Azure and AWS, partnering with marketing, sales, finance, support, development, and QA teams.
  • Led the design, development, and implementation of the EEOC Public Portal (publicportal.eeoc.gov) — enabling nationwide online submission of discrimination inquiries, intake scheduling, and charge filing.
2013 — 2016
Deloitte Consulting
Senior Technology Consultant · Systems Integration
Arlington, VA
  • For USPS IT: audited existing incident-management capabilities, identified gaps, defined process improvements, piloted, and rolled out changes to the USPS Incident Management Framework.
  • Managed the integrated master schedule and risk register and implemented business and technical requirements for execution of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 on behalf of the VA Enterprise PMO.
  • Provided program management, engagement, schedule, resource, and sustainment / cost-containment analyses across VA Office of Information & Technology programs and systems.
  • For IRS Program Strategy & Integration: developed and implemented the IBM Rational Tool Suite integration strategy to standardize tool usage across Affordable Care Act projects.
2008 — 2013
Lockheed Martin · Corporate Technology & Innovation
Technology Transition Manager · Senior Systems Engineer
Bethesda, MD
  • Authored the Integrated Master Schedule Development and Management section of the Littoral Combat Ship proposal, contributing to capture of a 5-year, $440M contract.
  • As Senior Systems Engineer on the DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer: identified, analyzed, and implemented a new system architecture and requirements set for the alert-management capability — reducing program requirements by ~400 and avoiding ~$500K in cost.
  • Led the technology transition for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's cost & complexity reduction algorithm for networked control systems, capturing $400K in Office of Naval Research funding.
  • Spearheaded technology transition for Eureka Streams, the open-source enterprise social platform, and developed the supporting business case.
  • Assistant manager of the Innovate the Future program, identifying and evaluating ideas with potential for dramatic growth for Lockheed Martin.
  • Created DOORS modules for requirements development — authoring 800+ system and software-level requirements and architectural diagrams for the Intelligent System Manager IRAD project.
2008
NASA White Sands Test Facility
Communication Systems Research Scientist
White Sands, NM
  • Designed software applications for ingesting and processing novel data types in a classified R&D environment.
  • Authored a technical tutorial covering advanced scientific principles and their applications.
2005 — 2007
Northrop Grumman · Aerospace Systems
Communication Systems Engineer
Redondo Beach, CA · Baltimore, MD
  • Performed uplink simulations and error-estimation analyses in Matlab for the modulation modes used in the communication payload of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite system.
// 03

Education

2013
Duke University
Fuqua School of Business
Master of Business Administration
Completed MBA concurrent with full-time employment. Academic residencies across six global metropolitan zones. GPA 3.7
2008
USC
Viterbi School of Engineering
M.S. Electrical Engineering · Communications
Awarded the School of Engineering Dean's Fellowship for superior academic record and demonstrated research. GPA 3.6
2006
Maryland
A. James Clark School of Engineering
B.S. Electrical Engineering
Magna Cum Laude — ranked 5th in the graduating class of Electrical & Computer Engineering. GPA 3.9
// 04

Credentials

Certifications

  • PMP
    Project Management Professional
    Project Management Institute
  • AWS SAA
    Certified Solutions Architect — Associate
    Amazon Web Services
  • AWS CCP
    Certified Cloud Practitioner
    Amazon Web Services
  • CSPO
    Certified Scrum Product Owner
    Scrum Alliance
  • CSM
    Certified Scrum Master
    Scrum Alliance
  • ITIL 4
    Foundation in IT Service Management
    Axelos

Skills & Tools

Program & Delivery
Agile / Scrum SAFe Roadmapping Risk Management Integrated Master Schedule Requirements Engineering Change Management Capture & Proposals
Engineering
C C++ Matlab Pspice LabView Pro/Engineer Rational Rose DOORS
Cloud & Collaboration
AWS Microsoft Azure JIRA Azure DevOps SharePoint Confluence MS Project Visio
// CONTACT

Building something that matters?

I'm particularly interested in technical program roles at companies working on defense, aerospace, and national-security technology. Reach out and let's talk.

Connect on LinkedIn → Email