Business Operations Administrator - Travel and Training

Peraton provides management and technical support for NASA’s scientific balloon program which supports enabling science missions for NASA and universities across the United States and foreign scientific communities. Scientific balloon missions provide researchers with inexpensive, relatively quick, long duration access to near space altitudes and environments. Balloon missions cost orders of magnitude less than satellite missions and provide platforms for heavy experiments (some greater than 5000-lbs) to operate for weeks and even months. Balloon missions have provided significant science theories and discoveries about cosmic rays, gamma ray and x-ray astronomy, optical and UV astronomy, atmospheric sciences, and cosmic microwave background studies.

Our staff are located at the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) in Palestine, TX where we design, analyze, build and assemble the support hardware and balloon gondola payloads for the missions. We launch the balloons from locations within the United States (Texas, New Mexico, and Hawaii) and around the world including Antarctica, Sweden, New Zealand, and Australia. Our engineers and technician staff support the launches, the balloon and payload recoveries in the US and many worldwide locations. Peraton’s NASA Balloon Operations Contract (NBOC) program is seeking a Travel, Training and Expense Administrator to join our team in Palestine, Texas.

Our rural campus offers the ability to work in a low-cost of living area, but within an easy drive of Tyler, Dallas and Houston.    

Responsibilities of the Position:

• Review employee travel authorizations, travel vouchers, expense reports, and training requests for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with Peraton policies, government regulations (FAR, JTR, FTR), and contract‑specific requirements.
• Validate supporting documentation, including receipts, agenda materials, and cost estimates.
• Ensure proper cost allocations, charge codes, and per diem rates are applied in accordance with contract guidelines.
• Communicate with employees, managers, and project teams to resolve discrepancies and provide policy guidance.
• Monitor and track travel and training workflows to ensure timely processing and approval.
• Maintain accurate records to support audit readiness.
• Partner with Finance, HR, Program Management, and Business Operations teams to support travel compliance and training approvals.
• Identify recurring issues and recommend process improvements.
• Support training initiatives on travel and expense procedures.

Characteristics for Success:

• High level of integrity and commitment to compliance.
• Customer‑focused communication style with the ability to collaborate across teams.
• Analytical mindset and strong problem‑solving skills.
• Organized, self‑directed, and able to manage multiple priorities.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree with two years of experience, in lieu of degree high school diploma and 6 years of experience
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to analyze financial documentation.
• Experience with travel and expense systems (e.g., Concur, Deltek, SAP).
• Ability to interpret and apply federal travel regulations (FAR, FTR, JTR).
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools.
• Must be a US Citizen and able to obtain a NASA PIV badge

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Concur World travel experience
• Internal Controls / Cost Accounting Standards Awareness Training (Peraton Corporate requirement).
• Experience supporting government contracts or defense/aerospace programs.
• Previous audit, compliance, or financial review experience.
• Deltek Costpoint Travel & Expense administration.
• Government Contract Compliance or FAR Fundamentals coursework.