Program Manager

Position Summary

The Program Manager leads multiple aerospace and commercial new product introduction (NPI) programs and serves as the primary point of contact for assigned customers in a CNC precision manufacturing environment. This role owns program scope, launch schedules, budgets, risks, and customer communication from contract award through first article approval, production ramp-up, and transfer to operations.

The Program Manager coordinates engineering, quality, production, supply chain, sales, and finance to deliver conforming products on time and achieve program financial targets.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage concurrent launch programs across multiple customers, part numbers, and development stages. Maintain an integrated view of milestones, resource needs, dependencies, and commitments.
• Lead customer kickoffs and recurring program reviews. Communicate progress, risks, recovery plans, and decisions clearly; document commitments and close open actions.
• Build and maintain launch plans covering material procurement, CNC programming, tooling and fixtures, process development, outside processing, inspection, first article submission, and production release.
• Lead internal program reviews with defined owners and due dates. Resolve competing priorities with department leaders and escalate capacity, cost, quality, or delivery risks early.
• Support quoting, manufacturing feasibility, and contract review. Confirm that technical requirements, quality clauses, delivery schedules, assumptions, and acceptance criteria are understood and included in the launch plan.
• Coordinate manufacturing readiness with engineering and operations, including process routings, work instructions, machine and labor capacity, tooling, inspection resources, and achievable cycle times.
• Partner with quality to complete required AS9102 first article inspections (FAI) and obtain customer approvals. Coordinate advanced product quality planning (APQP) and production part approval process (PPAP) deliverables under AS9145 when required by the customer or contract.
• Track long-lead materials, supplier commitments, and approved outside processes such as heat treatment, coating, and nondestructive testing. Drive recovery actions when supplier performance threatens a launch.
• Maintain program budgets and forecasts for tooling, nonrecurring engineering, development labor, scrap, rework, and outside services. Explain variances, protect program margins, and track contractual billing milestones and recovery of agreed tooling and engineering charges.
• Control changes to scope, drawings, specifications, quantities, and delivery requirements. Assess cost and schedule impacts and secure appropriate internal and customer approvals before implementation.
• Lead resolution of launch issues through cross-functional action plans. Coordinate customer responses while engineering and quality retain technical approval and product release authority.
• Complete a documented handoff to operations with approved processes, required customer acceptance, demonstrated production capacity, current documentation, and clear ownership of remaining actions. Capture lessons learned to improve future launches.

Required Qualifications

• Five or more years of relevant experience in manufacturing program management, project management, or new product introduction, including management of simultaneous programs and customer relationships.
• Experience in aerospace precision machining or a closely related manufacturing environment with demanding quality and traceability requirements.
• Working knowledge of CNC milling and turning, tooling and fixturing, manufacturing routings, and inspection methods; ability to interpret engineering drawings and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T).
• Familiarity with AS9100 quality systems, AS9102 first article requirements, configuration control, material traceability, and customer quality requirements.
• Ability to build schedules, identify critical paths, manage risk, analyze costs, and influence cross-functional teams without direct reporting authority.
• Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems, Excel, and project scheduling tools, with strong written communication, meeting leadership, and follow-through.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of relevant technical training and demonstrated manufacturing leadership experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience launching complex machined aerospace components for OEM or Tier 1 customers, including multi-axis machining and difficult-to-machine materials.
• Experience with APQP, PPAP, process failure mode and effects analysis (PFMEA), control plans, and process capability reviews.
• PMP certification or equivalent program management training; practical experience applying Lean methods to launch execution.

*Relocation assistance available