Principal Program Manager

Job Summary

The Principal Program Manager is responsible for ensuring successful execution of a portfolio of programs across the full lifecycle, including transition from development into low-rate initial production (LRIP), production, delivery, and sustainment. This role provides leadership in program execution, customer engagement, and continuous improvement.

Job Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of defense programs as a prime or subcontractor to domestic or foreign military organizations, across the full lifecycle, including development transition, low-rate initial production, production, delivery, and sustainment
• Direct daily execution of multiple programs in accordance with contract requirements to achieve cost, schedule, technical, quality, and delivery objectives
• Provide portfolio-level oversight of program performance, including financial results, execution health, customer commitments, risks, and recovery actions
• Monitor program status against established milestones and communicate performance, variances, risks, and corrective actions to management and key stakeholders
• Develop and implement recovery plans for at-risk programs, addressing schedule, technical, quality, production, supply chain, and delivery challenges
• Partner closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Contracts, and Business Development to resolve cross-functional issues and improve program outcomes
• Ensure successful transition from development into low-rate initial production and full production, including production readiness, material readiness, build execution, delivery performance, and risk reduction
• Lead coordination of engineering changes, configuration updates, corrective actions, and other actions required to maintain program execution and production performance
• Conduct program and portfolio reviews focused on financial performance, operational execution, trends, root cause analysis, corrective actions, delivery commitments, and continuous improvement opportunities
• Support business growth through bid and proposal activities, strong customer engagement, identification of follow-on opportunities, and effective management of revenue, margin, cash flow, and forecasts across the portfolio

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10+ years of program management experience, with significant experience supporting production programs in aerospace, defense, or a complex manufacturing environment
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience; degree in Engineering, Finance, Supply Chain, Business, or a related field preferred
• Experience leading programs across the full lifecycle, including proposal development, contract award, development transition, low-rate initial production, production, delivery, and sustainment
• Experience providing portfolio-level oversight across multiple programs and leading execution within a business area, program office, or functional organization
• Strong knowledge of program management tools, processes, procedures, governance, and performance management practices
• Experience with earned value cost accounting and reporting, program metrics, forecasting, productivity analysis, and schedule/cost variance analysis
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams across Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Contracts, and Business Development
• Working knowledge of MRP/ERP systems, material planning, bills of material, production scheduling, inventory management, and supply chain execution
• Experience in production and manufacturing environments, including manpower planning, build execution, delivery management, issue resolution, and recovery of at-risk programs
• Strong leadership, coaching, mentoring, communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of DoD contracting requirements and FAR procurement regulations
• Experience managing programs as a prime contractor and/or subcontractor for domestic or foreign military customers
• Experience supporting transition from development into low-rate initial production and full-rate production
• Experience in electro-mechanical assembly operations or other complex defense manufacturing environments
• Experience improving production performance through yield improvement, throughput improvement, rework reduction, and production flow optimization
• Experience implementing engineering changes and configuration updates in a production environment
• Experience influencing inventory strategy, material readiness, and supply chain performance to support production schedules and delivery commitments
• Experience leading structured root cause analysis, corrective action, and execution recovery efforts for underperforming programs
• Knowledge of continuous improvement methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma, or related operational excellence disciplines
• Program Management certification preferred, such as PMP or DAU
• Active DOD security clearance preferred