Program Manager

About the role

The Program Manager plans, coordinates, and oversees multiple related engineering and manufacturing projects to ensure they are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned with organizational objectives. This role serves as a key liaison between cross-functional teams, leadership, and the customer, driving strategic initiatives from initial sourcing through plant launch and establishing strong customer relationships to support current and future business opportunities. This role operates in a plant environment with dedicated office space. The Program Manager works closely with manufacturing operations and engineering teams on the production floor while also performing planning, reporting, and coordination activities in an office setting. The environment involves collaboration with cross-functional teams, use of program management tools and standard office software, and regular interaction with customer representatives and internal stakeholders to support high-volume automotive manufacturing and plant launches. This is a Permanent position based out of Plymouth, MI. This is a hybrid position in Plymouth, MI.

Responsibilities

• Own assigned programs and drive cross-functional teams using established internal business processes, including the PEP process, while ensuring full compliance with critical business protocols for program execution.
• Outline program timing and monitor all customer strategy activities, both internal and external, to support new business opportunities, including customer cost targets, key value drivers, technical targets and desires, and internal financial targets.
• Prepare, obtain, and present weekly metrics related to program and customer strategies to the cross-functional team, ensuring transparency and alignment on performance.
• Use company and customer timing plans, time and resource activity plans, program open issues lists, and meeting reports to coordinate and control the activities of all resources assigned to the program strategy.
• Lead cross-functional teams to achieve program deliverables according to defined program timing and both internal and external program strategies.
• Provide guidance to leadership on strategy-related decisions, offering data-driven insights and recommendations that support program and business objectives.
• Maintain and report on program budgets, including cost forecasting and financial performance for engineering projects, ensuring programs meet financial targets.
• Plan and report on resource utilization for engineering projects, balancing capacity, timing, and budget constraints to meet program milestones.
• Collaborate effectively with customer representatives, acting as a primary