Project Specialist SME

About the role

The Operations Subject Matter Expert (SME) is responsible for leading cross-functional operational recovery efforts to return critical programs and projects from Red/Yellow status to Green status by driving schedule adherence, process improvement, resource optimization, and execution discipline. This role serves as a hands-on operational leader working across manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, quality, customer, and program management platforms to identify constraints, remove bottlenecks, implement corrective actions, and restore customer confidence.

Essential Functions

• Assess current project performance, identify root causes of schedule delays, and develop corrective action plans that return assigned programs to Green status against schedule, cost, quality, and delivery metrics.
• Establish and manage recovery schedules with clear milestones, ownership, priorities, accountability, and executive-level visibility.
• Lead coordination across manufacturing, engineering, procurement, supply chain, quality, customer support, and program management teams to align priorities and execution activities.
• Drive daily, weekly, and monthly execution reviews to monitor recovery plan progress, remove barriers, mitigate risks, and escalate critical issues impacting customer commitments.
• Evaluate production flow, capacity constraints, staffing requirements, material availability, supplier readiness, and inventory planning to improve on-time delivery performance.
• Apply Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, Six Sigma, and operational excellence principles to implement sustainable process improvements and prevent future schedule degradation.