Sr. Manager, Engineering and Program Mgmt

About the role

The Senior Manager of Engineering will lead multidisciplinary engineering teams responsible for the development, industrialization, and support of precision optical components, assemblies, and metrology solutions. This leader will drive execution of strategic engineering initiatives, oversee complex customer-facing programs, and ensure the successful delivery of innovative products that meet quality, schedule, cost, and performance objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of engineering managers, project engineers, mechanical engineers, optical engineers, manufacturing engineers, and technical specialists.
• Establish engineering priorities aligned with business objectives and customer requirements.
• Create a high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Coach and mentor engineering talent while supporting career development and succession planning.
• Drive organizational effectiveness through resource planning, workload balancing, and talent acquisition.

Program & Project Management

• Lead complex engineering programs from concept through production and product lifecycle support.
• Develop and manage project plans, budgets, schedules, risk mitigation strategies, and resource allocation.
• Ensure successful execution of multiple concurrent customer and internal development programs.
• Implement best practices in project management, stage-gate development processes, and engineering governance.

Customer Engagement

• Serve as a trusted technical and business partner to strategic customers.
• Participate in customer meetings, design reviews, technical discussions, and escalation management.
• Translate customer requirements into executable engineering plans.
• Support business development activities, proposal reviews, and technical presentations.

Product Development & Manufacturing Support

• Partner with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Product Management to transition designs into manufacturing.
• Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM), yield improvement, cost reduction, and productivity initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with quality systems and industry standards.

Strategic & Operational Excellence

• Establish and track engineering KPIs related to quality, schedule adherence, customer satisfaction, productivity, and innovation.
• Ensure effective risk management and decision-making across engineering programs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Optical, Electrical, Systems Engineering, Physics, or related discipline).
• 6-8 years of progressive engineering experience, including leadership responsibility.
• At least 5 years managing engineering teams and complex technical programs.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional product development and manufacturing initiatives.
• Strong program and project management skills with experience managing budgets, schedules, and resources.
• Experience interacting directly with customers in technical and commercial discussions.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven ability to lead through change and drive organizational performance.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic Leadership: Aligns engineering execution with business strategy, balances long-term innovation with near-term operational demands.
• Customer Focus: Understands customer needs and translates them into engineering solutions, builds trust through technical credibility and execution excellence.
• Program Execution: Drives disciplined project management and predictable outcomes, anticipates risks and proactively implements corrective actions.
• Team Leadership: Develops people and creates an accountable, high-performing culture, fosters collaboration across engineering, operations, quality, and commercial teams.
• Continuous Improvement: Champions operational excellence, process discipline, and innovation, uses metrics and data-driven decision-making to improve performance.