Sr. Manager, Program Management

About the role

The Sr. Manager, Program Management will lead the development, deployment, and scale‑up of complex manufacturing machines across multiple factories. This hands‑on leader will set up the framework, rigor, and end‑to‑end operating model, and will build and lead a team of Program Managers to execute multiple machine generations and deployments in parallel. The role demands strong technical judgment, execution discipline, structured thinking, organizational leadership, and the ability to move seamlessly between detailed program execution and portfolio‑level leadership.

Preferred location is the Rochester, NY area. The position begins remote and transitions to a hybrid model. Candidates located outside Rochester must be based in the U.S. Eastern Time Zone (see list below) and be able to travel to Rochester frequently to maintain a strong working presence with Program Management, engineering, manufacturing, and leadership teams. Relocation to Rochester is preferred and will be considered on a case‑by‑case basis.

Responsibilities

• Translate the machine roadmap into integrated plans across generations, development builds, qualification, production‑intent builds, and factory deployment.
• Drive cross‑functional execution from architecture and design through integration, validation, release, installation, commissioning, production readiness, and handoff to Operations.
• Own the integrated schedule, critical path, dependencies, risks, changes, decisions, and escalations across Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Operations, and factory teams.
• Align machine readiness with factory readiness, product ramps, capacity needs, and business priorities.
• Maintain disciplined version and configuration control and carry lessons learned forward across machine generations and sites.
• Manage the portfolio across overlapping machine generations, builds, deployments, upgrades, and factory capacity expansion.
• Establish the machine program operating model, including roadmap, lifecycle, milestones, design/readiness reviews, decision forums, risk management, escalation, and executive reporting.
• Build a repeatable deployment model that enables scale across factories while controlling variation, configuration, and execution quality.
• Partner with other leaders to leverage common tools, workflows, dashboards, and data standards.
• Use program data, retrospectives, and recurring issues to continuously improve execution.
• Provide clear executive communication on status, risk, tradeoffs, decisions, and accountability.
• Start as the hands‑on Program Management leader for critical machine programs, then build the team as the portfolio grows.
• Define team structure, ownership, and coverage across machine generations, builds, and deployments.
• Recruit, coach, and develop Program Managers who operate as technical integrators and execution leaders—not schedule administrators.
• Drive alignment and accountability across functions and provide crisp, fact‑based communication on status, risks, tradeoffs, and decisions required.
• Challenge assumptions constructively, surface issues early, and drive timely decisions in a fast‑moving environment.

Requirements

• 15+ years of experience in technical program management, engineering, equipment development, automation, or complex manufacturing systems.
• Proven experience taking complex machines or manufacturing equipment from development through qualification, deployment, and production ramp.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent programs, machine generations, or technology platforms.
• Experience building high‑performance teams, leading program managers or complex cross‑functional technical teams.
• Strong experience in manufacturing, industrialization, NPI, and factory scale‑up, with working knowledge of Operations and Supply Chain.
• Strong capability in integrated planning, critical‑path management, risk management, dependency management, and executive escalation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field (highly preferred).
• Experience with precision automation, semiconductor capital equipment, robotics, optics, or similarly complex machine platforms.
• Experience deploying equipment or production systems across multiple factories and regions.
• Experience operating in both fast‑growth environments and large enterprises.
• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent program‑management certification.

Skills

• Player‑Coach: Hands‑on when needed while building and developing the team.
• Outcome Driven: Drives