Sr. Program Manager

Founded in 1849, Ducommun is the oldest company in California. Starting as a hardware supply store during the California Gold Rush, Ducommun eventually assisted in the birth of the aerospace industry in Southern California by providing aircraft aluminum to early aerospace pioneers like Lindbergh, Douglas, and Lockheed. Today, Ducommun is a global provider of innovative manufacturing solutions for customers in the aerospace, defense, and industrial markets. We specialize in electronic and structural systems, producing complex products and components for commercial aircraft platforms, mission-critical military and space programs, and sophisticated industrial applications. Our facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma manufactures state-of-the-art circuit cards for aerospace and defense applications.

About the Role

The Sr. Program Manager is the focal point for customer communication and interface, responsible for executing all aspects of customer programs to ensure activities are carried out in accordance with technical and contractual requirements, schedules, and budgets. This role manages relationships between Ducommun and its customers, leads the Integrated Product Team (IPT), and ensures customer requirements are flowed down to all functional departments.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the focal point for customer communication, managing relationships and ensuring alignment with customer requirements.
• Lead the Integrated Product Team (IPT) and represent the company in customer and external communications.
• Provide timely notification to management and customers regarding program cost, quality, or schedule impacts.
• Execute the New Product Introduction – Phase Gate Process.
• Coordinate a company response to customer requirements (commercial and technical) and inquiries.
• Present program reviews to customers and senior leadership.
• Communicate within the IPT to ensure proper coordination of customer requirements (schedule, recovery plans, reports, etc.).
• Ensure company capabilities and business interests support customer requests.
• Manage the program team to achieve goals in support of Program Management functional metrics, corporate policy, regulatory guidelines, and budget parameters.
• Coordinate technical and operational requirements with stakeholders to ensure the voice of the customer is achieved.
• Integrate time-phased budgets and program schedules to support contractual commitments and company goals.
• Communicate customer cost reduction and process improvement goals to company management and coordinate responses.
• Champion and lead Kaizen and Lean activities to drive operational and administrative improvements.
• Oversee Program Management backlog/booking input into the MRP system to ensure alignment with company goals.
• Analyze and review contracts for Terms and Conditions, Work Statements, Funding, Performance Periods, Deliverables, and other customer General Conditions.
• Coordinate contract reviews with the Director of Contracts as necessary.
• Prepare negotiation plans and lead the negotiation team for customer negotiations.
• Manage and track program compliance with purchase order requirements.
• Prepare assertions and claims to customers in accordance with contract parameters.
• Coordinate with Operations Management to review program requirements related to Operational Performance, Staffing, IPT development, and planning for capital expenditures/preventative maintenance.
• Review program performance to provide visibility for project cost, margin, and schedule (actual vs. projected).
• Provide input to Finance for individual program cash flow plans.
• Support the Finance Department in invoice submittal and resolving late payment receipts and customer claims/assertions.
• Oversee and manage business unit bookings, backlog, past due receivables, and sales forecasts.
• Manage and maintain the business unit booking and sales tracking system to support company monthly summary reports.
• Coordinate planning and acquisition of follow-on business within lead time constraints.
• Coordinate with Business Development to identify, strategize, and capture new business opportunities.
• Travel to customers up to 30% of the time.
• Support customer cost reduction and process improvement activities.
• Lead the Proposal Team in developing, preparing, and submitting proposals for new and follow-on business.
• Support customer/DCAA/DCMA audits as required.

Requirements

• Ability to lead without authority, negotiate, and manage by influence.
• Strong people and time management skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to communicate effectively and professionally with customers and across all organizational levels.
• Experience in production control, contracts management, project management, or related fields.
• Detail-oriented with a positive, friendly customer service approach.
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
• Basic understanding of Lean and Six Sigma principles and methodologies.
• Experience with MRP systems is beneficial.
• Team-oriented with a continuous improvement outlook.
• Travel up to 30%.

Qualifications

• BA/BS degree required; MBA preferred.
• Certification in PMP and/or CAPM preferred; Contracts Administration or Project Management a plus.
• 7+ years of experience in an aerospace or manufacturing environment.
• Experience with program oversight of $25 million or more is a plus.
• Supervisory experience is a plus.

Location: 11616 East 51st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74146, United States