Engineering Operations Program Manager

Job Title:

Engineering Operations Program Manager

Job Description

The Engineering Operations Program Manager drives the full production ramp of complex capital equipment systems, owning the integrated program plan for schedule, cost, quality, and risk across all sales orders in the ramp portfolio. This role builds and leads cross-functional alignment between engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, production operations, and finance to ensure every ramp milestone is achieved predictably and profitably.

The position offers a high-impact, high-visibility opportunity to influence operational strategy at scale and to serve as a key driver of company growth and delivery success.

Responsibilities

* Own the end-to-end production ramp for advanced systems, including Ion Beam Deposition and Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition platforms, ensuring on-time, on-budget, and high-quality delivery across every sales order in the ramp portfolio.

* Develop, maintain, and execute an integrated program plan that covers schedule, cost, quality, and risk, and adjust it proactively as new information and constraints emerge.

* Build and maintain a robust risk management framework that identifies schedule, supply, quality, and design risks early, assigns clear ownership, and tracks mitigation actions through closure to prevent issues from reaching the production floor.

* Define and implement early-stage testing and assembly sequences that move component validation and sub-assembly bench testing upstream, reducing overall cycle time and ensuring a steady flow of verified assemblies into the main production line.

* Align engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and supplier quality teams to ensure all incoming components meet defined performance and quality specifications, and drive proactive decisions on obsolescence, design changes, and specification deviations.

* Own the financial performance of the ramp by tracking gross margin, planning capital expenditures, and controlling costs, while presenting budget status, trade-offs, and recommendations to executive leadership on a regular cadence.

* Coordinate closely with production managers and contract manufacturing partners to ensure ramp readiness, including cleanroom capacity, utilities, tooling, staffing plans, training, and standard operating procedures.

* Serve as the single point of accountability for ramp execution, providing regular status updates and clear, concise summaries of schedules, cost forecasts, and risk registers to executive management.

* Travel to contract manufacturer and supplier sites, as needed (up to approximately 30% of the time), to resolve issues firsthand, validate readiness, and reinforce alignment on ramp objectives.

* Drive cross-functional coordination across engineering, quality, supply chain, production, field service, and finance to ensure seamless program execution and rapid issue resolution.

* Apply lean manufacturing principles such as takt time, value stream mapping, line balancing, and flow optimization to complex electromechanical system builds to improve throughput, predictability, and quality.

* Plan and execute production ramps for large-scale capital equipment or systems that include mechanical, electrical, vacuum, and software subsystems, ensuring integration risks are identified and managed.

* Translate complex program data into clear, executive-level communications that enable timely decision-making and reinforce accountability across stakeholders.

* Manage multiple concurrent programs and shifting priorities while maintaining focus on the critical path and key deliverables for each ramp.

* Continuously identify execution gaps and emerging risks, using strong judgment and a "sixth sense" for operations to drive preemptive corrective actions rather than reactive firefighting.

Essential Skills

* 10-15+ years of experience in engineering operations, manufacturing, program management, or a closely related field (with flexibility based on overall fit and impact).

* Strong technical manufacturing experience with the ability to understand engineering concepts for complex electromechanical systems, even if not performing hands-on…