Program Manager - Kingsford, MI

Come join a leader for over 160 years in the defense industries!!

Iron River , MI / Kingsford , MI / Rhinelander , WI

AtTrident Maritime Systems – Heavy Equipment Group, there are no limits- only opportunities! We don’t just build systems, we build careers. As a leader in the marine and defense industry, we’re looking for innovative, forward-thinking professionals who are ready to take on complex challenges and deliver real-world solutions.

We are seeking an experienced, results-driven Program Manager to lead strategic programs and customer relationships out of our Kingsford, MI location. This is a high-impact leadership role with responsibility for complex, multi-year programs from award through successful execution and delivery. The Program Manager will work directly with key customers and serve as a trusted partner to senior leadership—driving program strategy, managing risk, ensuring fiscal accountability, and delivering results on schedule and in alignment with customer expectations.

Beyond program execution, this role will have a direct impact on the growth of our business. The Program Manager will identify, develop, and pursue new opportunities that align with our strategic objectives and strengthen our presence in the market.

We are looking for a leader who takes ownership, builds strong customer relationships, anticipates challenges, and drives programs and the business forward.

• Own the successful execution and performance of multiple complex programs concurrently, with accountability for cost, schedule, quality, technical performance, and customer commitments.
• Establish clear program priorities, milestones, and accountability across cross-functional teams. Drive execution and ensure commitments are understood, measured, and achieved.
• Proactively identify program risks and opportunities, establish mitigation strategies, and drive issues to resolution before they impact customer commitments or business performance.
• Hold functional teams accountable for program commitments while creating alignment across Engineering, Supply Chain, Planning, Production, Quality, Finance, and other supporting organizations.

• Serve as the primary customer-facing leader throughout the program lifecycle, owning the overall customer relationship and ensuring clear, proactive, and professional communication.
• Build trusted, long-term relationships with key customer stakeholders by understanding their priorities, anticipating challenges, and consistently delivering against commitments.
• Lead customer discussions and negotiations involving program performance, schedule, pricing, scope, and contractual matters.
• Serve as the critical link between the customer and Trident’s functional leadership, ensuring customer requirements and priorities are clearly understood and translated into executable actions across the organization.

• Take an active role in identifying and developing new business opportunities within existing and prospective customer accounts.
• Leverage customer relationships, program knowledge, and market awareness to identify emerging requirements and position Trident for follow-on and new business opportunities.
• Support and lead proposal development, pricing strategy, customer negotiations, and capture activities as appropriate.

• Own program financial performance, including budget management, forecasting, Estimate at Completion (EAC), Estimate to Complete (ETC), revenue and invoicing performance, and overall program profitability.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of the scope of work, estimate assumptions, contract requirements, terms and conditions, schedule obligations, risks, and customer commitments to ensure disciplined program execution.
• Proactively identify cost, schedule, and scope variances and lead corrective actions before they materially impact program or financial performance.
• Lead the identification and management of scope changes and contract adjustments.
• Protect the company’s contractual and financial position by identifying out-of-scope…