Principal Program Manager, Auto & Industrial

Description

The company runs a digital marketplace that connects buyers at large enterprises, including Fortune 1000 firms, with manufacturers, giving manufacturers more work and buyers access to global production capacity. It is publicly traded on NASDAQ under XMTR.

This role manages a portfolio of the company's most complex and highest-value production programs, often several running at once with $5M or more each, from award through launch and into ongoing supply. You are the main contact for the customer and are responsible for quality, delivery, and financial outcomes.

You will also improve how programs are run across the company, set the standard for program management, lead operational changes that help the portfolio scale, and mentor other program managers.

This role reports to the Director, Strategic Program Operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead several complex production programs at once, often $5M or more each, from opportunity and award through first article, launch, and repeat orders.
• Build detailed program plans that satisfy customer and internal requirements for scope, schedule, quality, and cost.
• Run programs using the company's Product Development Process, aligned with APQP.
• Manage program budgets and financials, including tooling, capital, and margin, and take action to hit financial targets.
• Track launch and production metrics such as schedule adherence, on-time delivery, quality, customer experience, and program financial results.
• Act as the main contact for customer program, engineering, quality, and procurement teams.
• Lead cross-functional teams from Sales, Field Deployed Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain Planning, and the Partner Network to deliver each program.
• Hold manufacturing partners to their commitments and work with them on capacity, schedule, and quality problems.
• Coordinate resources, partner capacity, and dependencies across concurrent programs, spot risks early, escalate when needed, and lead mitigation and recovery across customer, partner, and internal teams.
• Give customers and internal leadership regular program status updates.
• Identify chances to grow programs within existing accounts and pass them to Sales and Account Management.
• Lead cross-functional operational initiatives that make programs more efficient, scalable, and repeatable.
• Define and track program KPIs and use the data to find and drive improvements.
• Apply Lean principles and operational best practices to program workflows, and look for chances to automate and improve processes.
• Create and maintain program management standards, templates, and playbooks for the team.
• Work with Product and Engineering to improve the tools and systems that support program execution.
• Coach program managers on launch planning, customer management, financial management, and structured problem solving.
• Be the escalation point for difficult issues across the portfolio.
• Help onboard new program managers and take part in hiring.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, operations, supply chain, or a related field.
• 12+ years of program or project management experience, including leading production programs in manufacturing.
• Experience with manufacturing processes such as CNC machining, injection molding, sheet metal, stamping, die casting, or extrusion.
• A record of running multiple complex programs at once, often $5M or more each, from award through launch and into repeat production.
• Working knowledge of APQP and related quality planning practices.
• Experience managing program budgets, timelines, scope, and financial results.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and managing supplier or contract manufacturer performance.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and facilitation skills in technical and manufacturing settings.
• Strong written and verbal communication, including presenting to executives.
• Hands-on and accountable, willing to get into details to keep a program on track.
• Credible with a customer's program director and a partner's plant manager.
• Structured and data-driven, acting on program signals before they become escalations.
• Customer focused, with clear and proactive communication.
• Builds processes and standards others can follow.
• Comfortable working alone and on a team in a fast-paced environment.
• Preferred: 5+ years of military experience, such as in program management, acquisition, logistics, or operations.
• Preferred: PMP certification.
• Preferred: Lean or Six Sigma certification.
• Preferred: experience in automotive, aerospace, defense, or industrial manufacturing.
• Preferred: experience with PPAP, AS9102 first article inspection, or other customer launch requirements.
• Preferred: familiarity with ERP systems, Salesforce, BI tools such as Tableau or Looker, and project management tools such as Smartsheet, Jira, Asana, or Microsoft Project.
• Preferred: experience in a high-mix contract manufacturing or manufacturing marketplace environment.

Conditions

Remote or hybrid.

Travel of about 25% to customer and partner facilities.

You must be ITAR eligible: a U.S. person as defined by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (22 C.F.R. § 120.62), such as a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, or person granted asylum or refugee status. This is required because the role has access to export-controlled information.

Estimated base salary for new hires is $116,000-$143,000 per year, plus an annual bonus, depending on job-related skills, relevant experience, and location.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability.

Benefits

• 401(k) match.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Generous paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, floating and fixed holidays, and maternity and bonding leave.
• Employee assistance program and other wellbeing resources.
• Other benefits beyond these.