Associate Director, Program Management

Job Summary:
 The Associate Director, Program Management provides strategic and operational leadership for SMC's Program Management organization and is accountable for the successful execution of the company's customer program portfolio.

This position leads the Program Management team and establishes the processes, systems, standards, and operating practices necessary to consistently deliver complex customer programs from program award through new product development, tooling, process development, validation, manufacturing launch, and sustaining production.

The Associate Director is responsible for ensuring programs are effectively planned, resourced, scheduled, financially managed, and executed in alignment with customer expectations, SMC's quality standards, operational capabilities, contractual commitments, and business objectives.

The position works closely with Sales, Engineering, Tooling, Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and other functional leaders to establish cross-functional alignment and drive successful program execution. The Associate Director serves as a senior leader for customer programs and is responsible for proactively identifying and resolving program risks, issues, resource constraints, and execution challenges.

The Associate Director is also responsible for building a high-performing Program Management organization through effective leadership, coaching, development, accountability, and continuous improvement.

The position requires strong business acumen, customer focus, organizational leadership, and the ability to effectively balance scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, risk, and customer commitments.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Program Management Leadership

• Lead, develop, and manage the Program Management organization, including Program Managers and other Program Management personnel as assigned.
• Establish clear expectations, priorities, accountability, and performance standards for the Program Management team.
• Provide consistent leadership and direction across the customer program portfolio.
• Ensure Program Managers have the tools, processes, information, and organizational support required to successfully execute their programs.
• Establish and maintain consistent program management practices across SMC.
• Serve as a role model for accountability, customer focus, collaboration, transparency, and operational excellence.

Customer Program Execution

• Provide operational leadership for customer programs from program award through development, tooling, process development, validation, manufacturing launch, and sustaining production.
• Ensure programs are effectively planned and executed against approved scope, schedule, budget, quality requirements, and customer commitments.
• Establish program execution expectations and ensure Program Managers maintain appropriate schedules, milestones, deliverables, and action plans.
• Monitor overall program performance and proactively identify risks, opportunities, and potential impacts to customer commitments.
• Drive timely resolution of program issues and ensure appropriate escalation when issues cannot be resolved within the program team.
• Ensure effective transition of programs through development, validation, manufacturing launch, and sustaining production.

Program Financial Management

• Establish expectations for effective financial management across the Program Management organization.
• Ensure Program Managers maintain accurate program budgets, forecasts, costs, change orders, and financial projections.
• Monitor program financial performance and identify opportunities to improve profitability.
• Partner with Finance and Program Managers to understand program financial performance and address unfavorable trends.
• Ensure changes in scope, customer requirements, schedule, or execution are appropriately evaluated for financial impact.
• Support commercial discussions and scope-change management with Sales and customers as appropriate.

Resource & Capacity Management

• Work with Program Managers and functional leaders to identify resource requirements and capacity constraints.
• Monitor resource requirements across the program portfolio and proactively identify conflicts or capacity risks.
• Facilitate cross-functional prioritization of program activities to support customer commitments and business objectives.
• Identify resource gaps and develop recommendations for staffing, outsourcing, scheduling, or other actions required to maintain program performance.
• Maintain visibility to upcoming program resource requirements and communicate anticipated needs to leadership.

Customer Relationship Management

• Develop and maintain strong, professional relationships with customer program teams and key customer stakeholders.
• Lead program reviews, status meetings, business reviews, and issue-resolution meetings as appropriate.
• Ensure customers receive proactive, accurate, and transparent communication regarding program status, risks, milestones, and deliverables.
• Establish a high standard of customer communication and responsiveness across the Program Management organization.
• Support resolution of significant customer concerns and escalations.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Establish strong working relationships with Engineering, Tooling, Automation, Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Sales, and other functional organizations.
• Lead cross-functional program teams and establish clear ownership of program deliverables.
• Drive accountability for actions and deliverables that impact program timing, cost, quality, and customer commitments.
• Facilitate effective communication and decision-making across functional teams.
• Identify organizational or functional barriers to program execution and coordinate appropriate resolution.

Program Risk & Escalation

• Establish a proactive approach to program risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and escalation.
• Ensure Program Managers maintain appropriate risk registers, action plans, and contingency plans.
• Monitor high-risk programs and establish recovery plans when performance deviates from expectations.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for significant program-level schedule, cost, resource, quality, customer, and execution issues.
• Communicate significant risks and opportunities to leadership with clear recommendations and proposed actions.
• Lead program recovery efforts when required.

Program Management Processes & Governance

• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve standardized Program Management processes, tools, systems, and governance.
• Develop and maintain standard program management methodologies, templates, workflows, and best practices.
• Establish consistent expectations for program planning, reporting, risk management, financial management, change management, and escalation.
• Drive adoption and effective use of Program Management systems and tools.
• Identify process gaps and implement improvements that increase program predictability, efficiency, scalability, and customer satisfaction.
• Develop and maintain lessons-learned and best-practice processes to improve future program execution.

Metrics & Performance Management

• Establish meaningful Program Management performance metrics and dashboards.
• Monitor program performance across schedule, financial performance, scope, risk, quality, customer satisfaction, and overall program health.
• Provide regular reporting and visibility into program portfolio performance.
• Identify trends and recurring issues and develop corrective actions.
• Use program data to drive decision-making, resource planning, and continuous improvement.
• Establish clear performance expectations for Program Managers and hold the team accountable for results.

Team Development & Talent Management

• Build, develop, and retain a high-performing Program Management organization.
• Recruit and onboard Program Management personnel with the skills and capabilities required to support SMC's growth.
• Provide regular coaching, feedback, and performance management to Program Managers.
• Establish clear development objectives and career paths for Program Management personnel.
• Identify development opportunities and provide mentoring to build future Program Management leaders.
• Establish appropriate succession plans and strengthen organizational depth.
• Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, collaboration, continuous improvement, and professional development.

New Business & Program Launch

• Partner with Sales and Business Development to support seamless customer onboarding.
• Provide Program Management input into quotations, proposals, timelines, resource requirements, tooling, development activities, validation, and launch plans.
• Support evaluation of program scope, schedule, risk, resource requirements, and execution complexity.
• Establish effective program kickoff and onboarding processes.
• Ensure new programs are transitioned into a structured and well-defined execution plan.
• Establish clear milestones, deliverables, responsibilities, and communication expectations at program initiation.

Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Identify opportunities to improve Program Management efficiency, consistency, scalability, and effectiveness.
• Drive standardization and simplification of program management processes.
• Reduce avoidable delays, rework, communication gaps, and execution inefficiencies.
• Promote the use of data, lessons learned, and best practices to improve program performance.
• Encourage Program Managers to identify and implement opportunities to improve customer experience and business results.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence throughout the Program Management organization.

Strategic & Organizational Contribution

• Participate in Engineering and company strategic planning activities.
• Provide Program Management perspective on business opportunities, customer requirements, capacity, resource needs, and organizational capabilities.
• Provide leadership with insight into program trends, risks, opportunities, customer needs, and emerging resource requirements.
• Recommend improvements to Program Management structure, staffing, processes, systems, and capabilities.
• Support organizational initiatives that enable SMC's continued growth and scalability.
• Promote alignment between Program Management activities and SMC's overall business objectives.

Essential Qualifications:

Desirable Qualifications:

ADA Requirements: 

• Stand, walk, bend, squat, twist, reach or otherwise move frequently
• Occasional repetitive motion and grasping
• Occasional climbing to reach areas on machines or racks
• Lift, move or otherwise transfer up to 50 lbs. occasionally, >20 lbs. frequently
• Typically sits, grasps items or performs keyboarding for occasional operation of a computer
• Exposure to typical machine shop physical hazards which may require respiratory protection
• Travel by air or car frequently