Director, Program Management

Job Description SummaryAs part of the GE Aerospace Digital Technology organization supporting the Defense & Systems (D&S) business, the Director, Program Management owns delivery across the Defense and Systems Customer Experience (DSCX) portfolio. This is a people-leadership role accountable for on-time delivery, program operating rhythms, dependency and risk management, and the scope, schedule, and cost tradeoffs for every program. This person will lead a team of program and project managers, set the delivery standard, and own the $25+MM CX budget in partnership with Finance and Business Operations. This person will be the single point of accountability for predictable execution and for escalating early when a dependency or decision threatens delivery.

Job Description

Why This Role Exists

DSCX owns 30+ digital products for Defense & Systems. Today our technical product managers wear three hats for their products: product management, project management, and operations. We are dividing that load across three dedicated functions, and this role will build out the program management discipline, starting with on-time delivery across the portfolio. This role is planned to have 4-6 direct reports, program and project managers, and owns the $25+MM CX budget with Finance and Business Operations. Your charge is to build standard operating rhythms and artifacts, and then coach and train your team to hold them. You should be experienced with AI and know where it creates opportunity to expand what the team can deliver.

Environment

The DSCX portfolio runs primarily on AWS, Palantir Foundry, or through SaaS based 3rd party solutions, with on-premise implementations supported for customers whose data sensitivity requires it. Delivery runs through Rally and Microsoft Teams and ServiceNow is our system of record for incidents, change, and defect management. The portfolio carries a $25+MM annual budget across the product lines.

Roles and Responsibilities

Delivery

• Own on-time delivery (OTD) across the DSCX portfolio. OTD is the primary measure of this role. You set the target, run the cadence that surfaces risk against it, and close the gap.
• Run the operating rhythm so problems surface early. The weekly and monthly operating reviews (WOR and MOR), standups, reviews, and retros exist to make a slipping date visible weeks out, not on the date.
• Run Daily Visual Management across the portfolio. Delivery status and blockers are visible daily, which is what makes early escalation possible rather than aspirational.
• Make status honest and comparable. Every major program reports RAG status, milestones, and a path to green against one standard, so leadership compares programs instead of interpreting formats.

Dependency and Risk

• Keep programs from stalling on each other. You hold the dependency picture across DSCX and the partner teams we depend on, including Palantir, and resolve conflicts before they become schedule impacts.
• Drive risks to closure with a named owner and a date. The RAID log is the mechanism. Closure inside the committed date is the measure.
• Escalate early and with a recommendation. When a decision or dependency threatens a committed date, the sponsor hears it from you while there is still time to act, with the tradeoff already framed.

Scope, Schedule, and Cost

• Own the tradeoffs. Every program has a scope, schedule, and cost triangle. You either make the call or frame the decision for whoever should.

• Own the $25+MM CX budget with Finance and Business Operations, reconciled monthly, with committed versus actual accurate enough to plan against.

• Control change. Approved scope, schedule, and budget changes are documented and traceable, so a program's history explains its current state.

People and Team

• Lead, coach, and develop the program and project management team, including hiring, performance management, and talent development.

• Set the delivery standard and make transparent execution normal, where reporting red early is rewarded rather than punished.

Minimum Qualifications

For roles in the USA:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college with a minimum of 8 years of professional experience, OR Associate's degree with a minimum of 11 years of professional experience, OR High School Diploma with a minimum of 13 years of professional experience.

• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in Program Management and IT
• Note: Military experience is equivalent to professional experience.

Eligibility Requirement:

• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required.  We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job.

Desired Characteristics

Technical Expertise

• Deep expertise in program and project management for enterprise digital delivery, including operating rhythms (WOR and MOR), RAID, and dependency management.

• Experience delivering inside a defense or regulated program environment: cost and schedule baseline management, integrated master schedules, customer program reviews, and government reporting obligations.

• Strong knowledge of Agile ways of working (Scrum and Kanban) and portfolio-level delivery governance.

• Fluent with status reporting to RAG standards, milestone tracking, and change control.

• Three or more years leading program or project managers, including hiring and performance management.

Business Acumen

• Manages scope, schedule, and cost tradeoffs credibly and communicates them clearly to sponsors.

• Owns and reconciles a budget in partnership with Finance, and tracks committed versus actual with discipline.

• Reads risk early: distinguishes noise from red flags and drives mitigation to closure.

Leadership

• Builds a function from a small team.

• Makes red safe to report.

• Escalates without drama.

• Coaches with questions before positions.

• Leads a distributed team on purpose.

Key Success Metrics

• On-time delivery: OTD across the DSCX portfolio; percentage of programs green against milestones and committed dates.

• Risk and dependency: RAID items closed on time; reduction in issues that reached red without early warning.

• Financial: CX budget managed to plan; accuracy of committed versus actual reporting.

• Cadence health: completeness and timeliness of monthly status reports; operating rhythm adherence.

Location and Travel

Location: Cincinnati, OH (Evendale) strongly preferred. You will lead a team that is part hybrid and part fully remote, so a deliberate approach to running distributed delivery is part of the job.

Travel: up to 20% for program reviews, implementation site support, and vendor engagement.

Notes:

The base pay range for this position is $152,000 to $230,000 annually. The specific pay offered may be influenced by a variety of factors, including the candidate’s experience, education, and skill set. This position is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus based on a percentage of your base salary/ commission based on the plan.  [If equity-eligible, should say “You are also equity-eligible”] This posting is expected to close on November 3rd, 2026.

GE Aerospace offers comprehensive benefits and programs to support your health and, along with programs like HealthAhead, your physical, emotional, financial and social wellbeing. Healthcare benefits include medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage; access to a Health Coach from GE Aerospace; and the Employee Assistance Program, which provides 24/7 confidential assessment, counseling and referral services. Retirement benefits include the GE Aerospace Retirement Savings Plan, a 401(k) savings plan with company matching contributions and company retirement contributions, as well as access to Fidelity resources and planning consultants. Other benefits include tuition assistance, adoption assistance, paid parental leave, disability insurance, life insurance, and paid time-off for vacation or illness. 

GE Aerospace (General Electric Company or the Company) and its affiliates each sponsor certain employee benefit plans or programs (i.e., is a “Sponsor”). Each Sponsor reserves the right to terminate, amend, suspend, replace or modify its benefit plans and programs at any time and for any reason, in its sole discretion. No individual has a vested right to any benefit under a Sponsor’s welfare benefit plan or program. This document does not create a contract of employment with any individual.

This role requires access to U.S. export-controlled information. Therefore, employment will be contingent upon the ability to prove that you meet the status of a U.S. Person as one of the following: U.S. lawful permanent resident, U.S. Citizen, have been granted asylee or refugee status (i.e., a protected individual under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)).

Additional Information

GE Aerospace will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen (as applicable). Employees may also be subject to random and reasonable-suspicion drug and alcohol testing.

#LI-Remote - This is a remote position