Aerospace Program Manager

Crane Aerospace & Electronics; Kentucky; On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Crane Aerospace & Electronics is seeking a Program Manager in Elyria, OH to lead cross‑functional teams across the business, technical, and operations domains. You will own the program from customer proposal through development, qualification, and transition to production, ensuring milestones are met and costs are controlled.

The role emphasizes IPT leadership, customer coordination, and adherence to Crane process guidelines to deliver successful programs on time and within budget.

Qualifications

• Leadership of cross‑functional teams across business, technical and operations areas.
• Accountability for overall success of assigned product development programs.
• Experience with proposal to production transitions and production readiness.

Responsibilities

• Review customer requests for proposals and change requests.
• Create, monitor and update program plans to meet milestones and cost targets.
• Lead Integrated Product Teams (IPT) across functional groups.
• Coordinate in‑house product reviews to ensure manufacturability and cost targets.
• Ensure adherence to standard processes throughout all phases of the program.
• Coordinate with supply chain and operations for new product introduction and delivery.
• Establish strong relationships with customers through regular communication.
• Manage scope changes and document approvals through change management processes.
• Monitor and control non‑recurring costs during design and development.

Job description

Crane Aerospace and Electronics has an exciting opportunity for a Program Manager at our Elyria, OH location.

About Crane:

Crane Aerospace & Electronics supplies critical systems and components to the aerospace and defense markets. You'll find Crane Aerospace & Electronics in some of the toughest environments: from engines to landing gear; from satellites to medical implants and from missiles to unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Our Crane Aerospace & Electronics Elyria facility has been a bedrock in the community-friendly town of Elyria, Ohio, for more than a century. Known for our excellence in pumping technology, our Elyria site produced the first-ever positive displacement pump for high performance piston engine aircraft and even supplied pumps for Charles Lindbergh in the 1930s. We have more than 150,000 fuel and lubrication pumps in service today and are proud to offer custom thermal management system solutions for a range of next-gen applications. Start the next chapter of your career with Crane Aerospace & Electronics!

Job Summary:

Program Managers provide leadership and management of cross functional business, technical, and operations teams while assuming accountability for overall success of assigned product development programs. Program management responsibilities extend from customer proposal to program inception, through the successful transition to production processing after completion of qualification testing / certification compliance and production readiness reviews. Program success is measured by customer satisfaction of the development process and technical solution, accomplishment of schedule milestones, and adherence to recurring and non-recurring cost targets.

Essential Functions:

• Proposal Review
• Review and evaluate technical and business aspects of customer requests for proposals and / or change requests.
• Support and lead elements of customer bid packages and internal project appropriation requests including coordination and review of statement of work, technical proposal requirements compliance, engineering cost estimates, and program schedules.
• Program Planning
• Create, monitor, and update program plans in sufficient detail which define the required processes / activities of various functional groups to achieve customer defined milestones / deliverables within Crane process guidelines.
• IPT Leadership
• Lead, manage, and motivate Integrated Product Teams (IPT) through effective utilization of personnel assigned to the project from all functional groups within the company.
• Coordinate sufficient in-house product reviews with various functional groups to ensure product designs are manufacturable and meet cost targets while satisfying customer specifications.
• Develop and ensure adherence to standard processes and procedures throughout all phases of the program.
• Coordinate with supply chain and operations team members to facilitate the new product introduction process and ensure program hardware delivery requirements meet customer and program needs.
• Customer Coordination
• Establish and maintain positive working relationships with customers through frequent oral and written communication.
• Coordinate customer required technical and program progress reviews.
• Scope Management
• Proactively manage project scope to ensure only what was agreed to is delivered.
• Ensure changes in scope are thoroughly documented and approved through a standardized change management process.
• Cost Management
• Monitor and control program costs associated with non-recurring engineering activities during the Design and Development phases of the program.
• Maintain project team focus on the initial business model and design to cost targets related to recurring product cost.
• Schedule Management
• Develop and maintain a detailed resource loaded program schedule.
• Ensure all stakeholders understand the program schedule.
• Prioritize resources and tasks to drive key milestone adherence.
• Issue / Risk Management
• Identify, track, manage, and assist in resolving program issues.
• Identify, manage, and assist in mitigation of program risks (technical, schedule, and cost) through a standardized risk management process.
• Transition To Production
• Facilitate a complete and orderly transition of the product from the program's engineering design and development phase to full scale production through a standardized production readiness review process.
• Metrics & Progress Reviews
• Proactively disseminate project information to stake holders (core team, leadership team, and customers) by defining, collecting data for, and presenting program metrics in a standardized program review / audit process. Metrics should be centered around program schedule, costs, and completion of program deliverables.
• Mentor Program Managers as needed on above responsibilities.
• Any other task assig