Director, Nuclear Customer Programs Manager

System One; Chattanooga (TN); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and welfare benefits

401(k) plan

Job summary

System One in Chattanooga, TN is seeking a Director of Nuclear Customer Programs to lead executive relationships and define the end-to-end program management for strategic nuclear accounts.

You will own customer outcomes across ramp, first-of-a-kind builds, and long-term growth, coordinating with Sales, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Quality to ensure on-time delivery and risk management. This onsite role requires deep nuclear program experience.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive leadership in customer-facing roles or program leadership in industrial sectors.
• Demonstrated success managing executive-level customer relationships in complex industrial, nuclear environments.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams without direct authority over all functions.
• Strong executive communication skills for customer presentations and strategic updates.
• Ability to operate with urgency, judgment, and credibility in multi-program settings.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations, or related field.
• Nuclear industry exposure including ASME III, NQA-1, and 10 CFR 50 Appendix B familiarity.

Responsibilities

• Serve as senior relationship owner for strategic accounts during ramp periods and key milestones.
• Own executive-level customer relationships and act as primary escalation point for issues.
• Lead customer reviews, milestone communications, and strategic planning touchpoints.
• Ensure alignment of customer view with internal status, risks, and commitments.
• Provide single-threaded ownership for complex programs with durable institutional knowledge.
• Strengthen partnerships through responsiveness, transparency, and disciplined follow-through.
• Build and lead the Customer Programs function, defining interfaces with Sales, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Quality.
• Establish operating cadence and governance for the Customer Programs team.
• Recruit and develop senior Customer Program Managers with executive presence.

Skills

Executive leadership

Client relationship mgmt

Program management

Cross-functional collaboration

Nuclear industry knowledge

Regulatory familiarity

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor's in Engineering

MBA (preferred)

Tools

MS Excel

MS PowerPoint

MS Project

Job description

Job Title: Director, Nuclear Customer Program Manager
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Work Model: Onsite - onsite

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior relationship owner for strategic customer accounts, particularly during ramp periods, first-of-a-kind builds, and critical program milestones. Build trust with director-level and above customer counterparts and maintain continuity from award through execution and follow-on opportunity development.
• Own executive-level customer relationships for assigned strategic programs and act as the primary escalation point for customer-facing issues.
• Lead customer reviews, milestone communications, recovery discussions, and strategic planning touchpoints.
• Ensure the customer's view of scope, status, risks, and commitments matches internal operating realities.
• Provide a single-threaded ownership model for complex programs that require durable institutional knowledge.
• Strengthen long-term partnerships by combining responsiveness, transparency, and disciplined follow-through.
• Build and lead the Customer Programs function as a structured capability, including hiring, coaching, and defining clear interfaces with Sales, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Quality.
• Establish operating cadence, role clarity, and governance for the Customer Programs team.
• Recruit and develop senior Customer Program Managers with the executive presence to manage demanding industrial and nuclear customers.
• Create standard playbooks, reporting tools, dashboards, and communication templates for customer-facing program management.
• Clarify handoff points between Sales origination, program award, execution support, and long-term account stewardship.
• Establish rhythms that keep leadership informed on customer status, risks, opportunities, and escalations.
• Translate strong customer relationships into measurable business outcomes, including follow-on awards, program growth, and improved internal readiness.
• Develop annual customer program plans that identify follow-on opportunities, relationship risks, and internal readiness needs.
• Partner with Sales on expansion opportunities within existing accounts and adjacent platforms.
• Support strategic planning and capital-readiness discussions with customer-program forecasts and relationship insight.
• Track and report customer-facing performance indicators such as relationship health, follow-on award velocity, and voice-of-customer trends.
• Support cross-functional decision-making so customer commitments are met with urgency, transparency, and operational discipline.
• Use customer feedback to strengthen execution, improve recovery discipline, and raise the standard across future programs.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive experience in customer-facing leadership, program management, account leadership, or related industrial leadership roles.
• Demonstrated success managing executive-level customer relationships in complex industrial, energy, defense, or nuclear environments.
• Experience leading teams and influencing across Manufacturing, Engineering, Sales, and Quality without direct authority over all participating functions.
• Strong executive communication skills, including customer presentations, strategic updates, and issue-resolution messaging.
• Ability to operate with urgency, judgment, and credibility in multi-program, high-accountability environments.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations, or a related field.
• Nuclear industry experience, including familiarity with regulated quality and compliance environments such as ASME Section III, NQA-1, and 10 CFR 50 Appendix B.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with first-of-a-kind, serialized, modular, or complex fabrication programs.
• Prior exposure to major nuclear or similarly sophisticated industrial customers.
• Experience standing up a new function, operating model, or customer-facing capability in a growth or transition environment.
• Advanced degree or relevant program/customer leadership credentials.

System One, and its subsidiaries including Joulé and Mountain Ltd., are leaders in delivering outsourced services and workforce solutions across North America. We help clients get work done more efficiently and economically, without compromising quality. System One not only serves as a valued partner for our clients, but we offer eligible employees health and welfare benefits coverage options including medical, dental, vision, spending accounts, life insurance, voluntary plans, as well as participation in a 401(k) plan.

System One is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, family care or medical leave status, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.