Head of Program Management — Aerospace & Defense

APPLIED COMPOSITES INC; Los Alamitos (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Disability coverage

Life Insurance

Retirement matching

Tuition reimbursement

Employee assistance plan

Job summary

Applied Composites Inc. seeks a Director, Program Management to lead the program management function across one or more business segments in Los Alamitos, CA. You will oversee programs from award through production, ensuring alignment with customer commitments and AC objectives.

The role demands extensive experience in aerospace/defense programs, strong leadership, and deep financial governance to sustain margins and drive performance.

Qualifications

• 10–15+ years of relevant experience leading aerospace/defense or complex manufacturing programs.
• Experience managing multi-program portfolios and large budgets.
• Knowledge of program governance, KPIs, and recovery actions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Program Management function across the assigned business or group of businesses.
• Provide strategic oversight from award through delivery and closeout.
• Ensure programs meet scope, schedule, cost, quality, and financial targets.
• Establish governance, reporting, and escalation processes for programs.
• Drive corrective actions to close performance gaps before completion.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to ensure successful program execution.
• Develop plans to improve forecasting accuracy and financial visibility.
• Identify opportunities to improve profitability and prevent margin leakage.

Skills

Program management

Leadership

Financial management

Cross-functional leadership

Forecasting

Risk management

Customer relationship

Communication

Education

Post-secondary degree in Engineering/Business/Operations or related

Tools

ERP systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

Applied Composites Inc. seeks a Director, Program Management to lead the program management function across one or more business segments in Los Alamitos, CA. You will oversee programs from award through production, ensuring alignment with customer commitments and AC objectives.

The role demands extensive experience in aerospace/defense programs, strong leadership, and deep financial governance to sustain margins and drive performance.