Manufacturing Program Manager: Cross-Functional Lead

Venture Hire Group LLC; Rochester (MN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k

Paid vacation

Sick leave

Paid holidays

Health benefits

Friendly culture

Job summary

Venture Hire Group LLC in Rochester, MN is seeking a Program Manager to orchestrate internal and customer communications, define and track milestones, and resolve issues to keep projects on schedule and within scope. This hands-on leadership role requires strategic thinking and a keen eye for detail to drive results.

You will collaborate with engineering, production and sales, develop program plans with detailed schedules, monitor progress, and lead regular reviews.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business Management, or a related field (MBA or MSE preferred).
• Experience: 5+ years of experience in program or senior project management, specifically within a manufacturing or technical product environment.
• Technical Proficiency: Familiarity with ERP systems (Epicor preferred), 3D design workflows (Creo), and Lean Manufacturing principles.
• Strategic Thinking: Proven ability to manage complex, overlapping projects and translate high-level goals into actionable manufacturing plans.
• Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Certification: PMP or PgMP certification is a significant plus.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary internal and external liaison for large, critical programs, from the initial pre-order, RFQ phase through completion and delivery.
• Establish a clear communication plan with inside sales and the customer for each critical program, defining milestones and reporting frequency.
• With input from engineering, production, and sales, develop comprehensive program plans, including detailed Gantt charts, to define milestones, dependencies, and timelines.
• Proactively identify potential project risks and bottlenecks, developing and implementing mitigation strategies to keep programs on track.
• Responsible for organizing and hosting both internal and external project kickoff, regular cadence meetings, PDR, CDR, and any other necessary reviews.
• Collaborate with the estimating team, engineering, and Director of Sales to support the sales funnel and prioritize quotes and projects in the queue.
• Actively monitor factory production schedule and engineering to track project progress against established schedules and lead internal reviews to ensure all milestones and due dates are met.
• Lead regular internal status meetings to review program progress and address any challenges.
• Serve as the key liaison to the customer for all critical programs, coordinating with inside sales and the regional sales manager to provide timely and transparent updates.
• Generate and distribute weekly and monthly reports on the status of key programs, including both won projects and those in the quoting queue, for the sales and leadership teams.
• Collaborate with the regional managers to understand scale of potential opportunities and capture data within our CRM, helping to prioritize our must‑win programs.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional communication

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Business Management or related field

MBA or MSE preferred

Tools

Epicor ERP

Creo 3D design

Lean Manufacturing

Job description

Venture Hire Group LLC in Rochester, MN is seeking a Program Manager to orchestrate internal and customer communications, define and track milestones, and resolve issues to keep projects on schedule and within scope. This hands-on leadership role requires strategic thinking and a keen eye for detail to drive results.

You will collaborate with engineering, production and sales, develop program plans with detailed schedules, monitor progress, and lead regular reviews.