MES Program Lead for Manufacturing Ops

Katalyst CRO; Danvers (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Katalyst CRO is seeking a Program Manager for the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) at the Danvers, MA site. This role provides end-to-end leadership for MES initiatives, aligning with business priorities, operational readiness, and enterprise standards while delivering a standardized global MES template with Danvers localizations.

You will lead cross-functional teams, manage schedules, budgets, risks, and vendor performance, and travel to the Danvers site biweekly as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience.
• Practical experience leading and managing the execution of projects and operational initiatives within a technical or professional discipline.
• Advanced knowledge and skills in project or program management with an understanding of downstream impacts across the organization.
• Strong Program Management background (PMO).
• MES implementation experience.
• IT Implementation experience.
• Critical manufacturing experience is preferred.
• Experience with quality standards/ highly regulated environment.
• MS Project, Planisware software for scheduling/budgeting, and MAP Agile experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall program leadership and governance for MES initiatives, defining objectives, success metrics, operating cadence, and escalation paths.
• Plan, execute, and monitor MES projects from initiation through delivery, owning integrated schedules, dependencies, risks, and outcomes across cross‑functional and departmental teams.
• Serve as the primary liaison between project teams, site leadership, functional partners, and vendors to ensure alignment, transparency, and timely decision‑making.
• Manage financial and resource aspects of the program, including budgets, forecasts, SOW execution, vendor performance, and efficient allocation of internal resources.
• Assess complex, ambiguous project issues and develop effective resolutions to meet productivity, quality, compliance, and customer satisfaction objectives.
• Lead risk, issue, and change management activities, ensuring adoption readiness and adherence to PMO, quality, and enterprise standards.
• Provide clear, concise project status reporting and executive‑level insights on progress, risks, and financials.
• Drive continuous improvement by strengthening delivery processes, tools, and consistency of execution, capturing lessons learned to improve future initiatives.

Skills

Program management

PMO

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional leadership

Budgeting & forecasting

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

MS Project

Planisware

MAP Agile

Job description

Katalyst CRO is seeking a Program Manager for the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) at the Danvers, MA site. This role provides end-to-end leadership for MES initiatives, aligning with business priorities, operational readiness, and enterprise standards while delivering a standardized global MES template with Danvers localizations.

You will lead cross-functional teams, manage schedules, budgets, risks, and vendor performance, and travel to the Danvers site biweekly as needed.