Onsite Program Manager, Custom Machinery Builds

H.T. Prof Executive Search; Addison (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

H. T. PROF Group in the Greater Chicago Area is seeking a Program Manager for manufacturing to own complex engineered-to-order programs from concept to delivery.

This onsite, hands-on role requires coordinating Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Quality to meet customer commitments. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in manufacturing project management, strong leadership, and experience leading customer-facing program reviews.

Qualifications

• Direct experience owning engineered-to-order or custom machine builds.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, or another technical discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of manufacturing project management experience.
• Minimum 2 years in a full lifecycle Program Manager role.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and cross-functional interaction.
• Direct customer-facing experience including program reviews.

Responsibilities

• Own complex manufacturing and engineered-equipment programs from concept through production, delivery, and customer implementation.
• Serve as the primary program contact for the customer, managing expectations, communicating status and risk, and leading program reviews.
• Build and manage program schedules, budgets, milestones, resources, and deliverables, and make the tradeoff decisions required to protect commitments.
• Drive alignment across Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Quality, holding functional partners accountable to program dates.
• Identify program risks early, remove roadblocks, and drive corrective action before schedule impact occurs.
• Manage multiple concurrent programs and deliver clear, direct status reporting to executive leadership.
• Lead new product development activity through a Stage-Gate or comparable phased-gate process.
• Own the transition of engineered products and equipment from design into manufacturing.
• Work on the plant floor alongside engineering and production teams. This is a hands-on role, not a role managed from a schedule.
• Ensure customer requirements, technical specifications, quality standards, and delivery commitments are met.
• Drive continuous improvement in program execution, communication, and project management practice.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Cross-functional

Communication

Customer-facing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Business

Tools

Microsoft Project

Job description

H. T. PROF Group in the Greater Chicago Area is seeking a Program Manager for manufacturing to own complex engineered-to-order programs from concept to delivery.

This onsite, hands-on role requires coordinating Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Quality to meet customer commitments. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in manufacturing project management, strong leadership, and experience leading customer-facing program reviews.