PMO Lead & Approvals Project Manager

Det-Tronics (Detector Electronics, LLC); Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) retirement plan with company 
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Paid time off (PTO)

Tuition reimbursement

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Global mobility support

Ownership Program

Job summary

Det-Tronics is seeking an experienced PMO Leader to drive the growth-focused product portfolio and oversee a disciplined program management office. You will align engineering projects with strategic goals, manage resources, and deliver programs on time and on budget across global teams.

You will coach project managers, optimize interdependencies, and provide weekly executive updates, ensuring governance and standards are maintained for life-safety product development and certification programs.

Qualifications

• 4+ years leading or managing a PMO with governance and executive reporting.
• 15+ years in project, program, and portfolio management in manufacturing environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering or related field.
• Experience managing an enterprise engineering project portfolio including new product development and sustaining engineering.
• Proven success leading end-to-end product development through stage-gate governance.
• Expertise in portfolio prioritization, alignment, and resource allocation.
• Experience with portfolio-level decision-making, capacity planning, risk assessment, and trade-offs.
• Experience operating in regulated and/or life safety product environments.
• Ability to establish PMO governance frameworks, standards, metrics, and reporting cadences.
• Strong ability to lead without direct authority and drive accountability across teams.
• Experience coaching project managers and improving PMO maturity.
• Proficiency with project management tools and collaboration, resource planning, and financial management.
• Experience with portfolio financial management including budgeting, forecasting, and tracking.

Responsibilities

• Manage the portfolio of Engineering projects and programs including new product developments, sustaining efforts, and value/cost savings.
• Lead continuous prioritization to enable delivery against the business strategy.
• Ensure portfolio alignment with the company strategy and secure staffing for top projects.
• Coach project managers and remove roadblocks to ensure timely delivery.
• Identify interdependencies and streamline stakeholder communication across functions.
• Coordinate end-to-end program financial management, including planning, forecasting, and tracking budgets.
• Provide visibility of resource utilization, capacity gaps, and optimization opportunities.
• Drive regular executive reporting on financials, resources, delivery, and performance.
• Maintain the program roadmap and governance forums, with consistent metrics and updates.
• Support risk management and continuous improvement of PMO processes.

Skills

PMO leadership

Portfolio governance

Resource planning

Executive reporting

Process improvement

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Financial management

Cross-functional leadership

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or closely related field

Job description

About Us

Det-Tronics is a $200M global technology leader in industrial life safety solutions, specializing in high-end flame and gas detection and automation control systems. As part of Spectrum Safety Solutions with 1,700 employees across 20+ countries we serve mission-critical environments in oil & gas, clean energy, marine, and infrastructure. Backed by Sentinel Capital Partners, we’re driving innovation and growth across our portfolio.

About Us

Det-Tronics is a $200M global technology leader in industrial life safety solutions, specializing in high-end flame and gas detection and automation control systems. As part of Spectrum Safety Solutions with 1,700 employees across 20+ countries we serve mission-critical environments in oil & gas, clean energy, marine, and infrastructure. Backed by Sentinel Capital Partners, we’re driving innovation and growth across our portfolio.

The Opportunity

The PMO Leader enables the business to realize its growth driven product roadmaps by partnering with Product Managers and Engineering leaders to identify and deliver a robust portfolio of projects and programs aligned with the business strategy for new products, margin enhancement, cost reduction, and product life extension.

The PMO Leader uses data and KPIs to analyze, report and manage priorities and sequencing of work to achieve the business outcomes while applying a pragmatic approach to getting things done.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Alignment and Prioritization

• Manage the portfolio of Engineering projects and programs including new product developments, sustaining efforts, value/cost savings efforts. Lead continuous prioritization, providing options and alternatives to enable the business to deliver against its strategy.
• Ensures project portfolio and prioritization is aligned with the company strategy.
• Ensure that individual projects and programs are created and staffed with a project manager; remove roadblocks where needed and protect resources attached to top/strategic projects.
• Identify project and portfolio interdependencies, uncover synergies, and serve as a central contact point to streamline stakeholder communication.
• Coach project managers.

Capacity, Resource, Cost and Risk Management

• Act as primary contact for resource planning and tracking, including allocations, extensions, ensuring alignment with delivery priorities.
• Provide visibility of resource utilization, capacity gaps, and optimization opportunities to support delivery and cost efficiency decisions.
• Coordinate end-to-end program financial management, including planning, forecasting, and tracking of budgets, actuals, and forecasts.
• Facilitate decision-making and support proactive risk management.
• Identify delivery bottlenecks, dependencies and risks, driving resolution and continuously improve PMO processes, standards and ways of working.
• Take a lead role in budgeting / annual planning processes.

Reporting and Performance Monitoring

• Own the portfolio of new development and sustaining projects end to end from initiation to closure & launch.
• Produce weekly executive reporting across financials, resources, delivery and performance, providing forward-looking insight and narrative to support decision-making.
• Understand the meaning and implications of key financial indicators. Use financial analysis to evaluate and act on strategic options and opportunities.
• Maintain the program roadmap and supervise overall delivery status.
• Establish and drive regular weekly and monthly cadence of reporting. Communicate and report on execution and risks to the portfolio.

Governance and Standards

• Ensure project and teams comply with quality system procedures including change and development management.
• Coordinate and facilitate program governance forums, including materials, decisions and follow-ups.
• Create and champion policies to promote growth of teams.
• Drive coordination among project teams to leverage standards and best practices.
• Ensure tracking and documentation of all projects, including any mandatory system and metric tracking.

Manage Recertifications

• Directly manage the company global recertification projects that span all products and product groups.
• Scope and submit work and resource needs for weekly, monthly and annual project planning.
• Plan internal and external resources and deliverables to complete work early enough to avoid any gaps in expirable certifications or standards updates.
• Hands on support engagement with internal cross functional teams, 3 rd party agencies and external test houses in execution of deliverables.
• Complete and execute associated product changes including any documentation, literature and markings.
• Track project KPI’s and metrics providing project report-outs as part of larger PMO project reporting and executive updates.

What You Bring

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience leading or managing a Project Management Office (PMO), with accountability for project portfolio governance, prioritization, resource management, and executive reporting.
• 15+ years of progressive project, program, and portfolio management experience in a manufacturing environment, including leadership of complex electromechanical product development programs.
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience managing an enterprise engineering project portfolio, including new product development, sustaining engineering, , and strategic business programs.
• Proven success leading end-to-end product development programs through structured stage-gate governance processes.
• Expertise in portfolio prioritization and strategic alignment, ensuring project investments, resource allocation, and execution plans support business objectives and growth strategies.
• Experience driving portfolio-level decision-making, including management of project interdependencies, capacity planning, risk assessment, and trade‑off analysis.
• Experience operating in regulated and/or life safety product environments.
• Proven ability to establish PMO governance frameworks, standards, metrics, reporting cadences, and continuous improvement initiatives across multiple project teams.
• Strong ability to lead without direct authority, influence cross‑functional teams, align stakeholders, and drive accountability across functions and leadership levels.
• Experience coaching and developing project managers, fostering consistent project management practices and organizational project management maturity.
• Strong proficiency with project management, collaboration, resource planning, financial management, and portfolio management tools.
• Proven experience in portfolio financial management, including annual planning, budgeting, forecasting, investment prioritization, and tracking portfolio performance against strategic objectives.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MS, MBA).
• PMP or formal project management certification.
• Experience with fire, gas detection, or industrial safety products.
• Strong executive‑level presentation and data‑synthesis skills.

Why Join Us?

• Work with a globally respected brand in life safety
• Influence strategic decisions at the executive level
• Drive innovation and transformation in a high‑growth environment
• Enjoy development opportunities within a dynamic, private equity‑backed company

Benefits

At Det-Tronics, we believe in taking care of our people. Our comprehensive benefits package includes:

• Health & Wellness: Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans with company contributions
• Financial Security: 401(k) retirement plan with company match, life and disability insurance
• Time Off: Generous paid time off (PTO), holidays, and flexible scheduling options
• Professional Growth: Career development programs, training opportunities, and tuition reimbursement
• Employee Support: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), wellness resources, and global mobility support
• Ownership Culture: Participation in our Ownership Program, empowering employees to share in our success

Ready to shape the future of industrial safety?