Program Manager, Defense Manufacturing - GM Defense

General Motors LLC; United States; Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 208,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company vehicle program

Job summary

GM Defense is seeking a seasoned Program Manager, Defense Manufacturing, to lead cross-functional programs from pre-award capture through contract execution. You will integrate customer and partner requirements into executable plans, and manage cost, schedule, performance, and risk with a collaborative, decisive leadership style.

The role offers frequent travel (25-50%) and hybrid work from the Warren, Michigan area, reporting to the Global Technical Center.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline.
• 8+ years of program management or equivalent.
• 10+ years in the defense industry or government contracting.
• U.S. citizenship and eligibility for Secret clearance.
• Strong written, verbal, and executive-level communication skills.
• Willingness to travel as required.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional teams through full program lifecycle and align stakeholders.
• Support capture and pre-contract activities, resource planning, and risk assessments.
• Direct contract execution to meet cost, schedule, quality, and performance commitments.
• Translate customer requirements into executable work breakdown structures and schedules.
• Develop and manage program budgets and monitor financial performance.
• Define performance measures and provide timely, decision-ready reporting to leadership.
• Identify and mitigate program risks and opportunities with action plans.
• Engage with government customers, primes, subcontractors, and internal stakeholders.
• Prepare materials for gate reviews, executive updates, and customer engagements.
• Ensure compliance with quality management systems and contract obligations.
• Foster a high-performing team and represent GM Defense in external engagements.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

Communication skills

Risk management

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline

Job description

Hybrid: This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan three times per week, at minimum, or other frequency dictated by the business with periodic travel, customer and partner locations, and other locations as required by the business.

This role is based remotely, but if the selected candidate lives within a specific mile radius of a GM hub, they will be expected to report to the location three times a week {or other frequency dictated by your manager}. The selected candidate will be required to travel on a regular basis (25-50%) for this role. This job is not eligible for relocation benefits. Any relocation costs would be the responsibility of the selected candidate.

The Role:

GM Defense is seeking a Program Manager, Defense Manufacturing, to lead cross‑functional programs and strategic initiatives from pre‑award capture support through contract execution. This role is accountable for integrating customer and partner requirements into executable plans; managing cost, schedule, performance, and risk; and aligning internal teams to deliver successful program outcomes. The successful candidate is a decisive, collaborative leader who performs well in ambiguity, exercises sound independent judgment, and communicates effectively with government customers, defense primes, suppliers, partners, and GM Defense leadership. The role offers the opportunity to help expand GM Defense's presence across the defense industrial base by leveraging General Motors' capabilities in engineering, supply chain management, and manufacturing. The successful candidate will lead the execution of contracts awarded to GM Defense by traditional defense primes, coordinating business units and suppliers to manufacture and deliver selected components and systems. The role leverages GM’s manufacturing and supply‑chain capabilities and supports design‑for‑manufacturing reviews.

What You'll Do:

Program leadership and integration: Lead cross‑functional teams through the full program lifecycle, align stakeholders to program objectives, establish clear accountability, and manage government and GM Defense program imperatives.

Pre‑award and start‑of‑work readiness: Support capture and pre‑contract activities through resource planning, risk assessment, work breakdown structure development, Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) planning, stakeholder engagement, and start‑of‑work preparation.

Contract execution: Direct execution against contractual requirements and ensure the team delivers to approved cost, schedule, technical, quality, and performance commitments.

Requirements, work planning, and schedule: Translate customer requirements and defense‑prime needs into executable work breakdown structures, integrated master schedules, milestones, deliverables, and clear ownership.

Cost and financial management: Develop and manage program budgets, monitor performance against financial objectives, identify variances, and implement corrective actions and cost‑control measures.

Performance management: Define meaningful performance measures and key performance indicators; monitor progress; and provide timely, decision‑ready reporting to stakeholders and leadership.

Risk and opportunity management: Identify, assess, communicate, and mitigate program risks and opportunities through proactive action plans, contingency planning, and escalation when appropriate.

Customer, partner, and stakeholder engagement: Serve as a trusted point of contact for government customers, traditional defense primes, subcontractors, suppliers, and internal stakeholders. Build relationships, resolve issues, and maintain alignment across organizations.

Program reviews and communications: Prepare and deliver materials for internal gate reviews, executive updates, customer reviews, and government leadership engagements; communicate status, issues, risks, and recommendations with clarity and executive presence.

Quality and compliance: Ensure program execution follows applicable quality‑management systems, contractual obligations, company processes, and customer requirements.

Team development: Build a collaborative, high‑performing team environment through coaching, mentoring, effective workload balancing, and development of team members.

Company representation and stewardship: Represent GM Defense in customer meetings, industry engagements, program reviews, and partner discussions. Protect sensitive company, customer, and program information and operate in accordance with GM Behaviors and GM Defense values. Other duties as assigned.

Your Skills and Abilities (Required Qualifications)

Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline. 8+ years of experience in program management or an equivalent discipline. 10+ years of experience in the defense industry (commercial or U.S. government), in government contracting or government procurement fields. Candidate must be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, asylee or refugee). U.S. citizenship required to comply with federal government contract provision expressly restricting role to U.S. citizens. Eligible to obtain Secret U.S. Security Clearance after hire. Demonstrated success developing and leading high‑performing cross‑functional teams. Strong written, verbal, and executive‑level communication skills. Ability to navigate ambiguity, solve complex problems, and make sound decisions with limited supervision. Proficiency with Microsoft Office and/or Google Workspace. Working knowledge of defense manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, and/or sustainment environments, with the ability to connect customer requirements to operational execution. Ability to work independently in a hybrid environment while maintaining a high‑cadence, collaborative operating model with distributed internal and external teams. Willingness and ability to travel as required to support customer, partner, supplier, and GM Defense engagements.

What Will Give You a Competitive Advantage (Preferred Qualification)

Active Secret U.S. Security Clearance as of the first day of work. PMP certification or equivalent program‑management credential. Experience spanning multiple defense‑industry functions, such as portfolio planning, business development, contracting, systems engineering, manufacturing, finance, purchasing, and supply chain. Experience managing or supporting missile programs with a general technical competence and understanding of components.

Key Competencies

• Program management and integration: Connect requirements, work plans, resources, schedules, deliverables, and decision points into a coherent execution model.
• Leadership and accountability: Set direction, build trust, establish ownership, and motivate teams toward shared outcomes.
• Financial and commercial acumen: Understand budgets, cost drivers, performance variances, and the commercial implications of program decisions.
• Risk, opportunity, and decision management: Anticipate issues, evaluate tradeoffs, develop mitigation strategies, and escape decisions at the right time.
• Contract and customer management: Understand contractual obligations, manage commitments, and build productive relationships with government and industry stakeholders.
• Communication and executive presence: Deliver concise, credible, and audience‑appropriate messages, including status, risk, recommendations, and decisions required.
• Technical fluency and problem‑solving: Understand defense acquisition and technical and operational context to manage programs, address challenges, and enable timely decisions.
• Quality and compliance mindset: Embed quality, documentation, process discipline, and protection of sensitive information into day‑to‑day execution.

Compensation

The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position, as well as geography of the selected candidate. The salary range for this role is $134,700 - $207,600. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.

Bonus Potential

An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.

Benefits

• GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more.

Company Vehicle

• Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate. Note: program participants are required to purchase/lease a qualifying GM vehicle every four years unless one of a limited number of exceptions applies.

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