Research Program Manager

Elinor Coatings; Fargo (ND); On-site; USD 103,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

PTO 16 days

Holidays 14

Sick days 12

HSA benefits

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

Elinor Coatings is seeking a Program Manager to serve as the operational partner to leadership, driving cadence, tracking deliverables, and keeping research-to-product initiatives moving with accountability.

The role requires strong project management experience, high follow-through, and the ability to execute decisively in fast-moving, technical environments.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years in program or project management in research, product development, regulated environments, or complex technical organizations.
• Demonstrated experience running multi team operating rhythms.
• Proven ability to manage cross functional dependencies.
• Experience with project management tools Wrike, Jira, Asana, Smartsheet, Monday, etc.
• Strong background in risk management, timeline enforcement, and stakeholder alignment.
• Experience in preparing executive level reporting.
• Prior roles requiring high accountability, fast execution, and a calm, solutions-focused approach.

Responsibilities

• Execution Cadence Ownership — Build and run weekly, monthly, quarterly operating rhythms.
• Deliverable Tracking — Maintain project plans, dependency maps, and risk logs.
• Cross Functional Coordination — Track alignment across research, productization, commercialization, operations, and finance, and promptly alert leadership to any roadblocks, misalignments, or emerging risks.
• Dashboard & Reporting — Provide real time visibility into progress, blockers, and resource needs.
• Leadership Materials — Prepare updates for reports for CEO, CTO, and other senior leadership.
• Meeting Discipline — Enforce agendas, outcomes, and follow through.
• Documentation Oversight — Ensure SOPs, templates, and workflows are current.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional coordination

Risk management

Executive reporting

Tools

Wrike

Jira

Asana

Smartsheet

Monday.com

Job description

This position will be posted until September 28th. At that time all candidates will be reviewed and contacted.

Overview

The Program Manager is the operational partner to the Director of Research, driving cadence, tracking deliverables, and keeping research and productization initiatives moving with clarity and accountability. This role maintains cross‑functional alignment, manages risks and timelines, and provides executive‑ready visibility into progress and blockers. The ideal candidate brings strong project management experience, high follow‑through, and the ability to execute decisively in fast‑moving, technical environments.

Primary Responsibilities

• Execution Cadence Ownership — Build and run weekly, monthly, quarterly operating rhythms.
• Deliverable Tracking — Maintain project plans, dependency maps, and risk logs.
• Cross Functional Coordination — Track alignment across research, productization, commercialization, operations, and finance, and promptly alert leadership to any roadblocks, misalignments, or emerging risks.
• Dashboard & Reporting — Provide real time visibility into progress, blockers, and resource needs.
• Leadership Materials — Prepare updates for reports for CEO, CTO, and other senior leadership.
• Meeting Discipline — Enforce agendas, outcomes, and follow through.
• Documentation Oversight — Ensure SOPs, templates, and workflows are current.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years in program or project management in research, product development, regulated environments, or complex technical organizations.
• Demonstrated experience running multi team operating rhythms.
• Proven ability to manage cross functional dependencies.
• Experience with project management tools (Wrike, Jira, Asana, Smartsheet, Monday, etc.).
• Strong background in risk management, timeline enforcement, and stakeholder alignment.
• Experience in preparing executive level reporting.
• Prior roles requiring high accountability, fast execution, and a calm, solutions-focused approach.

Classification and Compensation

• Full Time/Benefited
• Salary starting at $103k+, depending on experience
• 100% paid employee healthcare, vision, dental, disability and life insurance
• Starting PTO is 16 days annually with 14 paid holidays and 12 paid sick days
• Voluntary HSA, Flex, Employee Assistance Program and more