Job Description

Senior Program Manager

We are looking for a Senior Program Engineer for our Huntersville, NC facility. The Senior Program Manager is responsible for the leadership, planning, execution, and successful delivery of complex Aerospace and Defense customer programs and strategic internal initiatives. This role serves as the primary program interface between the customer and the organization, ensuring program execution aligns with contractual requirements, business objectives, and customer expectations. The Senior Program Manager leads cross-functional teams to manage program scope, schedule, budget, risk, and performance while driving operational excellence and customer satisfaction throughout the program lifecycle.

Your Responsibilities:

• Lead, coordinate, and execute strategic Aerospace and Defense customer programs from contract award through final delivery.
• Develop, maintain, and execute integrated program plans, schedules, and resource requirements for complex, multi-disciplinary programs.
• Serve as the primary customer focal point for programs, building strong relationships and ensuring effective communication across all levels of customer organizations.
• Lead Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) and coordinate activities across engineering, operations, quality, procurement, finance, supply chain, and logistics to ensure successful program execution.
• Manage program scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk while ensuring compliance with contractual obligations, customer requirements, and applicable RFQ/RFP documentation.
• Conduct regular program reviews with internal leadership and customers, providing clear updates on milestones, deliverables, financial performance, risks, and mitigation plans.
• Identify, assess, and proactively resolve program issues and execution risks to minimize impact on schedule, cost, and customer satisfaction.
• Escalate program concerns and recommend corrective actions when contractual commitments, operational performance, or strategic objectives are at risk.
• Drive resolution of manufacturing, supply chain, technical, quality, and customer-related issues throughout the program lifecycle.
• Maintain accountability for program financial performance, including forecasting, budgeting, revenue recognition, and profitability.
• Support contract reviews and ensure alignment between customer requirements and operational execution plans.
• Partner with Business Development and Application Engineering to support opportunity capture, proposal development, customer presentations, and transition from business capture to execution.
• Develop and maintain program performance metrics, dashboards, and reporting tools to measure execution effectiveness and support decision-making.
• Lead program closeout activities, including lessons learned, cost performance analysis, risk reviews, and the capture of best practices for future proposals and program execution.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of project management processes, tools, procedures, and governance frameworks.

Your Profile:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business Management, Operations Management, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of experience managing Aerospace and Defense programs in a prime contractor, subcontractor, or advanced manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, multi-functional programs from proposal through production and delivery.
• Strong understanding of Aerospace and Defense contracting environments, customer expectations, and program execution requirements.
• Strategic thinker with a results-oriented mindset and the ability to drive execution in dynamic environments.
• Exceptional analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and customer relationship management skills.
• Willingness to travel approximately 10% to support customers, program reviews, conferences, and industry events.
• 5+ years of program management, project management, or equivalent leadership experience.
• Demonstrated success managing complex Aerospace and Defense programs with responsibility for schedule, cost, quality, and customer satisfaction.
• Strong understanding of contracts, statements of work (SOWs), technical specifications, terms and conditions, and customer requirements.
• Experience leading Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) and cross-functional organizations.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to manage budgets, forecasts, profitability, and program financial performance.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project, Excel, PowerPoint, and ERP systems; SAP experience preferred.
• Working knowledge of risk management, earned value principles, and program performance metrics.
• Experience in additive manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, or highly regulated production environments preferred.
• Prior business development, capture management, proposal development, or customer-facing commercial experience is highly desirable.
• In compliance with U.S. Government technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), candidates must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

We offer:

Aside from a dynamic global culture and leading market position, we are proud to offer our employees development opportunities, competitive salary and a robust benefit program ALL available on first day of employment!

The perks and benefits of working at Oerlikon include the following:

• Comprehensive medical and prescription drug plan with low premiums, company sponsored HSA contributions and without cumbersome waiting periods to keep you going strong.
• Excellent Dental and Vision coverage.
• Employee Assistance, Financial and Wellness programs to help improve all aspects of your life journey.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with significant company match and financial planning and education options to help you achieve your retirement goals
• Tuition reimbursement and internal education resources to satisfy your love of learning so you can continue to grow with us!
• Generous paid time off to support your physical and mental wellbeing.
• 10 observed company holidays and 2 floaters, to occasionally extend your weekends or time off.
• 100% company paid life insurance and disability insurance
• Employee Referral Bonus program because why not to bring your friends to work everyday!

Why Oerlikon:

Curiosity thrives at Oerlikon, and creates a dynamic, energetic and exciting environment that incubates innovation and passion to consistently improve what we do every day. This drives value for our customers and other stakeholders and helps us to enhance the performance of our products and services.

#joinoerlikonus #joinourteam

Are you curious? Then release your passion to succeed and APPLY to discover how you can help us build a better world and realize how you can make a personal difference by joining our global team! Our commitment is your success!

About us

Oerlikon is a global leader in material science engineering. Through the right combination of surface technologies, advanced materials, coating equipment, engineered components and advanced manufacturing, we help customers improve the performance, efficiency, durability and sustainability of their products and processes. Our technologies are often invisible to the end user, but mission-critical to the industries that power modern life: aerospace, energy, semiconductors, medical, luxury, tooling, automotive and general industries. Headquartered in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland, Oerlikon operates in 38 countries with a global workforce of around 10,000 people. In 2025, Oerlikon achieved sales of CHF 1.6 billion.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Oerlikon is an Equal Opportunity Employer. If you’d like more information on your EEO rights under the law, please click here: Know Your Rights.

If you are unable to complete an application or respond to a job opening because of a disability, please contact us at Americas.hr@oerlikon.com or recruiter.us@oerlikon.com. This contact information is for accessibility requests only and is not intended for inquiries about the status of applications or for third-party vendor/agency requests.

Oerlikon will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

Agencies

Oerlikon only accepts agency resumes for positions that have been explicitly approved by HR for third-party support. We work exclusively with our approved vendors who have agreed to Oerlikon’s terms and conditions and have an executed contract in place. Any resumes or profiles submitted to Oerlikon employees for roles not approved and requested by HR will be considered unsolicited, and Oerlikon will not be obligated to pay a placement fee.

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