Senior Program Manager, Manufacturing Operations
$124,000–$190,000 year
On-siteSan Francisco, California, United States
Job Summary
Own the master program plan for new facility bring-up, including milestones, dependencies, critical path, and risk register, from site selection through ramp to full production. Coordinate site selection activities, manage relationships and negotiations related to local and state incentives, and drive facility bring-up activities including permitting, construction oversight coordination, and utility readiness. Lead manufacturing readiness planning for equipment qualification, process validation, staffing, safety certification, and quality system readiness. Run regular cross-functional program reviews, surfacing risks, resolving blockers, and escalating decisions to leadership with clear options and recommendations. Build and maintain program dashboards and status reporting for executive stakeholders while managing relationships with external partners including general contractors, equipment vendors, and economic development organizations. Develop contingency plans for schedule, budget, or supply chain risks, and adjust the program plan as conditions change. Document lessons learned and build repeatable playbooks to streamline future facility launches. Based at HQ with frequent travel to the site during active build-out phases.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of program or project management experience
- direct experience standing up new manufacturing facilities, lines, or large capital projects
- Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-workstream programs involving internal teams and external partners simultaneously
- Working knowledge of manufacturing readiness concepts: equipment qualification, process validation, EHS/safety compliance, and quality systems
- Strong financial acumen
- experience building and tracking capital budgets, forecasts, and incentive-related financial commitments
- Excellent stakeholder management skills
- the ability to influence and align engineering, finance, legal, HR, and operations leaders without direct authority over them
- Proven track record of building structure and clarity in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- experience presenting to senior leadership
- Willingness to travel frequently to the facility site during active build-out phases
- travel expectations vary by program phase, potentially 30-50%+
Desired Qualifications
- Familiarity with site selection processes and economic incentive negotiation
- Experience in a relevant manufacturing vertical (e.g., EV/battery, electronics, hardware)
- Familiarity with lean manufacturing or Six Sigma methodologies
- Prior experience working directly with state or local economic development agencies
- PMP certification or equivalent program management training
- Experience with program management tooling (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, Monday.com)
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