Defense Program Manager

Trak Group•Hamilton, OH

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Trak group is partnering with a growing client seeking a Defense Program Manager for a highly visible leadership role combining new business development, customer acquisition, and full lifecycle program management within the defense industry. This individual will serve as a primary interface with defense customers, OEMs, government agencies, prime contractors, strategic suppliers, and internal leadership. The Program Manager will identify and pursue new business opportunities while leading awarded programs from initial opportunity and proposal development through engineering, launch, production, and ongoing customer support. Success in this position requires the ability to balance commercial growth with disciplined program execution, ensuring programs achieve timing, cost, quality, technical performance, profitability, and customer satisfaction objectives.

Requirements

Experience in program management, project management, business development, or customer acquisition within a technical manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated ability to manage complex programs throughout the full product lifecycle.
Experience leading cross-functional engineering and manufacturing teams.
Strong customer-facing experience with the ability to develop and maintain strategic business relationships.
Experience supporting new business acquisition, capture activities, proposals, and/or contract negotiations.
Ability to develop and evaluate business cases, cost models, budgets, and profitability analyses.
Strong understanding of manufacturing, engineering, procurement, and product development processes.
Experience managing program schedules, budgets, risks, milestones, resources, and deliverables.
Ability to manage multiple stakeholders and drive accountability across functional teams.
Strong financial and commercial acumen with an understanding of program profitability.
Excellent presentation, negotiation, written, and verbal communication skills.
Ability to communicate effectively with customers, suppliers, technical teams, and executive leadership.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally as required.

Nice To Haves

Defense, military vehicle, aerospace, or other highly regulated industry experience.
Experience working directly with defense OEMs, government agencies, or prime contractors.
Background in defense business development, capture management, or strategic account development.
Experience supporting complex engineered products within an automotive or vehicle manufacturing environment.
Experience developing preliminary BOMs and working with strategic suppliers during new business acquisition.
Experience leading new product introductions and manufacturing launches.
Familiarity with formal product development and stage-gate processes.
Experience coordinating programs across multiple domestic and international locations.

Responsibilities

Identify, qualify, and pursue new business opportunities within military and defense vehicle markets.
Build and maintain strategic relationships with defense customers, OEMs, government agencies, prime contractors, and industry partners.
Lead acquisition and capture activities, coordinating customer requirements, technical solutions, pricing strategies, and proposals.
Align customer acquisition, product development, and manufacturing capabilities across a global organization.
Develop preliminary business cases, project cost models, profitability analyses, and investment justifications.
Partner with Engineering, Sales, Operations, Procurement, and Finance to develop competitive and executable proposals.
Work with Procurement to identify strategic suppliers and establish preliminary Bills of Material (BOMs) during acquisition.
Support contract negotiations and ensure alignment between customer requirements and business objectives.
Monitor defense market trends, competitive activity, emerging programs, and evolving customer requirements.
Represent the organization at customer meetings, industry events, trade shows, and other business development activities.
Present technical capabilities, manufacturing expertise, products, and value propositions to prospective and existing customers.
Develop long-term customer strategies focused on revenue growth and market expansion.
Lead defense programs throughout the complete lifecycle from acquisition through product development, launch, production, and ongoing customer support.
Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans covering scope, schedules, milestones, critical paths, resources, risks, and deliverables.
Lead cross-functional teams across Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Procurement, Finance, Sales, and other functional areas.
Drive achievement of program objectives related to timing, cost, quality, technical performance, profitability, and customer satisfaction.
Monitor program performance against financial and schedule objectives and implement corrective actions when necessary.
Manage program budgets and ensure costs are properly planned, tracked, invoiced, and allocated.
Monitor program profitability and drive actions necessary to achieve financial targets.
Lead regular program reviews and provide updates to senior leadership and steering committees.
Prepare executive-level status reports, risk assessments, project summaries, and action plans.
Coordinate engineering changes through established internal and customer change-management processes.
Identify program risks and develop appropriate mitigation and contingency strategies.
Lead cross-functional issue resolution and drive accountability through closure.
Maintain accurate project schedules, documentation, reports, action items, and lessons learned.
Travel to customer, supplier, and international company locations as required.