Operation Program Manager

Formlabs•Somerville, MA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Formlabs, Inc. is seeking an Operations Program Manager to create formal phase-gate product development for manufacturing, enforcing entry/exit criteria for concept, design, verification, pilot, and ramp stages. This role involves owning verification and validation planning across various testing types, leading Operations readiness and production ramp planning, and performing engineering trade-off analyses. The position requires validating design feasibility, applying DFM/DFA principles, and performing resource leveling and capacity planning. The Operations Program Manager will identify and manage technical and operational risks, design the global manufacturing and supplier network, and perform lead-time and bottleneck analysis. Responsibilities also include executing make-vs-buy and supplier selection frameworks, leading supplier negotiations, building end-to-end cost models, and evaluating capital investments. The role involves modeling yield, scrap, and rework impact, conducting cost variance and sensitivity analyses, and translating engineering and manufacturing constraints into business impact assessments. Additionally, the position requires leading cross-functional Operational Readiness Meetings, producing data-driven executive reports, applying DOE and statistical analysis, leading root-cause analysis, and providing quality and risk dashboards. Management of engineering change control, configuration management, risk-based quality systems, and compliance across departments are key. The role also integrates cost data into financial governance systems, performs budgeting and forecasting, manages inventory valuation, and executes cost-reduction initiatives. Defining quantitative KPIs and driving continuous improvement are essential. Organizational accountability and reporting structures will be maintained. Domestic travel of 15% is required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree, or foreign equivalent in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related field
Two years of experience in mechanical engineering, or hardware product development
Two years of experience in managing technically complex product development programs in hardware or manufacturing
Two years of experience in applying technical expertise to program strategy, cost modeling, and decision-making
Two years of experience with program management tools (scheduling, risk management, resource planning, and reporting)
Two years of experience in understanding of manufacturing and operations fundamentals, including cost structures, plan vs actual performance management, and demand-supply planning
Two years of experience in conducting financial/economic analysis and evaluation of long-term investment

Responsibilities

Create formal phase-gate product development for manufacturing, enforcing entry/exit criteria for concept, design, verification, pilot, and ramp stages.
Own verification and validation planning across functional, environmental, and reliability testing.
Lead Operations readiness and production ramp planning, integrating supplier capability, production readiness, and capacity models.
Perform engineering trade-off analyses across mechanical performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.
Validate design feasibility through prototyping, testing, and simulation of structural, thermal, and functional behavior.
Apply DFM/DFA principles to ensure component geometry, interfaces, and tolerances are ready.
Perform resource leveling and capacity planning across engineering, operations, and suppliers.
Identify and manage technical and operational risks using structured mitigation plans.
Design the global manufacturing and supplier network across Formlabs factories and external partners.
Perform lead-time and bottleneck analysis to protect launch and ramp schedules.
Execute make-vs-buy and supplier selection frameworks.
Lead supplier negotiations and risk mitigation to ensure continuity of supply.
Build end-to-end cost models including BOM, labor, tooling, depreciation, yield, and overhead.
Perform design-to-cost and value-engineering trade studies.
Evaluate capital investments using NPV, free cash flow, and ROI analysis.
Model yield, scrap, and rework impact on unit cost.
Conduct cost variance and sensitivity analyses.
Translate engineering and manufacturing constraints into business impact assessments.
Lead cross-functional Operational Readiness Meetings for NPI execution.
Produce data-driven executive reports integrating cost, yield, capacity, and schedule.
Apply DOE and statistical analysis to optimize yield and reduce variation.
Lead root-cause analysis and CAPA for defects and failures.
Provide quality and risk dashboards to leadership.
Manage engineering change control and configuration management.
Enforce risk-based quality systems aligned with ISO and industry standards.
Maintain traceability from requirements to validation results.
Coordinate compliance across engineering, operations, and suppliers.
Integrate engineering, manufacturing, and supply-chain cost data into financial governance systems.
Perform budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis.
Manage inventory valuation and COGS tracking.
Execute process-level cost-reduction initiatives.
Define quantitative KPIs for yield, throughput, cycle time, cost, and readiness.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives.
Maintain organizational accountability and reporting structures.