Program Management Specialist
About The Position
The Program Management Specialist I supports the development, launch, and lifecycle management of SHOWA Performance aftermarket suspension products, accessories, and performance systems. The position connects Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Purchasing, Quality, Sales, Marketing, and external suppliers to coordinate development, validation, manufacturing, and launch activities in alignment with business objectives. The role maintains schedules and deliverables, supports issue resolution, and drives new product introductions from concept through commercialization. Approximately 80% of the role is focused on program management, including planning, execution, launch coordination, supplier management, and business reporting. The remaining 20% involves direct participation in engineering and product development, including prototype support, vehicle build coordination, validation testing, product evaluations, technical issue resolution, and continuous improvement. The position is intended to build both program leadership capabilities and practical experience in aftermarket suspension product development, testing, vehicle integration, and launch execution.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology, Business Administration, Program Management, or a related field.
- 0–3 years of experience in program management, project management, engineering, manufacturing, product development, or a related technical field.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and Project.
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, test reports, and validation results.
- Working knowledge of product development, design release, validation, and change management processes.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
Nice To Haves
- Mechanical Engineering or Industrial Engineering degree.
- Automotive, motorsports, powersports, off-road, OEM, or aftermarket industry experience.
- Experience supporting product launches, engineering projects, or vehicle-related programs.
- Familiarity with prototype development, validation testing, manufacturing readiness, and launch activities.
Responsibilities
- Support planning, execution, and launch of aftermarket suspension products, accessories, and related performance systems.
- Develop and maintain integrated program timing plans and milestone schedules; track deliverables, dependencies, risks, and critical-path activities.
- Coordinate cross-functional activities, monitor program performance, identify and mitigate risks, and support business case and program planning activities.
- Coordinate Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Purchasing, Supply Chain, Sales, Marketing, and external suppliers; facilitate program meetings and track action items.
- Drive accountability for deliverables, escalate issues affecting timing, cost, quality, or customer satisfaction, and support alignment of technical, operational, and business objectives.
- Support new product introduction and product line expansion; coordinate launch readiness reviews, production releases, and prototype, pilot, and production milestones.
- Support packaging, inventory readiness, pricing implementation, go-to-market activities, and launch planning for distributors, dealers, trade shows, marketing campaigns, and customer events.
- Coordinate supplier and service-provider timing and deliverables, track supplier readiness and recovery actions, and support customer-facing communications.
- Coordinate sample requests, product evaluations, demonstrations, stakeholder follow-up, and issue resolution.
- Maintain program dashboards, risk registers, issue logs, and key performance indicators; prepare management presentations, status reports, and executive summaries.
- Support budget tracking, financial monitoring, closure of action items, and continuous improvement of program management processes, tools, and reporting.
- Participate in product development and serve as the program management liaison to Engineering; support design reviews, technical discussions, product planning, and engineering deliverables.
- Coordinate prototype builds, sample parts, and evaluation units; support installation, fitment verification, vehicle integration, vehicle builds, demonstrations, trade show projects, and customer evaluations.
- Participate in vehicle testing, ride-and-drive events, and product assessment activities.
- Support development and execution of validation plans; coordinate laboratory, vehicle, durability, environmental, and performance testing; track test status, results, and corrective actions.
- Assist engineering teams with documenting and communicating test outcomes and verifying product performance against design objectives and customer requirements.
- Coordinate engineering changes from concept through production release, including timing, approvals, product revisions, manufacturing and supplier readiness, documentation, and configuration control.
- Participate in root-cause investigations of product, quality, manufacturing, installation, and warranty concerns; support corrective and preventive actions and track issues through closure.
- Gather, analyze, and organize technical data to support engineering decisions.
- Collect and organize feedback from customers, distributors, dealers, installers, racers, and internal stakeholders; support competitor benchmarking and market evaluations.
- Participate in continuous improvement and product enhancement initiatives, identify opportunities for product line expansion and performance improvements, and support product tuning and optimization.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
