Program Manager - Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) Program Development - GM Defense

GM • Warren, MI

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

GM Defense is driving the future of military mobility by leveraging the best-in-class capabilities of General Motors for unmatched innovation, proven performance and breakthrough life-cycle economics! We deliver reliable, affordable, and innovative products across a full spectrum of capabilities – integrated vehicles, power and propulsion, autonomy, mobility, and security! GM Defense is seeking a highly motivated, dynamic individual looking for an opportunity that will allow them to showcase their talents and have an impact in a strategic growth area. Our ideal candidate thrives in ambiguity and demonstrates problem-solving leadership with limited oversight! The Program Manager – Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) Program Development owns the processes, tools, and cross-functional coordination that keep the ISV portfolio synchronized across contracts, engineering, manufacturing, and sustainment. This role defines, documents, and executes core program processes; drives automation of internal workflows; leads the cost accounting creation and maintenance process; oversees all contract deliverables and Integrated Master Schedules (IMS); develops and executes analytic studies that inform future engineering content, production planning, and investment decisions; and provides direct supervisory leadership for 2–3 Assistant Program Managers supporting ISV integration activities. The role ensures leadership has timely, accurate, and actionable visibility into performance across cost, schedule, technical risk, and contractual commitments while building team capability, setting priorities, and ensuring consistent execution across assigned program management resources.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Candidate must either be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, asylee or refugee) or a non-U.S. Person who is eligible to obtain any required export control authorization.
• U.S. citizenship required to comply with federal government contract provision expressly restricting role to U.S. citizens.
• 10+ years of relevant experience
• Proficiency in program or project management, preferably in automotive, aerospace, defense, or a similarly complex product environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading integrated schedules, contract deliverables, and cross-functional teams on programs.
• Strong working knowledge of structured program management practices, including WBS, IMS, and risk & issue management.
• Proficiency with core program management tools such as Microsoft Project or equivalent scheduling tools, Excel, and PowerPoint, with the ability to learn production process scheduling and cost accounting software.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to synthesize complex information into clear narratives for leadership, customers, and functional teams.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Systems Management, or a related field.
• Master’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Direct experience with U.S. Department of Defense programs, including familiarity with CDRLs, IMS expectations, and MIL-STD-881 or similar standards.
• Experience in light tactical vehicles or ground combat systems programs.
• Hands-on experience with process design, documentation, and automation, including SharePoint/Power Platform solutions, scripting, or workflow tools.
• Exposure to Earned Value Management (EVM), cost/schedule integration, or equivalent performance management frameworks.
• Familiarity with GM or GM Defense processes and governance related to contracting, timekeeping, and program financials.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the integration lead across ISV contracts, variants, and work directives, ensuring alignment of scope, schedules, and budgets.
• Maintain a clear, consolidated view of ISV program baselines — technical, schedule, and financial — and assess how changes in one area affect the broader portfolio.
• Partner with Contracts, Finance, Engineering, Manufacturing, Integrated Product Support (IPS), Quality, and Supply Chain to translate contractual requirements into executable, integrated plans.
• Provide day-to-day supervision, work prioritization, coaching, and performance support for 2–3 Assistant Program Managers, ensuring aligned execution of program management tasks, development of team capability, and effective coverage across ISV integration priorities.
• Define, document, and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for core ISV program management processes, including contract change flow, CDRL development and review, IMS updates, risk and issue management, and decision forums.
• Build and maintain process maps, RACI charts, and checklists that enable repeatable execution across the ISV team.
• Monitor adherence to established processes, identify gaps or bottlenecks, and drive corrective actions and continuous improvement.
• Identify high-friction, manual activities in ISV program execution and lead efforts to automate or streamline them.
• Partner with IT, data, and tool owners to design, pilot, and deploy automation solutions such as SharePoint workflows, dashboards, templates, macros, and low/no-code tools.
• Establish and track metrics for each automation initiative, including cycle time, error rate, and touch time, and measure realized benefits.
• Lead the cost accounting creation and maintenance process for ISV Integration activities in close collaboration with Program Finance, Controllership, and Contracts.
• Facilitate working sessions to structure new work in accordance with MIL-STD-881 and internal GPN/WBS standards, ensuring traceability between contract scope, work breakdown, and charging structures.
• Prepare and submit GPN/WBS requests, track approvals, and maintain current reference tools such as ISV GPN cheat sheets, PEG/WBS masters, and project lists.
• Coordinate with Finance to ensure GPN/WBS structures support reporting, invoicing, and audit requirements and that charge lines and authorized personnel remain current.
• Own the contract deliverables integration plan, ensuring all CDRLs, technical products, and program artifacts are logically tied to IMS tasks, properly resourced, and sequenced to support reviews and milestones.
• Oversee development, internal review, and submission of CDRLs, leveraging automation where possible for status tracking, workflows, and performance metrics such as on-time, late, and at-risk.
• Work with the IMS lead to maintain a high-quality, resource-informed integrated master schedule that reflects current contract scope, changes, and risks.
• Drive regular cross-functional reviews of IMS and deliverable health, highlighting conflicts, constraints, and decision points to leadership.
• Plan and execute trade studies and analytical projects that inform future engineering content, production strategies, sustainment concepts, and business cases for the ISV family of vehicles.
• Develop study charters that define the problem statement, scope, options, and timeline and coordinate participation across Engineering, Manufacturing, IPS, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and Business Development.
• Develop clear, data-backed recommendations and decision briefs for internal reviews and customer engagements, including scenario comparisons and sensitivity analyses.
• Track decisions and resulting actions, ensuring they are flowed into contracts, baselines, and execution plans.
• Act as a primary integration point of contact for ISV leadership, providing concise, structured updates on process health, automation progress, IMS status, and key studies.
• Facilitate regular risk, issue, and opportunity reviews, ensuring items are captured, assessed, mitigated, and linked to schedule and deliverables.
• Coordinate change management across the ISV portfolio — including contract modifications, configuration changes, and process updates — to minimize disruption and maintain alignment among internal and external stakeholders.
• Prepare and deliver materials for internal program reviews, Army reviews, and senior GM Defense forums focused on ISV integration topics.

Benefits

• From day one, we're looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources .

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior