Senior Program Manager

GILLIG•Livermore, CA

35d•$75,000 - $250,000

About The Position

We are looking for a Senior Program Manager who will deliver company-wide programs and strategic initiatives on a cross-functional basis. As an experienced program manager in the automotive/transportation industry, you will be responsible for leading complex, cross‑functional transit bus programs from concept through production launch and sustainment. This role oversees program planning, execution, cost management, risk mitigation, and stakeholder communication, ensuring delivery of high‑quality transit bus products (Diesel, CNG, Hybrid, BEB, and Advanced Propulsion platforms) that meet customer, regulatory, schedule, and financial requirements. The Senior Program Manager serves as the primary interface between internal teams, executive leadership, suppliers, and transit agency customers. This position reports to the Senior Director of Program Management and will work collaboratively and closely with the company’s leadership team.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or electrical engineering, Masters a plus, MBA preferred
Experienced systems engineering background preferred
Required 15+ years of experience in automotive, commercial vehicle or aerospace (or related field) product development and delivery, 10+ of which are program managing high dollar value products/product development
This position requires an experienced professional with a strong technical background and excellent communication skills who is comfortable communicating complex issues at all levels of the organization
Exhibit strong emotional intelligence, interpersonal and leadership skills to build loyalty trust, and commitments from key internal and external contacts involved with making decisions
Our ideal candidate exhibits a can-do attitude and approaches his or her work with vigor and determination
Demonstrates quality in their respective fields, possesses ability to learn quickly within a fast-paced environment
Experience taking multiple products to market as a program manager or and integrated product team (IPT) leader with direct experience
Excellent business acumen, demonstrated ability to align teams to strategy to achieve business and program objectives
Experience leading and facilitating program team meetings, cross-functional communication and decision making, and ensuring ongoing alignment with internal/external stakeholders
Highly accomplished verbal and written presentation, communication, and persuasion skills
Deep understanding of a large program lifecycle, how to measure performance and communicating those to Leadership and staff at large
Proven strategic and critical-thinking skills, high level of independent judgment, initiative, and creativity to identify and clearly communicate strategies to senior management

Responsibilities

Lead cross-functional teams to deliver new product development and introduction programs on-time, on-budget, and on specification, creating an environment of product excellence
Work with each functional area within GILLIG to define the content, tools, processes, deliverables, and core competencies needed to successfully develop and launch new products
Partner with key stakeholders to ensure impactful program level risk and/or issues are timely communicated, understood, and mitigated to minimize the impact to program delivery
Drive estimation, planning, organizing, and monitoring of the activities of cross-functional teams including ownership of the overall program schedule — driving/critical path, milestones, key dependencies, status, and summary
Ensure organizational readiness for successful new product introduction
Responsible for program performance measurements, reporting, quality, resource needs, and key program financial and budgetary activities
Proactively apply appropriate risk management (risks, issues, & opportunities) across assigned programs
Track, analyze, and report on costs, schedule, and performance of programs to ensure team members and key stakeholders are informed of program status
Provide guidance to team members to ensure the program management processes are followed and programs are on track
Act as a program management single-point-of-contact for assigned programs and assist with providing timely/accurate information
Actively cultivate an inclusive program management culture, including a help-needed philosophy, to foster cross-functional buy-in and commitment to program success
Institutionalize improvement opportunities using a formal Lessons Learned process
Work independently and handle frequently changing needs of an organization that is dynamically evolving