Program Manager

Job Title: Program Manager - Engineering Solutions

Job Description

This role leads end-to-end program management for complex engineering projects across aerospace, defense, and medical device markets. The Program Manager coordinates proposals, engages new customers, develops and oversees project budgets and plans, and ensures that each program meets technical, financial, and customer objectives from concept through completion.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate proposals for new business opportunities, ensuring they align with the organization's strategic objectives.
• Engage and develop relationships with new customers to expand the project pipeline and support long-term growth.
• Collaborate with cross-functional team members to develop detailed project budgets, schedules, and execution plans.
• Prepare and maintain all necessary project documentation, including proposals, plans, status reports, and closing summaries.
• Evaluate and assess each project's strengths, weaknesses, risks, and opportunities to drive continuous improvement.
• Monitor project performance to ensure profitability and adherence to budget and schedule targets.
• Track project outputs and deliverables to ensure customer requirements and expectations are consistently met.
• Prioritize projects and activities when schedule or budget conflicts arise, making informed trade-off decisions.
• Meet regularly with internal and external stakeholders to review program status, address issues, and align on goals.
• Work closely with the marketing team to refine and improve strategies that support business development and program growth.
• Use a CRM system to document and track projects, maintain accurate records, and support data-driven decision-making.
• Support a culture of high performance by collaborating with engineers and project teams to guide products from concept to completion.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of program management processes, tools, and best practices within the organization.

Essential Skills

• Program management experience with at least 8+ years managing programs in the aerospace and defense or medical device industry.
• Proven track record managing projects in the approximate range of $50K to $250K in value.
• Bachelor's degree in an engineering field or equivalent engineering education.
• Strong technical engineering background with the ability to understand complex mechanical and product development requirements.
• Hands-on experience using a CRM system to document, track, and manage projects and customer interactions.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate project strengths and weaknesses and implement corrective actions.
• Proficiency in developing and managing project budgets, schedules, and resource plans.
• Ability to monitor and drive project profitability while maintaining high quality and customer satisfaction.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including leading meetings and communicating program status and goals clearly.
• Experience working in or with mechanical engineering and aerospace or defense environments.
• PMP certification or equivalent formal program management training.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience supporting both defense and healthcare-related projects, including medical devices and consumer products.
• background in aerospace defense and mechanical engineering environments.
• Familiarity with program management within turnkey engineering solutions or product development firms.
• Ability to work effectively with marketing and business development teams to shape and refine go-to-market strategies.
• Comfort working in a selective, high-talent environment with high expectations for performance and quality.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret project data from CRM and other systems to inform decisions.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills with customers and internal teams.
• Commitment to ongoing professional development and openness to training and tuition-supported learning opportunities.
• Alignment with a values-driven culture that emphasizes quality, integrity, and ownership of work from concept to completion.

Work Environment

The role is based onsite in a small, high-performing engineering organization of approximately 30 people. You will work closely with another experienced Program Manager and a team of engineers who take products from concept through completion. The company operates in a fast-paced, project-driven environment with a significant focus on aerospace, defense, and healthcare-related projects. The culture emphasizes core values, selective hiring, and a strong commitment to professional growth, including investment in training and tuition reimbursement. As a smaller organization, it offers clear visibility, close collaboration across disciplines, and meaningful opportunities to shape your career path based on performance and initiative.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Cranbury, NJ.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $100000.00 - $140000.00/yr.

JAKTOOL has grown over 25 years into one of the Northeast's premier product development, engineering, and precision prototyping companies on the merits of our passion, talent, and dedication.

• We are craftsmen, engineers, and project managers who find ultimate satisfaction in solving unique problems while delivering unmatched QUALITY, service, and information
• We help MATURE ideas into physical prototypes for faster transition and provide low volume production for precision parts that are difficult to source.
• We excel at projects that are too precise and low volume for most shops.
• We OUTPERFORM most engineering design firms that get lost in CAD and create virtual models that cannot be built or verified.
• We can physically fabricate and inspect most of the mechanical and electrical products and systems that we design in house.
• We have an UNBIASED process (AIM) to consistently capture functional requirements and develop a material solution that can transition into production.

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Cranbury,NJ.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Jul 8, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.