Program Manager - Custom Machine Builds - Precision Capital Equipment Manuf

Program Manager, Manufacturing

Location: Addison, IL, Greater Chicago Area
Industry: Precision Manufacturing / Capital Equipment
Position: Full-Time

Own custom machine builds from customer purchase order through shop floor build, factory acceptance test, and delivery. This is a hands-on, onsite role in the northwest Chicago suburbs. Relocation assistance is not provided.

A well-established global precision manufacturing organization is seeking an experienced Program Manager to own complex, cross-functional manufacturing programs from initial planning and engineering through production, delivery, and customer implementation.

This is a highly visible role reporting into executive leadership, partnering daily with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Quality. The Program Manager is the single point of accountability for program outcomes and serves as a primary point of contact for the customer throughout the program lifecycle.

Why This Role Now

The organization is entering a period of significant growth and investment, including a move into a new, purpose-built manufacturing facility, an expansion from one shift to two, and active pursuit of acquisition. This is a lean, agile business where a Program Manager's work is visible immediately and where the person in this seat has real influence over how programs are run rather than inheriting a process they simply administer.

Key Responsibilities

• Own complex manufacturing and engineered-equipment programs from concept through production, delivery, and customer implementation.
• Serve as the primary program contact for the customer, managing expectations, communicating status and risk, and leading program reviews.
• Build and manage program schedules, budgets, milestones, resources, and deliverables, and make the tradeoff decisions required to protect commitments.
• Drive alignment across Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Quality, holding functional partners accountable to program dates.
• Identify program risks early, remove roadblocks, and drive corrective action before schedule impact occurs.
• Manage multiple concurrent programs and deliver clear, direct status reporting to executive leadership.
• Lead new product development activity through a Stage-Gate or comparable phased-gate process.
• Own the transition of engineered products and equipment from design into manufacturing.
• Work on the plant floor alongside engineering and production teams. This is a hands-on role, not a role managed from a schedule.
• Ensure customer requirements, technical specifications, quality standards, and delivery commitments are met.
• Drive continuous improvement in program execution, communication, and project management practice.

Qualifications

• Direct experience owning engineered-to-order or custom machine builds from customer PO through factory acceptance test and delivery, in a machine tool, capital equipment, automation, or fabrication environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, or another technical discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of manufacturing project management experience overall.
• Minimum 2 years in a full lifecycle Program Manager role, owning programs from concept through customer delivery.
• Stage-Gate or comparable phased-gate new product development experience.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and how Engineering and Operations interact.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex, cross-functional technical programs.
• Direct customer-facing experience, including leading program reviews and managing customer expectations through change and risk.
• Proven command of program schedules, budgets, resources, risk, and deliverables.
• Strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with Microsoft Project or comparable program management tools.

Highly desirable: Background in industrial machinery, automation, robotics, machine tools, engineered-to-order equipment, or capital equipment manufacturing.

Ideal Candidate

The strongest candidate pairs real technical manufacturing knowledge with genuine program ownership. Experience carrying sophisticated machinery, automated equipment, or engineered capital equipment from design through manufacturing and into customer hands is particularly attractive, as is comfort operating in a lean organization where the Program Manager is expected to lead rather than coordinate.