CUSTOMER PROGRAM MANAGER
Customer Program Manager
Align Production Systems
Location | St. Louis, MO (headquarters) with time in Decatur, IL plant and at customer sites |
Reports To | Director of Operations |
FLSA Status | Exempt / Salaried |
Direct Reports | Engineering teams across the organization, including mechanical design and controls. |
THE OPPORTUNITY
Align Production Systems designs and manufacture custom capital equipment and heavy-load material handling systems — AGVs, heavy transporters, turntables, and integrated automation — for Fortune 1000 manufacturers and government programs in aerospace, space, heavy equipment, agriculture, and transportation.
The Customer Program Manager owns delivery of every engineer-to-order program from signed purchase order through customer acceptance. This is the single accountable owner the customer sees — leading two engineering teams, protecting margin, and driving on-time delivery on complex, one-of-a-kind machines.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Required
- 10+ years in engineer-to-order, custom machinery, industrial automation, or capital equipment environments
- 5+ years leading customer programs and managing engineers or designers directly, including hiring, coaching, and performance management
- Proven record of delivering complex custom projects on schedule and at margin with ownership of commercial outcomes
- Experience managing schedules and capacity across multiple concurrent programs with a disciplined, metrics-based operating rhythm
- Strong customer-facing presence; comfortable running program reviews with customer engineering and executive leadership
- Working knowledge of ERP and project scheduling tools; sufficient technical fluency in mechanical and controls systems to lead engineers credibly
- Bachelor's degree required; engineering degree preferred
Preferred
- PMP or equivalent project management credential
- Experience leading teams across multiple sites, including offshore or global engineering teams
- Background in material handling, AGVs or mobile automation, heavy-load equipment, or industrial automation
- Experience with aerospace, defense and space, heavy equipment, agriculture, or transportation manufacturers
- Background in a growing, privately held manufacturer
WHAT YOU WILL OWN
- End-to-end program delivery — kickoff through design, build, test, installation, and customer acceptance
- Customer relationship — single point of contact for Fortune 1000 customers from order handoff through closeout
- Program economics — manage every program against as-sold scope, engineering hours, BOM cost, and margin
- Mission Control — keep the program schedule current, accurate, and trusted as the company's operating backbone
- Engineering teams — hire, coach, develop, and lead engineers across the organization
LOCATION & TRAVEL
- Based in St. Louis, Missouri (Chesterfield headquarters)
- Occasional time at the Decatur, IL manufacturing plant based on business needs
- Travel to customer sites for program reviews, installations, and acceptance
**It is required to complete the Predictive Index Assessment to be considered for this position: