Program Manager

Position Purpose:

Responsible for establishing and leading the vision, strategy, priorities, and execution of suspension program management activities within assigned product segments. Leads cross-functional program teams to deliver new product development, business development, customer programs, product changes, launch readiness, and ongoing program performance in alignment with business objectives, customer requirements, budgets, quality expectations, and established timelines.

Essential Functions:

1. Establish the vision, strategy, direction, priorities, and measurable objectives for suspension program management within assigned product segments in alignment with divisional business goals, product strategy, and customer requirements.
2. Lead cross-functional program team activities for current and new suspension programs by coordinating interdepartmental efforts across engineering, sales, purchasing, manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, quality, finance, supply chain, production facilities, suppliers, and customers.
3. Lead and manage divisional program development activities to ensure compliance with approved scope, established targets, SPPD deliverables, quality expectations, program timing, launch readiness requirements, and business commitments.
4. Develop and manage program plans, schedules, milestones, deliverables, risks, resources, budgets, and financial requirements, including tooling, prototypes, testing, field test units, capital expenditure requests, and other program-related investments.
5. Represent the voice of the customer by surveying, understanding, and communicating customer needs, application requirements, market expectations, product performance concerns, and business opportunities to guide program priorities and product decisions.
6. Develop product definitions, business cases, and product development business plans to support customer product requirements, competitive positioning, market opportunities, profitability objectives, and overall suspension product strategy.
7. Lead product changeover activities, customer notices, product releases, launch communications, and implementation plans to ensure effective introduction, transition, and ongoing support of suspension products.
8. Promote effective product and program communications internally and with field sales, service, customers, suppliers, production facilities, and business leadership regarding program status, customer needs, risks, decisions, timing, launch readiness, and support requirements.
9. Lead the annual suspension product development planning process by identifying priorities, evaluating business development opportunities, aligning resources, and recommending product and program investments.
10. Prioritize divisional business development and program management activities by balancing customer needs, market opportunities, technical feasibility, financial impact, resource availability, operational readiness, and strategic importance.

Education and Training

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Marketing, Business, Program Management, or related discipline required; MBA preferred.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5–10 years of experience in industrial business, engineering project management, product program management, business development, or a related technical business environment required.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional program teams, organize and prioritize complex projects, manage competing objectives, and drive programs to completion.
• Experience developing program plans, business cases, product development plans, budgets, schedules, resource plans, risk mitigation plans, and executive-level program updates required.
• Strong mechanical and technical aptitude required, including the ability to understand product features, benefits, applications, customer requirements, and technical tradeoffs.
• Experience working with customers, sales, engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, quality, finance, suppliers, distributors, and field service organizations required.
• Experience with product development processes, launch readiness, product releases, change management, customer communications, and program deliverables preferred.
• Exposure to SPPD, AQP, design FMEA, PPAP, product deviations, quality systems, ISO-related procedures, or similar product development and quality processes preferred.
• Proficiency with standard Windows-based business applications required.
• Excellent presentation, written, and verbal communication skills required, including the ability to communicate program priorities, product direction, customer needs, risks, financial considerations, and strategic recommendations to customers, sales, staff, cross-functional teams, and business leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to build effective working relationships with customers, distributors, sales, engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, quality, finance, suppliers, staff, and other stakeholders.

Physical Demands

• Frequent sitting and computer work for extended periods of time.
• Occasional lifting or handling of lightweight parts, drawings, test materials, or equipment.
• Occasional travel as required to suppliers, customers, production facilities, field trial locations, or other business locations.
• Ability to safely access and observe products, equipment, prototypes, and manufacturing or test activities as needed.

Environmental Conditions

• Primarily office environment with regular computer and desk-based work.
• Occasional exposure to R&D, prototype, test lab, manufacturing, warehouse, supplier, customer, or field trial environments.
• Required use of appropriate personal protective equipment when entering designated manufacturing, test, or customer environments.

Behavioral Traits

• Strategic leadership, ownership mindset, and ability to set direction across complex programs.
• Strong organizational discipline with the ability to prioritize business needs, manage competing initiatives, and drive alignment across stakeholders.
• Commercially aware, technically capable, and analytically minded with sound business and product judgment.
• Collaborative, customer-focused, and confident working with internal and external stakeholders at multiple levels of the organization.
• Assertive and proactive problem solver with the ability to communicate risks, make recommendations, influence decisions, and drive issues to resolution.

*This is not a comprehensive list of duties. Duties may change without notice in management’s sole discretion. Hendrickson is an at-will employer, each employee is free to resign at any time, just as Hendrickson is free to terminate employment at any time without cause or notice.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.