PURPOSE:

Gentex provides the Department of Defense (DoD) with flight critical safety equipment such as helmets, respiratory and optical protection that enhance situational awareness for the Warfighter community. Gentex Corporation is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Program Manager to oversee the execution of complex programs in accordance with research and development best practices. The Sr Program Manager will assume responsibilities and oversight for on-going and upcoming Programs specifically focused on highly complex Government Optics programs. The Sr Program Manager will engage directly with the internal cross functional team to ensure the program remains on track from a cost, schedule, and technical perspective. The Sr Program Manager will also be the primary POC for external customer communication, vendors, and be the voice of the Gentex Optics New Product Development (NPD) team.

DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

· Program Management: Lead the planning, execution, and oversight of complex programs in compliance with Gentex New Product Development processes and DoD Instruction 5000.01, ensuring adherence to budgetary, schedule, and performance requirements. The ideal candidate will have experience in managing the maturation of prototypes through the technology readiness levels, from concept demonstration to system integration testing and ultimately production/deployment (product launch).

• Strategic Planning: Develop and implement strategic plans to achieve program objectives, including defining scope, milestones, and the allocation of resources.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Foster strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including government agencies, subcontractors, and cross-functional teams, to facilitate effective communication and collaboration.
• Schedule Management: Develop and maintain program schedules, identify critical path activities, and implement schedule optimization strategies to ensure on-time delivery of program milestones.
• Risk Management: Identify potential risks and opportunities, develop mitigation and exploitation strategies, and monitor risk exposure throughout the program lifecycle.
• Financial Management: Monitor program budgets, track expenditures, and provide regular financial reports to stakeholders, ensuring cost-effective utilization of resources.
• Track project against its schedule and budget, and against phase review objectives
• Develop and implement recovery plans for off-schedule and unanticipated eventualities
• Coordinate with customer to provide necessary program status and obtain customer feedback
• Ensure that the right product is developed and that product meets or exceeds customer requirements and that the development is in accordance with ISO Standards
• Lead Program Teams and facilitate the communication and interaction amongst the functional representatives
• Prepare for and conduct periodic design and program meetings for the customer(s) in accordance with the contract and/or other program requirements
• Manage the preparation of, prepare and present program material for customer design reviews and meetings on major programs
• Review, analyze, and comment on System Engineering documents, Engineering test procedures, reports, etc., as required
• Review, analyze, and interpret the technical and administrative requirements contained in requests for proposal (RFP), requests for quotation (RFQ), requests for information (RFI), information for bid (IFB), etc., to generate material used in preparation of formal responses
• Write, edit, and review various management and technical sections of proposals written in response to an RFP, RFQ, RFI, and IFB. Identify program tasks and prepare associated cost inputs
• Participate in  contract negotiations as required
• Manages multiple programs for which he/she is directly responsible 
• Report status to supervisor on a regular b sis and executive staff on an as-needed basis

Requirements

EDUCATION AND/OR PROFESSIONAL LICENSE(s):

· Bachelor's degree in Program Management, Engineering, Physics, or technically related discipline. MS or MBA preferred.

· Program Management Certification from the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) or Project Management Institute (PMI) is preferred.

*EXPERIENCE: *

· Proven experience managing complex programs in accordance with DoD Instruction 5000.01.

· Strong understanding of program management principles, methodologies, and best practices.

· Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build consensus and resolve conflicts.

· Demonstrated ability to think strategically, prioritize tasks, and make sound decisions in a fast-paced environment.

· Proficiency in project management tools and software.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

· Demonstrates technical expertise and application of program management principles, concepts, and practice as well as program management and leadership skills including organizing, planning, scheduling, and coordinating workloads to meet established deadlines or milestones.

· Strong communication, leadership, presentation, and interpersonal skills are required to enable an effective interface with other departments, all levels of management, professional and support staff, customers, vendors, and government representatives.

· Knowledge of quantitative techniques and methods used to develop, adapt, modify, and apply models to resolve problems or define and clarify alternative solutions.

· Ability to participate in study teams, originate new ideas, projects and methodologies; and execute projects within established financial and/or time constraints.

· A very high degree of skill in analyzing and comparing alternative cost-benefit trade-offs in order to determine the most proper and prudent method of accomplishing required customer objective. 

· Experience direct customer interaction at Mid-Level; experience in negotiating scope, knowledge of commercial and Gov't contract terms, and dispute resolution

· General knowledge of operations, including scheduling, procurement, manufacturing, test engineering, and quality systems

· General knowledge of finance, including the ability to read and understand financial data such as product income statements, return on investment analysis, and net-present value analysis

· General knowledge of marketing, including market research, market sizing, pricing, marketing communications, and product launch

· Ability to understand, track, drill-down, and question activities and issues in all functional areas, and make sound business decisions based upon that data

· Strong influence-management, negotiation, leadership, and assertiveness skills

· Strong oral and written communication skills

· Strong attention to detail and follow-through skills

· Strong computer skills, with an emphasis on Microsoft software programs, such as word processing, spreadsheet, database, scheduling (MS Project), and electronic mail applications

· A working knowledge of Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition policies, regulations, and practices including FAR and DFAR

· A working kn