The Role
The Program Manager oversees cross-functional projects, ensuring timely execution within budget while fostering team collaboration and managing risks effectively.
Summary Generated by Built In
Be yourself at Protolabs
Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building a diverse team that feels they are valued in the workplace. So do you feel you do not meet every single requirement but still intrigued? We encourage you to still apply! You can help make our company even better. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, mental or physical ability, or any way you represent yourself. We strongly believe diversity makes for more successful teams.
Why Protolabs?
We are the leaders in digital manufacturing. We hire doers, makers, and creative thinkers who tackle our roles with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our culture is centered around meaningful work that brings new and innovative products to market at unprecedented speeds. We are a diverse team that comes from all walks of life and take pride in our team who is smart, genuine, humble, and passionate about what we do. It’s our people who fuel our creativity and make our culture feel like home.
Join our team as a Program Manager!
This is a hybrid role based at Headquarters in Maple Plain, MN.
The Program Manager is responsible for strategizing, implementing, and overseeing multiple cross-functional projects and initiatives that align with organizational objectives. This role involves coordinating efforts across software development, manufacturing, engineering, marketing, and sales teams to deliver comprehensive manufacturing solutions. The Program Manager ensures that projects stay within scope, budget, and timelines and that projects are resourced appropriately. The ideal candidate will drive continuous business impact through effective management of diverse projects, product capabilities, and technical systems.
You will
- Manage multiple projects and initiatives in parallel, ensuring teams are focusing on the correct priorities and deliverables. Responsible for holding task owners accountable to progress and delivery thus ensuring efficient and successful project execution
- Collaborate closely with the project owner, technology owner, and cross-departmental teams to formulate the scope, deliverables, necessary resources, work plans, budgets, and timelines for projects.
- Monitor and track project changes, ensuring all modifications are documented and communicated appropriately, ensuring stakeholders understand the costs and trade-offs of decisions. Facilitates discussions as necessary to address and resolve significant deviations from the original project plan.
- Facilitate project retrospectives, gathering and sharing lessons learned to enhance future project execution and outcomes..
- Balance the needs and expectations of diverse groups while ensuring that project goals align with business objectives. Works to secure stakeholder alignment and commitment, fostering collaboration and communication with all involved parties.
- Oversee the project's estimates and budget, tracks expenditures, and ensures costs are aligned with forecasts and deviations are communicated and managed. Owns providing awareness and reporting out of estimate/ budget updates and variances.
- Engage Quality Assurance team to scope and apply needed testing. Verifies all testing is complete and open issues are mitigated or accepted.
- Act as central communication point ensuring alignment and effective information flow. Maintains clear and effective communication with the project team, leadership, stakeholders, and other relevant parties.
- Identify, assesses, and manages project risks promptly and effectively. Partners with the team to develop mitigation plans and contingency strategies. Ensures that risks are documented (RAID log), escalated appropriately, and managed proactively.
- Monitor project progress, tracking key performance indicators and milestones. Delivers consistently/regularly timed status reports and communicates any deviations from the plan to project team, project leadership (Owners, Sponsors), key stakeholders, and any other relevant parties.
- Collaborate with resource managers and leadership to secure necessary cross-functional resources. Partners across departments to assess capacity needs. Manages and reports on resource allocations and proactively identify and address resource contention risks across initiatives to drive resolution. Move this one up—near building the plan
- Partner with project owners, technology owner, and lead business analyst to define and track common metrics for project success, such as project completion time, budget adherence, ROI and defect reduction rates.
- Proactively identifies new opportunities, advocates for advancements, and implements changes that positively impact efficiency and efficacy of project/program management practices, and standards.
- Actively engage by participating in meetings, training sessions, and group activities; champions and educates others on processes; models professional behavior; and pursues continuous professional development by seeking and incorporating feedback.
- Other duties as assigned.
What it takes
- Bachelor’s degree in business, management, or a related area or relevant experience.
- 5+ years of direct experience managing technical projects consisting of multiple teams and varying durations.
- 5+ years managing complex programs consisting of multiple projects with multiple inter-dependencies.
- 5+ years indirectly/directly leading cross functional teams to deliver on highly complex programs.
- Experience with standard project management tools and dashboards.
- Experience in delivering programs in a matrixed organization
- Understanding of Agile principles and delivery methodology
- Innate sense of accountability/responsibility for successful delivery.
- Ability to communicate and present at all levels of the organization. Strength in presenting information effectively at C-Suite level.
- Strong critical thinking skills
- Ability to navigate complex situations and lead teams to drive toward an effective solution.
- Proven ability to manage varying perspectives and align on a common goal.
- Skilled in engaging and communicating with a diverse range of individuals at varying levels, including software developers, engineers, executives, manufacturing staff, and other business professionals.
- Possess a "leadership" mindset with the ability to motivate and inspire teams to achieve our objectives.
- Effective and adaptable style that aligns with the Protolabs culture, emphasizing collaboration, flexibility, innovation, and a focus on results.
- Strong interpersonal skills with ability to build trusted relationships across the organization.
Bonus points for
- PMI certification.
- Technical understanding of websites, client-server applications, software architectures.
- Experience with Agile, Scrum and other software development practices.
- Formal project management training.
- Experience in managing projects involving CRM systems, particularly Salesforce.
- Working knowledge of digital manufacturing.
What's in it for you
- We offer a competitive Total Rewards Program including:
- Salary, Bonus, Long Term Incentives
- Health Insurance: Traditional OR High Deductible plan
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Health Savings Account (including employer contributions)
- Dental & Vision
- Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance
- Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
- Paid caregiver leave
- PTO + Holiday Pay + Wellness Hours + Volunteer Hours
- 401k with company match & immediate vest
- Employee Stock Purchase Program at a 15% discounted rate
- Matching grants through Protolabs foundation
- And More!
Proto Labs maintains ITAR-compliant operations in all of our United States based facilities. Due to ITAR regulations, this role is only open to U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) or foreign nationals granted refugee or asylee status. Individuals with temporary visas (e.g. E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, TN or OPT) are not eligible for hire in this role.
Proto Labs, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer
Physical Demands:
While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use a computer keyboard, monitor and mouse, telephone and printer; reach with hands, and arms, talk, see and hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, stoop or kneel and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
Work Environment:
Indoors (A/C); nonsmoking; the majority of this job function is performed in an office setting requiring normal safety precautions. However, there may be job duties that require the employee to spend time in the manufacturing areas exposed to machinery and noise; eye protection occasionally required. Occasionally works in outside weather conditions. Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.
Top Skills
Agile
Project Management Tools
Salesforce
Scrum
Software Architectures
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The Company
What We Do
Protolabs is the world's fastest digital manufacturing source for rapid prototyping and on-demand production. The technology-enabled company produces custom parts and assemblies in as fast as 1 day with automated 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, and injection molding processes. Our digital approach to manufacturing enables accelerated time to market, reduces development and production costs, and minimizes risk throughout the product life cycle.
3D Printing
Our 3D printing service offers a wide selection of materials and technologies to create prototypes and end-use parts with complex geometries and detailed features. With tight process controls, careful design reviews, and extensive quality monitoring, we ensure precise and repeatable 3D-printed parts, every time.
CNC Machining
We use 3- and 5-axis milling along with turning to machine parts from commercial-grade plastics and metals. Our online quoting system and automated manufacturing process enable us to ship parts within 24 hours, helping customers accelerate development and reduce time to market.
Sheet Metal Fabrication
Protolabs is an industry leader in quick-turn sheet metal parts for both prototyping and low-volume production. Our digital approach to manufacturing enables us to fabricate sheet metal parts in as fast as 5 days. Additionally, we can support our customers’ development efforts with component assemblies, several finish options, and screen printing.
Injection Molding
Our injection molding service offers two options—prototyping and on-demand manufacturing—which provide customers a tooling solution that aligns with their project’s requirements. It’s used for quick-turn prototyping, bridge tooling, and low-volume production of up to 10,000+ parts in 15 days or less.
