Job Description
Director of Program Management
Greater Chicago Area (relocation available for qualified candidates)
Reports To General Manager
Target Compensation: $180,000-$205,000/year + 20% bonus (up to 40% bonus based on company performance)
Overview
We are seeking a Director of Program Management to lead strategic, client-facing program execution for a high-volume medical device manufacturing operation. This role will serve as the primary executive interface for key customers, ensuring exceptional delivery, long-term partnership growth, and operational excellence.
This leader will oversee cross-functional program management activities across engineering, operations, quality, and supply chain, driving performance from product launch through full-scale production. The ideal candidate brings deep experience in medical device manufacturing, strong business acumen, and a proven ability to lead complex, high-volume programs with a focus on process improvement and customer satisfaction.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary executive point of contact for key customers, including Abbott, building strong relationships and ensuring high levels of satisfaction, retention, and growth.
- Lead and develop a team of Program Managers, ensuring alignment to customer goals, operational priorities, and financial targets.
- Drive end-to-end program execution across the product lifecycle, from development and launch through high-volume manufacturing and sustaining activities.
- Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain to ensure seamless program execution and on-time delivery.
- Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for program success, including cost, quality, delivery, and customer satisfaction metrics.
- Champion process improvement initiatives across program management and operations, with a focus on scalability, efficiency, and margin expansion.
- Provide strategic direction in customer engagements, including Quarterly Business Reviews, executive updates, and issue resolution.
- Support business development efforts, including contract negotiations, proposal development, and identification of growth opportunities within existing accounts.
- Ensure successful transitions of new products into manufacturing, with strong coordination across engineering validation, quality systems, and production readiness.
- Develop and implement organizational strategies to attract, retain, and develop high-performing program management talent.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field required; advanced degree (MBA or MS) preferred.
- 7+ years (Grade 29) or 9+ years (Grade 30) of progressive experience in program management, operations, or business leadership within medical device manufacturing.
- Strong experience supporting high-volume manufacturing environments; familiarity with injection molding processes is highly preferred.
- Demonstrated success managing large, complex customer relationships, ideally with major medical device OEMs such as Abbott.
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence senior internal and external stakeholders.
- Experience driving process improvement initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent methodologies preferred).
- Strong financial acumen, including program cost management, forecasting, and margin improvement.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and executive presentation skills.
Leadership & Impact
- Drives the long-term strategic direction and operational success of program management functions.
- Influences site-level and potentially multi-site performance, including customer satisfaction, revenue growth, and operational efficiency.
- Acts as a key member of the leadership team, contributing to overall business strategy and execution.
Numbers & Facts
| Location | Wheeling, IL |
| Industry | Staffing/Employment Agencies |
| Company Size | 500 to 999 employees |
| Year Founded | 1969 |
| Website | http://www.sterling-engineering.com |
About Company
Sterling Engineering has been a trusted partner for engineering, project management, and staffing solutions for over five decades. We provide exceptional engineering/technical recruitment and engineering project services to clients nationwide:
- Engineering & Technical Recruitment - With our focus on engineering, technical, and IT, Sterling has the in-depth knowledge, industry expertise, and robust employee pipeline it takes to rapidly find talent for even the most difficult to fill positions. Sterling’s extensive recruitment methodology allows us to engage the most talented employees in the marketplace. We offer exciting work and career-building opportunities for our candidates, along with expert support at every step of the process.
- Engineering Project Services – Our experienced, multi-disciplined team of project managers, engineers, and designers, led by licensed Professional Engineers (PE), provide project management, engineering, design, and Commissioning, Qualification, and Validation (CQV) to manufacturing, OEM, and R&D customers. We work on complex, highly technical projects across a number of industry sectors, and our ability to scale and seamlessly integrate at multiple levels of your organization is what differentiates us.
Sterling offers a unique combination of engineering solutions and Best of Staffing level service to help our clients and talent achieve their goals.
Skills
- Business Administrationunmatched
- Business Developmentunmatched
- Business Skillsunmatched
- Business Strategyunmatched
- Communication Skillsunmatched
- Contract Negotiationunmatched
- Cost Controlunmatched
- Cost Forecastingunmatched
- Cross-Functionalunmatched
- Customer Relationsunmatched
- Customer Satisfactionunmatched
- Functional Programming Languagesunmatched
- Injection Moldingunmatched
- Leadershipunmatched
- Lean Six Sigmaunmatched
- Manufacturingunmatched
- Manufacturing Operationsunmatched
- Medical Equipmentunmatched
- Metricsunmatched
- Molding Processesunmatched
- Negotiation Skillsunmatched
- OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)unmatched
- Operational Strategyunmatched
- Organizational Skillsunmatched
- Performance Analysisunmatched
- Performance Metricsunmatched
- Presentation/Verbal Skillsunmatched
- Problem Solving Skillsunmatched
- Process Improvementunmatched
- Product Lifecycleunmatched
- Product/Service Launchunmatched
- Project/Program Managementunmatched
- Proposal Developmentunmatched
- Revenue Growthunmatched
- Strategic Planningunmatched
- Supply Chainunmatched
- Talent Managementunmatched
- Team Lead/Managerunmatched
- Time Managementunmatched
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