Program Manager – PCBA Assembly / Aerospace Programs

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Program Manager to lead customer programs in a high-reliability PCBA manufacturing environment. This role will manage complex electronics manufacturing projects with a strong focus on IPC Class 3 workmanship, aerospace compliance, customer communication, schedule execution, quality performance, and cross-functional coordination.

The Program Manager will serve as the primary point of contact for assigned customer programs and will be responsible for driving projects from NPI through production, shipment, and sustaining support. This position requires strong organizational skills, technical manufacturing knowledge, and the ability to manage customer expectations while coordinating closely with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Materials, Planning, Test, Coating, and Inspection teams.

This is an ideal role for someone with experience managing aerospace, defense, satellite, medical, or other mission-critical PCBA programs where quality, traceability, documentation, and schedule performance are critical.

Responsibilities

• Manage assigned customer programs through the full PCBA manufacturing lifecycle, including NPI, production launch, repeat builds, shipment, and sustaining support.
• Serve as the primary customer-facing contact for program status, schedule updates, risks, escalations, quality issues, and delivery commitments.
• Lead cross-functional coordination between Production, Engineering, Quality, Materials, Planning, Test, Conformal Coating, Inspection, and Shipping teams.
• Manage programs requiring IPC-A-610 Class 3 workmanship standards and ensure customer-specific requirements are clearly communicated and executed.
• Support aerospace and high-reliability compliance requirements, including documentation control, traceability, configuration management, customer flow-down requirements, and quality records.
• Track and manage program schedules, build milestones, material readiness, ECOs, customer approvals, production status, and shipment commitments.
• Identify program risks early and drive mitigation plans for material shortages, capacity constraints, quality concerns, test failures, yield issues, or changing customer requirements.
• Coordinate NPI builds, pilot builds, production ramps, and repeat production orders while ensuring requirements are properly transferred into manufacturing.
• Review customer documentation, BOMs, drawings, specifications, assembly notes, quality clauses, and special process requirements for completeness and execution risk.
• Partner with Quality and Engineering teams to support root cause analysis, corrective actions, nonconformance resolution, MRB activity, and customer quality reporting.
• Support customer audits, source inspections, first article requirements, AS9100-related activities, and aerospace customer compliance reviews as needed.
• Maintain program dashboards, action trackers, open issue logs, build status reports, and customer communication records.
• Drive internal accountability for customer commitments while maintaining realistic schedules and clear escalation paths.
• Work closely with Planning and Materials teams to ensure production plans align with customer demand, material availability, and manufacturing capacity.
• Support quoting activity, change order review, scope clarification, and customer-driven schedule or requirement changes.
• Lead regular customer and internal program meetings with clear updates on schedule, risks, recovery plans, quality performance, and delivery status.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in program management, project management, customer account management, or operations leadership within electronics manufacturing.
• Direct experience in PCBA manufacturing, EMS, contract manufacturing, aerospace electronics, defense electronics, or high-reliability manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of IPC Class 3 manufacturing requirements, workmanship expectations, inspection criteria, and documentation needs.
• Experience managing customer programs involving complex BOMs, controlled documentation, engineering changes, material constraints, and production schedules.
• Ability to read and understand customer drawings, BOMs, assembly documentation, specifications, quality clauses, and manufacturing requirements.
• Strong ability to manage multiple programs, priorities, deadlines, and customer commitments at the same time.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively with customers, executives, engineers, production teams, and quality teams.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to identify risks, drive corrective actions, and escalate issues appropriately.
• Experience using ERP, MRP, MES, production tracking, or project management systems.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and standard business reporting tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in an AS9100, ISO 9001, ITAR, aerospace, defense, satellite, or space electronics manufacturing environment.
• Experience supporting customer source inspection, first article inspection, configuration control, and aerospace documentation packages.
• Familiarity with IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, IPC-A-620, conformal coating, staking/underfill, rework, test, and final inspection processes.
• Experience managing programs involving SMT, through-hole, selective solder, AOI, AXI, flying probe, functional test, conformal coating, rework, and final source inspection.
• Experience in a high-mix, low-volume PCBA manufacturing environment.
• Project Management Professional certification or formal project management training is a plus.

Key Skills and Competencies

• Strong customer communication and relationship management skills
• High level of ownership, accountability, and follow-through
• Strong understanding of Class 3 and aerospace-quality manufacturing expectations
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams without direct authority
• Strong schedule management, risk management, and escalation skills
• Ability to work effectively under pressure in a fast-paced manufacturing environment
• Strong attention to detail and documentation discipline
• Practical understanding of electronics manufacturing processes
• Ability to balance customer priorities with internal capacity, material availability, and production constraints

Success in This Role Looks Like

• Customer programs are clearly organized, actively managed, and well communicated.
• Delivery commitments, schedule risks, and recovery plans are visible and understood.
• Class 3 and aerospace requirements are properly documented, communicated, and executed.
• Internal teams have clear priorities, ownership, and action items.
• Customer escalations are handled professionally and with urgency.
• Quality issues, nonconformances, and corrective actions are tracked through closure.
• Customer satisfaction, on-time delivery, and overall program performance improve over time.

Work Environment

This position operates in a PCBA manufacturing environment and requires regular interaction with production, engineering, quality, materials, planning, test, conformal coating, inspection, and shipping teams. The role may require time on the manufacturing floor, participation in production meetings, customer audits, program reviews, and urgent escalation activities.

Position Type

Full-time, exempt position

ITAR/EAR Compliance: Due to the nature of the work performed at Rocket EMS, this position may require access to export-controlled technical data or technology. The successful candidate must be eligible to access such information under applicable U.S. export-control laws or be eligible for any required government authorization.

Rocket EMS will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the California Fair Chance Act. Candidates are not required to disclose criminal history or participate in a background check unless and until a conditional offer of employment has been made. Any final offer of employment may be conditioned on completion of a background check, consistent with applicable law.
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