15+ years in customer-facing leadership or program management roles
Proven success with executive-level customer relationships in complex environments
Experience leading cross-functional teams without direct authority
Strong executive communication skills for presentations and updates
Ability to operate with urgency and credibility in high-accountability settings
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations, or related field
Familiarity with nuclear industry regulations and compliance standards
Responsibilities
Own senior customer relationships and ensure consistent Master Machine presence
Lead the customer programs operating model, including hiring and coaching
Build a structured Customer Programs function with clear interfaces across departments
Convert customer trust into follow-on awards and program growth
Represent customer voice in strategic planning and execution alignment
Benefits
Opportunity to shape and lead a critical customer programs function
Engagement with senior executives and strategic accounts
Focus on customer success and long-term partnerships
Collaborative work environment across multiple functions
Commitment to professional development and team growth
Full Job Description
About the role
The Director, Customer Programs Manager is a senior leadership role responsible for building and leading Master Machine's customer programs capability as the business expands its serialized nuclear fabrication portfolio.
The role owns executive-level customer relationships, establishes the operating rhythms and team structure for Customer Program Managers, and ensures customer trust translates into repeat business, follow-on awards, and long-term strategic partnerships.
This role is evaluated on two equally weighted dimensions: Competency (what you do) and Culture (how you do it).
Big 3 - Competency // What you'll do
Customer Relationship Leadership
Personally own senior customer relationships and ensure each major account experiences a consistent, credible, and proactive Master Machine presence.
Serve as the senior Master Machine relationship owner for strategic customer accounts, particularly during ramp periods, first-of-a-kind builds, and critical program milestones. Build trust with director-level and above customer counterparts and maintain continuity from award through execution and follow-on opportunity development.
Program Function Leadership
Stand up and lead the customer programs operating model, including hiring, coaching, and aligning Customer Program Managers around customer outcomes.
Build and lead the Customer Programs function as a structured capability, not an informal coordination layer. Hire, coach, and develop senior Customer Program Managers while defining clear interfaces with Sales, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Quality.
Growth and Execution Alignment
Convert customer trust into follow-on award velocity, cleaner handoffs, stronger cross-functional execution, and scalable program growth.
Translate strong customer relationships into measurable business outcomes, including follow-on awards, program growth, and improved internal readiness. Represent the customer voice in strategic planning while helping the organization align execution decisions with customer expectations.
Big 5 - Culture // How you'll live our values
1. Champion Customer Success - We win when our customers win.
This role makes customer success structural by ensuring each strategic account has a leader who drives outcomes across every PO, every program, and every key customer interaction.
What this looks like in this role:
Frames internal decisions in terms of customer outcomes, not company convenience.
Advocates for the customer inside Master Machine while preserving clear business judgment.
Anticipates customer needs before they surface as escalations.
Measures success through trust, repeat business, and program growth.
2. Serve First, Lead Always - Servant leadership, integrity, and transparency in all we do.
This leader serves customers and internal teams by communicating honestly, removing obstacles, and leading clearly when commitments are under pressure.
What this looks like in this role:
Tells customers the real picture when schedule, scope, or quality are at risk.
Removes barriers that prevent Customer Program Managers from succeeding.
Owns difficult messages internally and externally without deflection.
Models integrity in every commitment made on behalf of Master Machine.
3. Win, Together - We are becoming, and we are building, a great team.
The role succeeds by convening peers across functions around the customer's outcome and ensuring wins are shared across the business rather than isolated within one department.
What this looks like in this role:
Partners effectively with Manufacturing, Engineering, Sales, and Quality leaders.
Builds a customer programs team that other functions trust and respect.
Shares credit broadly and reinforces enterprise accountability.
Recruits and develops talent that elevates the full organization.
4. Relentlessly Pursue Excellence - We get better every day, in every detail.
This role raises the bar for how Master Machine manages complex customer programs, from executive communication to program governance to team standards.
What this looks like in this role:
Raises performance expectations with every hire and every customer-facing deliverable.
Sweats the details of reviews, briefings, dashboards, and escalation communication.
Prevents the function from drifting into low-value administrative work.
Turns lessons learned into repeatable operating improvements.
5. Practice Blameless Accountability - We own the outcome, fix the issue, learn and move forward.
When customer programs miss, this leader owns recovery, drives practical learning, and ensures confidence is rebuilt through action.
What this looks like in this role:
Owns customer-facing recovery when commitments slip.
Leads post-mortems focused on process, decisions, and system improvement rather than blame.
Closes the loop with customers on what changed as a result of the issue.
Models the same accountability posture expected across the team.
Qualifications
15+ years of progressive experience in customer-facing leadership, program management, account leadership, or related industrial leadership roles.
Demonstrated success managing executive-level customer relationships in complex industrial, energy, defense, or nuclear environments.
Experience leading teams and influencing across Manufacturing, Engineering, Sales, and Quality without direct authority over all participating functions.
Strong executive communication skills, including customer presentations, strategic updates, and issue-resolution messaging.
Ability to operate with urgency, judgment, and credibility in multi-program, high-accountability environments.
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations, or a related field.
Nuclear industry experience, including familiarity with regulated quality and compliance environments such as ASME Section III, NQA-1, and 10 CFR 50 Appendix B.
