Full Job Description
SUMMARY
The Director of PMO will lead and strengthen Dedicated Computing's Program Management Office, with responsibility for all programs and projects across the business, including customer-specific developments and standard systems for Health, Life Sciences, Defense, and Training and Simulation. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone prepared to roll up their sleeves and put in place the governance, operating rhythm, and execution discipline required to deliver complex hardware programs predictably-without adding unnecessary bureaucracy or diminishing DC's speed and flexibility.
The role owns the continued evolution of DC Gates, DC's Phase Gate process, in collaboration with cross-functional teams under EVOLVE, DC's Continuous Improvement program. The Director of PMO also partners closely with Business Development within the Sales organization, in collaboration with the SVP Sales, validating the execution path before commitment and owning disciplined delivery after award-particularly for Defense programs, where credibility with primes and DoD stakeholders is essential.
The role reports to the Chief Executive Officer as a senior member of the executive team. Project Managers currently support the portfolio; the Director of PMO will assess resourcing needs and build the team structure required to support DC's growth.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
1. Strengthen the Enterprise PMO and DC Gates
• Build on the existing DC Gates foundation and implement a scalable enterprise PMO framework, consistent governance, standard work, reporting, budget controls, and escalation processes across all programs and projects.
• Establish a practical operating cadence including portfolio reviews, phase-gate reviews, program reviews, Weekly and Monthly Business Reviews (WBRs/MBRs), executive reporting, and Board-level visibility.
• Assess the program management resourcing required to support the portfolio, then build, develop, and scale a team of Project Managers-establishing clear accountability, consistent methods, and appropriate portfolio assignments as DC grows.
• Create the framework required to deliver projects and programs on time and on budget, adding common discipline where needed while retaining the speed, adaptability, and practical decision-making that support DC's nimble execution model.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams under EVOLVE to drive improvements and process innovation across program structure.
2. Deliver Programs On Time and On Budget
• On-time delivery: establish and maintain integrated schedules, critical paths, dependencies, ownership, milestone evidence, and recovery plans.
• Features and functions intact: protect approved customer and product requirements through disciplined scope and change control.
• Costed BOM achieved: manage design-to-cost, sourcing assumptions, lifecycle risk, and variance to the approved product cost.
• Development cost and project budget achieved: control engineering effort, tooling, certification, outside services, capital requirements, and other non-recurring investment against the approved plan.
3. Lead Cross-Functional Execution
• Drive all programs and projects across Engineering, Product Marketing, Lifecycle, Supply Chain, Operations, Quality, Compliance, Sales, Finance, and other participating functions. Work hands-on with teams to remove barriers, resolve issues, and establish practical accountability rather than managing only through reports.
• Establish measurable workstream outputs and proof metrics below each DC Gate; keep gate decisions focused on readiness, risk, investment, and whether the program should proceed.
• Own portfolio risk, issue resolution, resource conflicts, configuration control, documentation, launch readiness, and corrective action.
• Lead customer-facing program reviews and provide credible, transparent communication to Health, Life Sciences, Defense, and Training and Simulation OEM customers. For Defense programs, anticipate the concerns of primes and DoD stakeholders, including schedule credibility, technical maturity, cost control, compliance, configuration management, supply-chain resilience, and the early identification and mitigation of risk.
4. Partner Before and After the Win
• Support qualification of major pursuits by validating scope, schedule, development investment, cost targets, resource capacity, compliance, and risk before commitments are made.
• Accept clean handoffs from Business Development and translate awarded opportunities into executable baselines, ownership, and governance.
• Keep Business Development engaged on customer continuity and commercial expansion while PMO owns execution and delivery commitments.
Key Competencies
• Hands-on PMO architect and roll-up-your-sleeves operator
• High accountability and low ego
• Credible with Defense customers and primes
• Disciplined without bureaucracy
• Comfortable driving change in a small or mid-sized company
• Strong cross-functional influence
• Executive and customer credibility
• Decisive risk escalation
• Data-driven problem solving
• Bias for action
• Builds strong teams in resource-constrained environments
• Protects DC's nimbleness
EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, AND QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
• Bachelor's degree required
• 10+ years leading complex program or project management, including meaningful team leadership, portfolio ownership, budget accountability, and cross-functional execution.
• Proven experience building or materially upgrading an enterprise PMO and phase-gate development process in a small, mid-sized, or growth-stage organization-not only operating within a mature large-company bureaucracy. Must be comfortable driving positive change with limited resources and personally engaging in the details required to make the new framework work. Experience in a private equity-backed or growth-stage environment is a plus.
• Deep experience with complex hardware, electronics, board-level and system-level development, manufacturing, or regulated technology programs. Direct experience facing Defense customers, prime contractors, or DoD program stakeholders is required, including a practical understanding of their key performance measures and concerns regarding schedule, cost, technical performance, compliance, and risk. Experience in Health, Life Sciences, or Training and Simulation markets is also valuable.
• Strong command of integrated schedules, requirements and change control, product cost, development budgets, risk, configuration management, and launch readiness.
• Working knowledge of Defense contracting and compliance expectations including FAR/DFARS, ITAR, AS9100, CMMC, MIL-SPEC, and EVMS principles; familiarity with DoD 5000-series acquisition pathways is a plus.
Preferred:
• Advanced degree (MBA, MS Engineering, or equivalent) a plus
• PMP/PgMP and an active or obtainable security clearance (Secret or higher) preferred
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the associate is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to manipulate objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. The associate must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 100 pounds with the assistance of others. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an associate encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. This includes a highly regulated, climate-controlled, low-to-moderate noise environment.
