Senior Program Manager

We are hiring a seasoned, hands-on Program Manager to lead a manufacturing transformation program for a major enterprise client in the Lexington, KY area. This is a client-facing role for someone who operates confidently with senior stakeholders, stays close to execution, and brings structure and discipline to a fast-moving transformation environment. Location: Lexington, KY (preferred) | Plano, TX Employment Type: Full-Time Experience: 15+ years overall (20+ preferred) ROLE OVERVIEW The Program Manager will plan, govern, and drive execution across manufacturing transformation initiatives. You will work closely with client business and technology stakeholders, plant and operations teams, Ascentt delivery teams, product owners, data teams, and offshore delivery partners to ensure objectives are clearly defined, workstreams stay coordinated, risks are managed early, and measurable business outcomes are delivered. Manufacturing Transformation This is a hands-on role. You will own all aspects of program management, governance, planning, execution, and value tracking, while staying close enough to execution to unblock teams, resolve dependencies, and keep delivery moving. Success depends on deep manufacturing domain understanding, strong program management discipline, and the ability to manage senior stakeholders across both business and technology. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES • Lead all aspects of program management across multiple manufacturing transformation workstreams - planning, governance, execution, and value tracking. • Manage stakeholders across business and technology functions, engaging senior managers and above to align priorities, drive decisions, and resolve escalations. • Establish and run program governance, operating cadence, status reporting, RAID management, and escalation paths. • Build and maintain integrated program plans spanning scope, milestones, dependencies, resources, risks, and business outcomes. • Coordinate across business, technology, plant operations, data, analytics, and delivery teams to maintain alignment and execution discipline. • Facilitate workshops, planning sessions, status reviews, and executive updates. • Translate business priorities and transformation goals into actionable execution plans. • Track progress against timelines, deliverables, success metrics, and stakeholder commitments. • Define and monitor KPIs, value measures, adoption goals, and roadmap priorities. • Prepare executive-ready artifacts - status updates, roadmap views, milestone plans, risk summaries, and value-realization updates. • Work effectively across onsite and offshore teams to sustain delivery momentum and accountability. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS • 15+ years of professional experience across technology, consulting, operations, manufacturing, enterprise applications, data, or digital transformation (20+ years preferred). • Substantial, proven program management experience running large, complex, cross-functional programs end to end. • Manufacturing domain experience - functional knowledge of manufacturing operations and/or a track record delivering manufacturing transformation programs; experience running manufacturing shop-floor engagements is ideal. • Demonstrated stakeholder management across both business and technology, engaging senior managers and above (directors and executives) to align priorities and drive decisions. • Command of all aspects of program management - planning, governance, status reporting, risk and dependency management, value tracking, and roadmap management. • Strong executive communication skills, including the ability to produce executive-level updates and facilitate decision-making. • Ability to operate in ambiguous environments and bring structure, clarity, and focus. • Experience working with onsite/offshore delivery teams. • Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, manufacturing, industrial engineering, information systems, computer science, or a related field - or equivalent experience. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS • Experience in automotive or other complex, discrete manufacturing and industrial environments. • Experience with digital transformation, manufacturing systems (MES/SCADA), Industry 4.0/smart manufacturing, data platforms, analytics, AI/ML, or enterprise applications. • Familiarity with Agile, hybrid delivery, product operating models, or scaled program governance. • PMP, PgMP, SAFe, Scrum, Lean Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing/TPM, or related certifications. • Master's degree or MBA. IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE A seasoned, practical, client-facing program manager - typically 20+ years of experience - with strong manufacturing domain grounding, who is confident managing senior stakeholders across business and technology, comfortable with ambiguity, close to execution, and able to turn transformation intent into measurable delivery.