Senior Program Manager

Eleven Recruiting is hiring a Senior Program Manager to join one of our largest aerospace and defense clients sitting onsite in El Monte, CA. This role is responsible for leading complex aerospace manufacturing programs supporting mission-critical space, launch vehicle, hypersonic, and defense platforms. The Senior Program Manager will serve as the primary liaison between customers and internal teams, driving execution across engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and operations.


The ideal candidate will come from a strong aerospace manufacturing background with experience supporting metallics, precision machining, fabrication, or high-speed machining environments. This individual will oversee program schedules, customer communication, engineering coordination, cost tracking, and overall execution across both long-term production programs and new product development efforts.



Responsibilities:

• Lead aerospace and defense programs from contract award through production and delivery.
• Serve as the primary customer interface for program communication, execution updates, and issue resolution.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and operations.
• Manage program schedules, milestones, resource allocation, and execution timelines using Microsoft Project and related tools.
• Monitor program cost, schedule, quality, and delivery performance.
• Support cost analysis activities including labor, material, and manufacturing cost tracking.
• Coordinate engineering activities related to new product development and production readiness.
• Assist with contract review and customer requirement interpretation.
• Identify program risks and drive corrective actions to maintain execution objectives.
• Support ERP utilization and program tracking activities within Epicor.
• Help develop work instructions, operational processes, and execution workflows.
• Ensure compliance with customer requirements and aerospace quality standards including AS9100 and ITAR.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, Program Management, or related field preferred.
• 5+ years of Program Management, Project Management, or Engineering Coordination experience within aerospace or defense manufacturing environments.
• Prior experience supporting aerospace machining, metallic manufacturing, or complex manufacturing operations strongly preferred.
• Experience managing programs from development through production execution highly desired.
• PMP certification is a plus.

Qualifications:

• Strong aerospace manufacturing background with experience in metallics, machining, fabrication, or high-speed machining environments.
• Experience managing cross-functional aerospace programs within manufacturing environments.
• Strong customer-facing communication and relationship management skills.
• Experience supporting both long-term production contracts and new product development programs.
• Working knowledge of program scheduling, manufacturing flow, and production execution.
• Experience with cost analysis and program financial tracking.
• Familiarity with ERP systems, preferably Epicor.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite including Excel, Word, and Microsoft Project.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Knowledge of aerospace quality standards including AS9100 and ITAR requirements.
• Contracts administration or contracts exposure is a plus.
• IPT (Integrated Product Team) experience is highly preferred.

Salary: $135,000 - $155,000