What are the responsibilities and job description for the CUSTOMER PROGRAM MANAGER position at Align Production Systems?
Customer Program Manager
Own the schedule. Own the team. Own the outcome.
LOCATION
St. Louis, MO — On-site
REPORTS TO
Chief Operating Officer
TEAM
Engineers & Designers
The Customer Program Manager is the single accountable owner of a Customer Project Team's book of work — the economics, the design quality, the delivery, and the people. This role folds full project management authority directly into team leadership: the person accountable for the schedule is also the person with authority over the team executing it.
WHAT YOU'LL OWN
Project Economics — Accept or reject each project against as-sold scope and margin, then own total job cost and margin at completion.- The Customer Relationship — Run every customer meeting, own status reporting, and lead post-mortems that feed the next quote and design.
- Design & Release Quality — Own the release process end to end and ensure Align's engineering standards are met on every project.
- Delivery & FATs — Own project schedules and factory acceptance tests, start to finish (the on-site crew runs separately).
- Your People — Full-authority manager of your team's engineers and designers — hiring input, coaching, reviews, and development.
REAL AUTHORITY, NOT JUST RESPONSIBILITY
Within the approved project budget, you commit spend, select components, release designs for build, and set schedules — without needing prior sign-off. Spend outside budget, delivery-date commitments, and staffing decisions are made jointly with the COO.
WHAT YOU'LL BRING
- Project management experience — highly preferred
- Exposure to mechanical engineering design or processes — a plus, especially in custom/engineer-to-order manufacturing
- Comfort owning budget, margin, and schedule performance like a P&L owner
- Experience managing or mentoring engineering/design staff, or readiness to grow into it
- Strong customer-facing communication skills
- Ability to work on-site in St. Louis, MO (not remote-eligible)
**It is required to complete the Predictive Index Assessment to be considered for this position: https://assessment.predictiveindex.com/bo/D7NP/CustomerProgramManager_Aug2026_143222
Salary : $115,000 - $120,000