PLM Operations Manager

PLM Operations Manager

Location: Morgan Hill, CA (Hybrid – 4 days onsite)

Employment Type: [Contract/Full-Time]

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced PLM Operations Manager to lead the operational excellence, governance, and continuous improvement of our Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform. This individual will be responsible for ensuring the stability, scalability, and efficiency of PLM operations while aligning platform capabilities, processes, and data with evolving business objectives.

The ideal candidate will serve as the operational bridge between business stakeholders, product teams, IT, supply chain, and manufacturing, driving standardized execution, governance, and visibility across the entire product lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

PLM Operations & Delivery Management

• Manage the overall operational health and execution of the PLM platform.
• Own Agile execution cadence including sprint planning, backlog refinement, sprint reviews, retrospectives, and quarterly planning activities.
• Manage PLM intake processes and maintain high-quality backlog hygiene using Jira and related Agile tools.
• Coordinate work across multiple PLM initiatives, technical teams, TPMs, vendors, and business stakeholders.
• Identify project dependencies, mitigate execution risks, and ensure timely delivery of strategic initiatives.
• Track vendor performance against Statements of Work (SOWs), milestones, SLAs, deliverables, and contractual commitments.
• Monitor operational budgets, forecasts, resource utilization, and actual spend.
• Develop and maintain operational dashboards, status reports, newsletters, and Confluence documentation as the central knowledge repository.

Governance & Process Excellence

• Establish standardized PLM operating procedures, governance models, and execution frameworks.
• Improve delivery consistency by reducing operational bottlenecks, cycle time, and process inefficiencies.
• Ensure PLM data quality, compliance, and adherence to organizational standards.
• Support controlled change management processes across engineering, sourcing, planning, and manufacturing teams.
• Drive accountability through operational metrics, dashboards, executive reporting, and governance meetings.
• Promote continuous process improvement across PLM operations.

AI, Data & Automation

• Utilize AI-powered tools to improve intake prioritization, backlog management, and operational efficiency.
• Analyze delivery metrics from Jira, financial systems, and vendor reporting to identify trends, risks, and execution bottlenecks.
• Leverage Generative AI to automate documentation, summarize project updates, and generate operational insights.
• Partner with PLM Platform and Data teams to ensure operational data is structured, governed, and AI-ready.
• Continuously evaluate automation opportunities that reduce manual effort and improve operational scalability.

Required Qualifications

• 7–12 years of experience in Program Operations, Technology Operations, Delivery Management, or PMO.
• Strong hands-on experience with Jira, Confluence, and Agile or Kanban methodologies.
• Proven experience managing multiple concurrent projects across cross-functional teams and external vendors.
• Working knowledge of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Product Data Management (PDM), CAD systems, or engineering lifecycle processes.
• Experience using dashboards, KPIs, reporting tools, and operational metrics to improve execution.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted productivity tools, workflow automation platforms, and analytics solutions.
• Excellent communication, organizational, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• Master's degree (MBA or MS) is preferred.
• Agile, SAFe, PMP, Scrum Master, or equivalent project/program management certifications are highly desirable.