Program Director - Special Projects

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Job Type

Full-time

Description

Company Overview

G&H is a global leader in photonics engineering, delivering precision optical and photonic subsystems across aerospace & defense, industrial, telecom, life sciences, and other mission-critical markets. Our commitment to innovation and operational excellence drives growth, customer satisfaction, and technological leadership worldwide.

Role Overview

The Program Director-Special Projects will lead the end-to-end planning, execution, and delivery of this high-visibility, multi-functional site growth and copy exact move process. This role requires strategic vision, operational discipline, and hands-on leadership to coordinate cross-functional teams, align stakeholders, and ensure the target site achieves operational readiness, compliance, and excellence consistent with existing process standards.

The successful candidate will be a proactive, results-oriented leader capable of navigating complex operational environments, managing risks, and driving alignment across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, HR, and executive leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Program Leadership & Execution

• Own and manage all aspects of special projects, from planning and scope definition through go-live and operational stabilization.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive project plan including scope, schedule, milestones, risks, budget, and resource allocation.
• Ensure seamless knowledge and capability transfer from one site to another including processes, systems, standards, and best practices.

Cross-Functional Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the primary liaison between any sites involved in the process, aligning operations, engineering, supply chain, quality, HR, facilities, and EHS functions.
• Engage with executive leadership and other stakeholders to ensure visibility, accountability, and decision-making support.
• Foster collaboration, alignment, and strong communication across sites and functional teams.

Operational Readiness & Compliance

• Drive readiness activities at the target site: process validation, equipment qualification, workforce preparation, and regulatory compliance.
• Ensure operational excellence in production ramp-up, quality standards, and safety/environmental protocols.

Risk, Issue, & Resource Management

• Identify, track, and proactively mitigate risks and issues throughout the program lifecycle.
• Oversee project budget, staffing plans, and external vendor or contractor coordination as needed.

Continuous Improvement & Knowledge Transfer

• Capture lessons learned and apply best practices for copy exact manufacturing processes and operational scaling.
• Standardize processes and drive operational efficiency improvements across sites.
• Support organizational learning and change management initiatives to enable a smooth transition and sustainable operations.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, or related technical field; advanced degrees preferred (MBA, MS, or equivalent).
• 10+ years of progressive program or project management experience in manufacturing, engineering, or operations-driven organizations.
• Proven experience leading large-scale replication, facility start-up, or operational transformation programs.
• Strong cross-functional leadership across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, EHS, and HR.
• Demonstrated success managing complex projects with tight timelines, multiple stakeholders, and evolving priorities.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently (up to 40-50%) between key east coast sites.

Preferred Qualifications & Attributes

• PMP or equivalent program management certification.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience.
• Familiarity with photonics, optics, aerospace/defense, or high-precision manufacturing sectors.
• Strategic, hands-on, and solutions-oriented leader.
• Collaborative and influential across geographies and organizational levels.
• Comfortable managing both operational details and executive-level strategic priorities.

Key Metrics of Success

• Achievement of project milestones, go-live, and operational readiness at target site.
• Adherence to project budget, schedule, and risk mitigation plans.
• Effective cross-site knowledge transfer and capability replication.
• Stakeholder engagement, communication effectiveness, and change management outcomes.
• Operational excellence post-go-live: quality, compliance, and production efficiency.
• Documentation of lessons learned and implementation of process improvements.

Working Conditions & Travel

• Primarily based in Trinity, Tampa, FL, with regular presence at Keene, NH, and other G&H sites as required.
• Fast-paced, dynamic environment requiring adaptability, resilience, and proactive problem-solving.

Notes: This job description is not intended to be exhaustive in every respect, but rather to clearly define the fundamental purpose, responsibilities and dimensions for the role. Therefore, this job description does not describe any individual role holder. In addition to the contents of this job description, employees are expected to undertake all other reasonable and related tasks allocated by their line manager.

The Company is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment. The Company does not discriminate in employment opportunity or practices on the grounds of gender, race, religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by national laws under which the Company operates.

In the instance that the position will involve having access to items and technical data that may be controlled under U.S. export laws and regulations ("U.S. Export Control Laws"), including but not limited to the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR"). To comply with the U.S. Export Control Laws, and in conjunction with the review of candidates for those positions within G&H that may present access to export-controlled technical data, G&H must assess whether candidates are "U.S. persons" as defined under the EAR (15 C.F.R. Part 772) and the ITAR (22 C.F.R. § 120.15). Certain questions asked during the application process are intended to assess this and will be used for evaluation purposes only. Failure to provide the necessary information in this regard will result in our inability to consider you further for this position.