Innovation Program Manager Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Time type: full time
Posted on: August 28, 2026
Job requisition id: R7774

What we need

We are looking for a Technical Program Manager to join our Industrial Controls team within our New Product Introduction (NPI) organization. Your job will be to lead the Industrial Controls workstream for a strategic innovation program through New Product Introduction.

This individual contributor role owns workstream scope, schedule, budget, risk, vendor relationships, and progress reporting, while partnering with Solutions owners and the product Program Manager Lead on product direction. The TPM drives delivery of Industrial Controls components safely, on time, and within budget by applying strong schedule, risk, and governance discipline and by collaborating with resource managers across PLC, Electrical Engineering, and Internal Tools.

What we do

The Industrial Controls team is part of the New Product Introduction (NPI) organization and supports a strategic innovation program. The team drives delivery of Industrial Controls components from design through NPI readiness and launch support, while coordinating across Product, Mechanical, Electrical, Controls (PLC), Internal Tools Software, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, and Field Operations to keep the workstream integrated with the broader program.

What you’ll do

Lead Industrial Controls workstream execution for one innovation program, managing up to 1 to 3 projects within that workstream.

Own relationships with external controls vendors, including scope alignment, deliverable tracking, and issue escalation.

Drive task tracking and milestone achievement for Industrial Controls components from design through NPI readiness and launch support.

Organize and maintain workstream budget, scope baselines, and integrated milestone schedules.

Build and actively manage a risk register covering technical, vendor, manufacturing, schedule, and financial risks; drive mitigation to closure.

Produce dashboard reporting and deliver regular progress updates to program leadership and senior stakeholders.

Apply schedule, risk, and governance discipline as the primary day-to-day operating model; escal ...

Collaborate with resource managers for PLC, Electrical Engineering, and Internal Tools to secure capacity and resolve resource conflicts.

Partner with Solutions owners and the product Program Manager Lead on priorities, tradeoffs, and change impact; refine workstream plans against PRDs, SOWs, and roadmaps owned by those partners.

Coordinate across Product, Mechanical, Electrical, Controls (PLC), Internal Tools Software, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, and Field Operations to keep the workstream integrated with the broader program.

Lead and support technical reviews, design reviews, gate reviews, and executive status reviews for Industrial Controls scope.

Support prototype builds, engineering validation, system integration, manufacturing readiness, pilot builds, and production launch for Controls deliverables.

Manage engineering change control impacts for Controls scope, including ECNs, BOM releases, and configuration implications.

Identify and mitigate vendor, supplier, and manufacturing readiness risks tied to Controls NPI.

Contribute to continuous improvement of program management standards, governance, and execution practices within Industrial Controls Program Management.

Success in the first year is demonstrated by:

A clear, maintained workstream budget, scope baseline, and integrated milestone schedule.

An active risk register with owned mitigations and visible residual risk.

Reliable dashboard reporting and a consistent cadence of progress updates to leadership.

What you’ll need

Minimum of 10 years of technical project or program management experience.

Experience leading complex, multidisciplinary engineering work within hardware and software integrated products, robotics, automation, or industrial systems.

Experience with New Product Introduction (NPI), manufacturing scale-up, and supplier or vendor management.

Demonstrated ownership of budget, scope, integrated schedules, risk registers, and executive-ready status reporting.

Experience collaborating with resource managers and engineering leads (PLC, Electrical, and related tools or software teams).

Strong executive communication, leadership, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Proficiency with Microsoft Project, Jira, Confluence, Excel, PowerPoint, and the Microsoft Office suite.

Preferred qualifications

Direct experience with Industrial Controls / PLC NPI, electrical design packages, and industrial automation or robotics cells.

Rockwell controls experience.

Experience with safety systems, FAT checklists, zone sequencing, manufacturing readiness, and external controls vendor management.

Master’s degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, or MBA.

PMP certification or equivalent.

US remote.

Travel up to 40% to support labs, pilot cells, integration events, and launch activities as required.

This is an individual contributor role. Mentorship of peers and contribution to PM best practices are encouraged; this role does not include direct people management.

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The base range for this position in the posted location is $101,000.00 - $138,600.00 however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The compensation package includes medical, dental, vision, disability, 401K, PTO and/or other benefits.