Operational Program Manager Jobs in Austin, TX (NOW HIRING)

Job Purpose

The Director, Operations Program Management is the senior program management leader for the operations organization, responsible for driving disciplined execution of production and unit-build schedules to ensure on-time delivery. This role owns operational program execution across assembly, additive manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and field service material readiness, while establishing the processes, systems, and execution rigor required to scale production.

This is a highly hands-on leadership role, combining shop-floor engagement with systems-level program management. The Director partners closely with the Director, Engineering Program Management to jointly develop and maintain the integrated company schedule, while retaining ownership of operations execution, schedule adherence, and delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the head operations program manager for the company, providing overall direction, accountability, and execution ownership for production and unit-build programs.
• Own and maintain the operations build schedule, including production sequencing and execution against committed timelines.
• In partnership with Engineering Program Management, contribute to the development and maintenance of the integrated company master schedule, ensuring alignment between development readiness and production execution.
• Drive daily, weekly, and monthly execution rhythms across operations teams to ensure alignment, accountability, and progress toward delivery commitments.
• Proactively identify when builds or programs are off-track, lead cross-functional problem-solving efforts, and drive decisions to recover schedule.
• Make final trade-off decisions across cost, schedule, and risk for operations execution, and communicate impacts and mitigation plans to the executive team.
• Maintain authority to stop a build when quality, readiness, or program gates are not met, and escalate decisions and recovery plans as required.
• Anticipate and prevent execution surprises through robust planning, transparent communication, and proactive risk mitigation.
• Work closely with manufacturing, additive manufacturing, quality, and supply chain teams to ensure build readiness and execution alignment.
• Track and manage additive manufacturing component readiness and flow to support production schedules.
• Partner with supply chain leadership to identify material risks and initiate supplier escalation when required.
• Ensure parts and components required for field service and customer support are built and available on schedule.
• Provide regular operations program updates to the Hyliion leadership team on schedule performance, risks, and mitigation strategies.
• Establish and implement core operations program management processes in environments where limited structure exists today.
• Foster a disciplined, execution-focused culture that motivates teams to meet aggressive production timelines.
• Provide leadership, mentorship, and accountability for operations program management staff, initially managing at least one production planner / program manager.
• Build scalable program management systems to support growth from low-volume production to higher-rate manufacturing.
• Additional duties and responsibilities as assigned, needed, or required for the business.

Program Management Areas

The Director will have responsibility for leading and integrating operations program management activities across the following areas:
Production & Unit Build Scheduling

• Manufacturing Operations
• Additive Manufacturing
• Quality & Build Readiness Gates
• Supply Chain & Material Readiness
• Field Service Parts & Component Readiness
• Operations Execution & Scaling Initiatives

Qualifications
Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Qualifications include:
Education, Experience and Certifications

• Bachelor's degree required. Engineering and/or advanced degree preferred.
• Experience as a Program Manager Leader or Director-level experience is required
• 8+ years of experience in program management, with a proven track record of successfully delivering complex hardware and software projects
• Experience working in a fast-paced, startup-like environment, ideally within industries such as aerospace, robotics, or other technically complex fields.

Skills and Abilities

• Strategic Program Leadership - Ability to set vision, master schedules, and priorities while aligning cross-functional execution with corporate objectives.
• Decision-Making & Problem-Solving - Skilled at synthesizing complex inputs, driving timely decisions, and removing roadblocks.
• Risk Management - Proactively identifies risks, develops contingency plans, and prevents surprises by anticipating downstream impacts.
• Communication - Excellent communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Change Management - Adept at guiding teams through organizational, technical, and process changes while maintaining momentum.
• Collaboration & Influence - Strong ability to build trust and influence at all levels of the organization, including executives and technical staff.
• Technical Acumen - Comfort working with engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, software, configuration management) to ensure technical feasibility and program alignment.
• Program Management Expertise - Deep knowledge of PM tools, frameworks, and best practices (Scrum, Agile, stage-gate, earned value, etc.), with experience standing up a Program Management COE.
• Analytical & Financial Skills - Ability to manage program budgets, resource allocation, and trade-off analyses to achieve cost, quality, and timing objectives.
• Resilience & Adaptability - Thrives in fast-paced, dynamic environments with competing priorities.
• Mentorship & Talent Development - Proven track record of coaching, developing, and building high-performing program management teams.
• Results Orientation - Relentless focus on execution, accountability, and delivering results on time and at quality.
• Travel - approximately 25%; at times could be more.

Role Classification and Working Conditions
This is a salaried, exempt-level position. This position typically works in an office environment; and given the nature of our business is also exposed to operations/warehouses/production environments

Physical/Other Requirements
Ability to travel, as needed, by plane, automobile, etc.