Senior Manager Program Management Jobs in California

The Sr. Manager, Program Management, is the organizational leader responsible for the creation, management, and execution of Cytek’s Product Development portfolio. This role carries people management accountability for a team of Program and Project Managers, while also driving cross-functional alignment across Engineering, R&D, Operations, Sales, and Marketing to deliver Product Development and Product Improvement projects from Concept to Commercialization — meeting Project Scope, Quality, Cost, and Timing objectives. The Sr. Manager, Program Management works with R&D, Sales, and Marketing to shape project Business Cases, ensures Customer Requirements and Product Design are aligned to target markets and revenue forecasts, and leads the R&D development effort to meet defined project deliverables and milestones (including early feasibility, development, verification, and design transfer). The ideal candidate combines strong people leadership with high emotional intelligence, a collaborative mindset, and a track record of motivating and growing diverse, cross-functional teams.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform essential duties and responsibilities satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

People Leadership & Team Development

• Leads, develops, and mentors a team of Program and Project Managers, fostering a collaborative, inclusive team culture that accelerates delivery and retains talent.
• Sets clear performance expectations, provides ongoing coaching, and supports career growth for direct reports.
• Models high emotional intelligence (EQ) — building trust and credibility across levels and functions by listening actively, communicating with clarity, and navigating organizational dynamics with empathy and diplomacy.

Portfolio & Project Governance

• Accountable for Portfolio Review and Project Selection with the Portfolio Review Board for new project introduction, portfolio management execution, and project commercialization and exit from the Product Development portfolio.
• Provides oversight of portfolio project timelines to assist Project Managers with ensuring accuracy and alignment with organizational commitments.
• Manages Product Development Portfolio adherence to Design Control processes per company RUO and Medical Device procedures; provides oversight to the creation and management of Design History Files (DHF).
• Keeps the Portfolio Review Board informed of Product Development Portfolio status and any issues or risks that would affect the ability to deliver a quality product on time and on budget.
• Leads and facilitates efforts to develop and build product roadmaps in collaboration with R&D, Marketing, and Executive Leadership; facilitates formal project approval onto the portfolio roadmap.
• Acts as owner for assigned product lines, product families, or business segments (e.g., RUO, Clinical, Software) to ensure cross-functional alignment in technology development, development, and sustaining efforts.

Cross-Functional Execution & Stakeholder Alignment

• Works actively cross-functionally to ensure that Product Development projects are resourced appropriately, obtain sufficient funding, maintain engagement, and stay focused on committed development timelines.
• Works closely with Project Managers and Departmental leaders to develop mitigations to issues impacting project timing, cost, and quality.
• Guides the technical team to identify objectives, address technical issues, make decisions, and create technical solutions.
• Working with R&D, Sales, and Marketing to develop project Business Cases, ensuring Customer Requirements and Product Design are in alignment to meet the target market and revenue forecast.
• May be asked to support projects and programs related to business operations including IT programs, site/manufacturing transfers, business acquisition, or other projects as assigned.

Budget, Risk & Resource Management

• Manages the overall portfolio Product Development budget allocation; works actively with R&D and other management to establish key project cost inputs and timing, and manages actual project spend to align with budgetary commitments.
• Provides oversight of Portfolio and Project Risk Management to assist Project Managers and Departmental Leaders in addressing and mitigating risks before they impact committed project parameters, or in developing options for addressing them once they occur.
• Works with leadership to manage RUO BU overall budget and resource allocation, including project and departmental budget development.

KPIs, Reporting & Operational Cadence

• Establishes Product Development Project KPIs and reporting formats and content for organizational communication.
• Supports metric and KPI collection to inform business decisions and track strategy execution; includes development, maintenance, and report-outs for executive and core team level dashboards (e.g., PowerBI, SmartSheet, VBA).
• Leads and supports monthly/quarterly portfolio reviews and data preparation for executive leadership.

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, or Biochemistry (Required)
• Master’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration, or Finance (Preferred)
• Professional Project Management certification (e.g., PMP) (Preferred)
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in the development, implementation, or commercialization of Life Science, Pharmaceutical, Diagnostic, or Medical Device products, including instrumentation, software, and/or reagents
• Minimum of 2 years in a people management role, with demonstrated experience leading, developing, and retaining a team of program or project managers
• At least 3 years managing and developing project or departmental budgets
• Experience with portfolio/project budget creation, revenue forecasting, resource allocation, and project scheduling tools (e.g., JIRA, Confluence, MS Project, SmartSheet) (Required)
• Experience using Windows OS, MS Office Applications, Engineering Change Order Systems, Design History Files, and creating Procedures and Reports
• Hands-on experience with instrumentation design, development, or commercialization; background in optics or optical systems strongly preferred (Preferred)
• Proficiency in Mandarin (spoken and/or written) (Preferred)
• Proven experience building, mentoring, and growing cross-functional teams; track record of fostering a collaborative, inclusive team culture that accelerates delivery and retains talent (Preferred)

ADDITIONAL SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES:

• Project and product scope, tasks, resources, schedule, risks, and budget (resource, material, external agreements, royalties) for each phase of the project lifecycle
• Demonstrated experience creating chemical consumable development process and product workflows, and associated software use cases
• Awareness of US and international regulations and standards applicable to the in vitro diagnostic and medical device industry, including FDA Quality Systems Regulations, CFR 820, ISO 13485, ISO 9001, and ISO 14971
• Experience with ERP and/or PLM systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Arena, Agile); comfort navigating and improving cross-functional business processes within these platforms is highly valued
• Roll-up-sleeves problem-solver who thrives in ambiguous, fast-moving environments; demonstrated ability to identify gaps, drive pragmatic solutions, and help the business scale by building repeatable processes and scalable program frameworks
• Skilled at driving alignment and accountability in matrixed, cross-functional environments; experience partnering with engineering, operations, quality, regulatory, and commercial teams to deliver on shared goals
• Demonstrated verbal and written communication skills with experience presenting to executive leadership

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that an employee must meet to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Individuals will be required to lift 25 lbs. without harm and be able to work in a standing position for an hour at a time.
• Sit for a prolonged period
• Utilize hand and finger dexterity

Cytek is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, disability status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.