Director of Programs at Barber-Nichols LLC

Arvada, Colorado, United States -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

12 May, 26

Salary

200000.0

Posted On

12 Feb, 26

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Program Management, Leadership, Negotiation, Risk Management, Communication, Problem Solving, Process Improvement, Team Building, Customer Relationship Management, Financial Analysis, Strategic Planning, Technical Expertise, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Operational Readiness, Project Management, Innovation, Change Management

Industry

Defense and Space Manufacturing

Description

Description About Barber-Nichols: Barber-Nichols (BN) is a premier provider of custom turbomachinery solutions serving the Defense, Aerospace, Cryogenics, and Energy industries. Our team consists of industry leaders who collaborate closely with equally accomplished customers to deliver technologies that advance their markets and establish enduring partnerships. At BN, we foster a results-driven environment that values professional growth, rewards achievement, and supports innovation. From designing the blower for NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan to engineering critical components for the U.S. Navy’s MK-48 program, BN’s portfolio spans some of the most exciting and impactful projects in the world. For those seeking to contribute to impactful projects alongside a highly skilled team, BN offers an exceptional place to build your career. Position Summary: The Director of Program Management provides executive leadership and oversight for complex, cross-functional Defense and Aerospace turbomachinery programs across the full product lifecycle—from technology development and prototyping through production, deployment, and aftermarket support within safety-critical or mission-critical applications. This role ensures compliant, efficient, and high-performing program execution within an engineering and manufacturing environment. The Director integrates Barber-Nichols’ (BN) technical capabilities with evolving government, defense, and aerospace requirements, delivering programs that meet scope, schedule, cost, quality, and security expectations. This leader strengthens operational execution by improving processes, systems, and controls; drives alignment across engineering, operations, procurement, and quality; and builds high-performing, self-directed teams. Key Results Areas: Establish, implement, and communicate the cross-functional strategic and tactical plans for program execution to ensure on-time, on-budget, and on-quality performance. Influence product roadmap development and align BN capabilities with key market needs. Deliver project meeting stakeholder expectations for schedule, cost, technical performance, and operational readiness. Identify program risks, capability gaps, and mitigation strategies. Build optimized and scalable processes, systems, and controls to efficiently execute both development and production programs. Conducts regular reviews of program performance to ensure program objectives are met. Responsible for meeting financial targets including margin performance, earned value metrics, cost/schedule adherence, and customer satisfaction. Responsible for customer relationships, proactive client management and new opportunity ideation in collaboration with internal teams. Build enduring and trust-based relationships with key customers resulting in high satisfaction and repeat business. Become the key point of contact for business-critical issues and communications with our customers. Use independent judgment to balance BN interests with that of our customers. Negotiate favorable outcomes to complex technical, contractual, schedule, and operational challenges. Develop, lead, and mentor a highly engaged, self-directed team to maximize employee retention and customer satisfaction. Continually improve the skills and capabilities of the Program Management team to maximize the value we are providing to the business and our clients. Remove barriers to facilitate personal and program success for each team member. Connect the values and passions of team members to the work and programs they lead. Implement an inclusive culture guided by personality assessment and strengths within program teams. Demonstrate cross-functional leadership by identifying and executing high impact initiatives that result in improved business processes and performance. Lead business initiates that result in improved efficiencies, higher customer satisfaction and meeting business objectives. Facilitate and support positive change in the PMO and cross functional departments. Demonstrate excellence in leading cross-functional teams including Program Managers, Engineering, Procurement and Operations. Establish trust-based relationships with peer executive leaders that enables development and optimization of long-range company goals and objectives. Supervisory Responsibilities: Directly supervises employees in the Program Management Office. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, training, assigning work, setting expectations, evaluating performance, coaching, resolving conflicts, and developing team capability. Ensures consistent, fair, and values-driven leadership aligned with organizational policy. Requirements Qualifications: To qualify for this position, an individual must possess the knowledge, training, experience and abilities required. Education and Training Bachelor’s degree in engineering, program management, or a related technical field Equivalent combination of education and DoD/USN/Aerospace experience may be considered Experience: Minimum 10 years managing Government, U.S. Navy, or Aerospace programs involving complex engineered systems, technology development, or production. Experience with DoD and Aerospace acquisition lifecycles, FAR/DFARS, EVMS, CDRLs/SDRLs, risk management, and configuration control. Strongly preferred experience with NAVSEA, SUBSAFE/Level I, or nuclear/safety-critical programs. Minimum four years of leadership experience in engineering, program management, or operations. Other: Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Security Clearance Must be willing to work overtime as required Travel up to 20% of working time. Skills: To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies: Excellent written and verbal communications skills required Strong organizational and time management skills Adept at negotiating complex contracts, situations, and scenarios High attention to detail High say/do ratio Ability to successfully plan and implement objectives within established timelines and work schedules Ability to analyze problems and develop effective solutions at both strategic and functional levels Develop innovative strategies, approaches and ideas to address dynamic challenges Meets challenges with resourcefulness; generates suggestions for improving work; develops innovative approaches and ideas; presents ideas and information in a manner that gets others attention and garners support from peer leaders. Understand financial models and inputs to assess performance, areas of growth and development of opportunities Proven ability to lead high-performing, cross-functional teams by effectively motivating staff, setting clear goals, providing guidance and constructive feedback, and fostering a collaborative, positive, and inclusive work environment; skilled in strategic decision-making, guiding teams through change, and promoting open communication and accountability. ITAR Requirements: To conform to U.S. Government commercial space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3), applicants for employment at Barber-Nichols must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawfully admitted for permanent residence into the U.S. (i.e., current green card holder), or lawfully admitted as a refugee or granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. § 1157-1158. Security clearance is required for this position. Equal Opportunity Employer: Barber-Nichols is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any protected status as defined by law. Compensation and Benefits: The salary range for this role is $175,000-$200,000. This range represent the anticipated minimum and maximum base + bonus for this position based upon a good faith and reasonable estimate. The final compensation for this position will be set based on the applicant’s qualifications (education, training and/or experience related to this role), and therefore, may fall outside the range shown, depending on the circumstances. To view our benefits provided please visit Careers | Barber-Nichols. Barber Nichols anticipates the application window closing approximately 30 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require Barber Nichols to shorten or extend the application window.

Responsibilities

The Director of Program Management provides executive leadership for complex Defense and Aerospace turbomachinery programs, ensuring compliant and efficient program execution. This role involves integrating technical capabilities with evolving requirements and building high-performing teams.