Program Manager

Be yourself at Protolabs

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building a diverse team that feels they are valued in the workplace. So do you feel you do not meet every single requirement but still intrigued? We encourage you to still apply! You can help make our company even better. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, mental or physical ability, or any way you represent yourself. We strongly believe diversity makes for more successful teams.

Why Protolabs?

We are the leaders in digital manufacturing. We hire doers, makers, and creative thinkers who tackle our roles with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our culture is centered around meaningful work that brings new and innovative products to market at unprecedented speeds. We are a diverse team that comes from all walks of life and take pride in our team who is smart, genuine, humble, and passionate about what we do. It's our people who fuel our creativity and make our culture feel like home.

Join our team as a Program Manager!

This is a hybrid role based at Headquarters in Maple Plain, MN.

The Program Manager is responsible for strategizing, implementing, and overseeing multiple cross-functional projects and initiatives that align with organizational objectives. This role involves coordinating efforts across software development, manufacturing, engineering, marketing, and sales teams to deliver comprehensive manufacturing solutions. The Program Manager ensures that projects stay within scope, budget, and timelines and that projects are resourced appropriately. The ideal candidate will drive continuous business impact through effective management of diverse projects, product capabilities, and technical systems.

You will

• Manage multiple projects and initiatives in parallel, ensuring teams are focusing on the correct priorities and deliverables. Responsible for holding task owners accountable to progress and delivery thus ensuring efficient and successful project execution
• Collaborate closely with the project owner, technology owner, and cross-departmental teams to formulate the scope, deliverables, necessary resources, work plans, budgets, and timelines for projects.
• Monitor and track project changes, ensuring all modifications are documented and communicated appropriately, ensuring stakeholders understand the costs and trade-offs of decisions. Facilitates discussions as necessary to address and resolve significant deviations from the original project plan.
• Facilitate project retrospectives, gathering and sharing lessons learned to enhance future project execution and outcomes..
• Balance the needs and expectations of diverse groups while ensuring that project goals align with business objectives. Works to secure stakeholder alignment and commitment, fostering collaboration and communication with all involved parties.
• Oversee the project's estimates and budget, tracks expenditures, and ensures costs are aligned with forecasts and deviations are communicated and managed. Owns providing awareness and reporting out of estimate / budget updates and variances.
• Engage Quality Assurance team to scope and apply needed testing. Verifies all testing is complete and open issues are mitigated or accepted.
• Act as central communication point ensuring alignment and effective information flow. Maintains clear and effective communication with the project team, leadership, stakeholders, and other relevant parties.
• Identify, assesses, and manages project risks promptly and effectively. Partners with the team to develop mitigation plans and contingency strategies. Ensures that risks are documented (RAID log), escalated appropriately, and managed proactively.
• Monitor project progress, tracking key performance indicators and milestones. Delivers consistently / regularly timed status reports and communicates any deviations from the plan to project team, project leadership (Owners, Sponsors), key stakeholders, and any other relevant parties.
• Collaborate with resource managers and leadership to secure necessary cross-functional resources. Partners across departments to assess capacity needs. Manages and reports on resource allocations and proactively identify and address resource contention risks across initiatives to drive resolution. Move this one up-near building the plan
• Partner with project owners, technology owner, and lead business analyst to define and track common metrics for project success, such as project completion time, budget adherence, ROI and defect reduction rates.
• Proactively identifies new opportunities, advocates for advancements, and implements changes that positively impact efficiency and efficacy of project / program management practices, and standards.
• Actively engage by participating in meetings, training sessions, and group activities; champions and educates others on processes; models professional behavior; and pursues continuous professional development by seeking and incorporating feedback.
• Other duties as assigned.

What it takes

Bonus points for

What's in it for you

Protolabs offers a competitive total rewards package, and compensation mix vary based on position, such as base wage, as well as other earnings including incentives and commissions. Actual pay offered will vary depending on multiple factors which may include, without limitation, job function, work experience, specialized skills, training, education, and certifications.

Proto Labs maintains ITAR-compliant operations in all of our United States based facilities. Due to ITAR regulations, this role is only open to U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) or foreign nationals granted refugee or asylee status. Individuals with temporary visas (e.g. E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, TN or OPT) are not eligible for hire in this role.

Proto Labs, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Physical Demands :

While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use a computer keyboard, monitor and mouse, telephone and printer; reach with hands, and arms, talk, see and hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, stoop or kneel and must occasionally lift and / or move up to 25 pounds.

Work Environment :

Indoors (A / C); nonsmoking; the majority of this job function is performed in an office setting requiring normal safety precautions. However, there may be job duties that require the employee to spend time in the manufacturing areas exposed to machinery and noise; eye protection occasionally required. Occasionally works in outside weather conditions. Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places and is occasionally exposed to wet and / or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.