Technical Program Manager - Manufacturing & Automation

Chiral Photonics is seeking a Technical Program Manager - Manufacturing & Automation to lead cross-functional engineering, R&D, manufacturing, and automation initiatives.

This role will serve as a bridge between Engineering, R&D, Operations, and Production, turning business and technical needs into clearly scoped, well-managed initiatives and driving them from concept through implementation.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical project management with business analysis and process mapping skills. They are highly organized, analytical, technically curious, and comfortable driving complex initiatives in a fast-paced manufacturing environment., Engineering & R&D Project Management

• Lead cross-functional Engineering, R&D, and manufacturing projects from concept through implementation.
• Develop project scope, plans, timelines, milestones, dependencies, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Coordinate priorities and drive accountability across Engineering, R&D, Operations, and Production.
• Track progress, risks, decisions, and deliverables, and provide clear updates and recommendations to leadership.

Process Mapping, Business Analysis & Operational Readiness

• Partner with cross-functional teams to define business needs, project scope, technical and functional requirements, and success criteria.
• Translate business needs into clear requirements and executable project plans.
• Map current-state and future-state manufacturing and operational workflows to identify gaps, bottlenecks, handoff issues, and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop process maps, workflow documentation, and supporting operational documentation to ensure alignment and readiness for implementation
• Facilitate communication of project sub-task progress to all the stakeholders to accelerate inter-dependent task planning and execution across multiple parties/departments

Manufacturing Automation & Digital Transformation

• Help develop and drive Chiral's manufacturing automation roadmap.
• Identify and prioritize opportunities for automation and digital transformation.
• Partner with technical teams to evaluate and implement automation solutions, software, and manufacturing technologies.
• Manage automation initiatives from concept through deployment, including timelines, budgets, risks, and operational impact.

Manufacturing Analytics & Decision Support

• Analyze manufacturing and engineering data to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Develop dashboards, reporting tools, and analytical models that support operational decision-making.
• Improve data visibility and accuracy and provide data-driven recommendations to leadership.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Operations Engineering, or another technical discipline.
• 7+ years of experience in manufacturing, engineering, R&D, or technical operations, including at least 3 years leading cross-functional technical projects or programs.
• Strong project management, organizational, and prioritization skills.
• Experience gathering business requirements and translating them into technical project plans.
• Experience creating process maps, workflow documentation, and operational documentation.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including PivotTables, XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, complex formulas, and data analysis.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, changing startup environment.

Preferred

• Experience supporting manufacturing automation initiatives.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing or continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience with ERP, MES, Power BI, SQL, or manufacturing information systems.
• Familiarity with process mapping tools such as Visio, Lucidchart, Miro, or Microsoft Visio.
• PMP, CAPM, Agile, or equivalent project management certification.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for someone who can bring structure to complex technical initiatives, connect business needs with engineering execution, and keep cross-functional teams moving toward a common outcome. This person should be comfortable navigating ambiguity, asking the right questions, creating clarity, and driving projects through successful implementation, * Manufacturing: 7 years (Required)

• Technical project management: 3 years (Required)

Pulled from the full job description

• 401(k)
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Dental insurance, * 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Chiral Photonics is a fast-growing photonics manufacturing company enabling next-generation optical connectivity. We specialize in high-precision fiber-optic components and assemblies that support advanced data center, AI, and communications infrastructure as well as biomedical equipment, photonic and quantum computing and other next-gen photonic applications . As we scale production, we are building strong operational foundations rooted in standard work, quality, and continuous improvement.