Principal Program Manager

Description Built on Experience. Built for Skill. Built for You. Keel was formed by bringing together three industry leaders combining generations of hands-on expertise in steel fabrication, shipbuilding, aerospace, and defense manufacturing. That means when you join Keel, you’re joining a team backed by decades of proven craftsmanship and real-world results. We build ships, defense systems, aerospace components, and heavy steel structures that serve critical missions - and we do it with pride.

Your Mission:

The Principal Program Manager provides leadership, execution oversight, and people management within the Program Management Office (PMO). This role leads high complexity programs that have expanded scope, significant financial impact, cross functional dependencies, or challenging customer environments while also supervising a portion of the PMO staff including assigned Senior Program Managers, Program Managers, Project Managers, and Project Coordinators. The role functions with a high degree of autonomy, driving successful program delivery, developing PMO talent, and ensuring consistent application of program management standards. The Principal Program Manager manages program level customer relationships with autonomy, ensuring effective communication, alignment, and issue resolution. The role is accountable for advanced program financial performance including Earned Value Management System (EVMS) discipline, Estimate at Complete (EAC) forecasting, variance analysis, and mentoring PMO staff in cost and schedule integration. This role reflects program management leadership consistent with widely accepted professional standards, including oversight of multiple programs, stewardship of program governance, and development of program management capability within the PMO.

Explore the Depth of the Role:

High Complexity Program Leadership:

• Leads the planning, execution, and governance of programs with elevated complexity, budget or P&L impact, technical challenge, or customer sensitivity. Owns program performance metrics including schedule, cost, risk, and technical outcomes, providing structured updates to the Director as required. Drives resolution of complex program issues and leads recovery plans when performance challenges arise. Ensures strong cross-functional integration with engineering, operations, supply chain, quality, and finance. The role provides organizational leadership across multiple complex programs and ensures alignment with enterprise-level program governance expectations.

Financial Management:

• Owns program cash flow performance for assigned programs, forecasts and achieves monthly goals, and creates structured program milestones to ensure positive cash flow
• Oversees program financial performance through disciplined use of EVMS; developing and maintaining control of EVMS Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB). Evaluates Estimate to Complete (ETC), EACs, analyzing variances to determining overall financial health. Identifies emerging financial risks early and drives mitigation actions to protect and improve cost, schedule, and margin commitments. Mentors Program Managers and Project Managers in EVMS fundamentals, forecasting discipline, and cost and schedule integration.

People Leadership:

• Directly supervises assigned Senior Program Managers, Program Managers, Project Managers, and Project Coordinators. Provides coaching, performance feedback, goal setting, career development planning, and workload balancing. Participates in hiring decisions alongside the Director. Ensures consistent application of PMO processes, tools, and standards across supervised personnel. This leadership responsibility includes oversight of program management practices and consistency of governance across the PMO.

Customer Relationship Management:

• Manages program level relationships with defense and commercial customers, ensuring clarity of expectations, alignment of deliverables, and timely issue resolution. Represents the company in program reviews and technical discussions. Handles most customer challenges autonomously, involving the Director only when issues exceed program level authority or carry contractual or enterprise risk. Supports Director led activities related to audits, milestone reviews, and high-level contractual engagements.

Communication and Executive Reporting:

• Empowered to represent Keel with clarity and professionalism in all external interactions. This role ensures timely, accurate communication of program status, risks, financial performance, and key decisions to both customers and Keel senior leadership. Establishes consistent communication rhythms across internal and external stakeholders, drives alignment through transparent and structured updates, and models high quality written and verbal communication standards for the PMO team.

Contract Management:

• Ensures program compliance with applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements, prime contract requirements and flowdowns, and export control regulations (ITAR/EAR).
• Interprets and manages requirements associated with a variety of Government and Prime Contractor contract vehicles. Navigates unique contractual actions including Undefinitized Contract Actions (UCAs), incremental funding modifications, and other complex contract structures while managing financial performance across Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP), Cost-Type, and other contract types.
• Provides input to Keel Contracts during contract negotiations.

Business Growth:

• Leverages customer relationships and awareness of future program opportunities to generate organic business expansion
• Translates high-level business growth goals into actionable roadmap initiatives
• Identifies potential scope expansion and value creation opportunities

Scope and Change Management:

• Oversees program purchase orders or contracts, change requests, and adherence to contractual requirements. Ensures disciplined change control practices.

Requirements

Mission Readiness:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Finance, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience. (Advanced degree preferred.)
• Minimum 10-15 years of progressive program management or project management experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership or supervisory capacity.
• Experience in manufacturing or production environments required; heavy plate fabrication or welding related industries strongly preferred.
• PMP certification (or equivalent) required or must be obtained within six months of hire.
• Advanced knowledge of program management, including scheduling, risk management, financial oversight, and cross functional coordination.
• Proven ability to lead, develop, and coach PMO staff across multiple levels.
• Track record of driving programs to successful, on time, high-quality delivery.
• Strong communication skills for technical, financial, customer facing, and executive engagement.
• Advanced proficiency in EVMS, including development of EACs, ETCs, variance analysis, and integration of cost and schedule data.
• Ability to teach and mentor others in financial performance management, forecasting discipline, and earned value concepts.
• Proficiency with ERP systems such as IFS and tools such as MS Project, Excel, PowerPoint, Smartsheet, and Power BI.
• Ability to manage multiple high impact programs simultaneously.
• Strong organizational skills and exceptional attention to detail, with proven ability to manage multiple complex initiatives in a fast paced environment.
• Knowledge of welding processes, NDT methods, and AWS codes preferred.

Travel Requirements:

• Occasional travel between facilities and customer sites as needed.

Physical Requirements:

• May be required to stand, walk, sit, reach/pull/push with hands and arms, climb or balance, stoop or kneel regularly.
• May lift or carry 50lbs. Weights exceeding 50lbs will require mechanical means to maneuver.

Become a part of our Builders and you too can...

• Uphold Safety and Quality Standards
• Embody Team Spirit
• Relentless Customer Focus
• Convey Integrity, Trust, and Professionalism
• Execute with Excellence and Velocity

What Keel will build for you:

• Comprehensive Benefit Package
• Competitive Pay
• 401(k) Match
• HSA/FSA
• Paid Holidays
• Paid Time Off
• Internal Referral Bonus Opportunities
• Shift Differentials
• Overtime Potential
• Paid on the Job Training
• Certification Sponsorship Opportunities
• Committed to Individual Career Growth
• We Do Fun Things, Plus More!

Need Assistance? If you require a reasonable accommodation at any stage of the employment process, please email talent@keelusa.com with details about your request and your contact information. Accommodation requests are reviewed individually on a case-by-case basis. Please note that this email address is monitored only for inquiries related to reasonable accommodation requests.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans

What we build, builds us.