Manager, IPTL

Simsbury, CT

Moorpark, CA

Full time

REQ107632

This opportunity is located within our Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company business, a global leader of mission-critical hardware and systems solutions including precision energetics systems and innovative explosive solutions. Click here (https://www.eba-d.com/) to learn more.

Job Description

Manager, IPTL (All Locations)

Reports to: Director, IPTLLocation: Moorpark, California, Simsbury, Connecticut, and Graham, Kentucky

Business Unit: All Segments

Role Summary

The Manager, Integrated Product Team Leadership (IPTL), leads a team of Integrated Product Team Leaders responsible for leading IPTLs who execute development and production projects. The role is accountable for building capable execution leaders and ensuring assigned projects are delivered predictably against scope, schedule, cost, quality, and performance commitments. They create an environment in which IPTLs are expected to own execution decisions, solve problems at the appropriate level, and escalate only those issues requiring broader organizational alignment.

The Manager, IPTL, operates in close partnership with Program Leaders, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Finance. Program Leaders own customer relationships, growth, margin strategy, and overall business performance; IPTLs own project execution. Engineering retains technical authority and functional excellence, while Operations retains manufacturing excellence.

This role requires a people-first leader who can assess talent, coach and develop IPTLs, establish consistent EBOS-based operating discipline, and intervene decisively when execution is off plan. The Manager, IPTL, may also directly lead selected high-priority projects during organizational transition or periods of business need.

Success in this role is defined by sustained excellence, which requires delivering predictable execution outcomes through IPTLs rather than becoming the primary project problem solver. Readiness or aspiration for a future Director role is not a requirement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of IPTLs; set clear expectations, provide timely feedback, and build development plans and appropriate coverage for critical responsibilities.

• Provide a high-level of IPTL talent management, including hiring recommendation, promotions, succession planning, performance improvement plans, and exits when necessary.

• Own execution performance across the assigned project portfolio, ensuring each project has an executable baseline for scope, schedule, cost, risk, and resource demand.

• Establish and sustain a consistent EBOS operating cadence, including tiered accountability, visual management, standard work, and disciplined escalation.

• Hold IPTLs and cross-functional teams accountable for commitments while creating an environment of trust, transparency, constructive challenge, and continuous learning.

• Partner with Program Leaders to translate customer and business priorities into executable plans, maintain alignment on commitments, and elevate decisions that affect customer strategy, commercial position, or business performance.

• Ensure IPTLs lead routine customer execution communications with clear status, risks, and recovery plans while Program Leaders retain ownership of the broader customer relationship and commercial strategy.

• Partner with Engineering and Operations leaders to integrate technical decisions and manufacturing priorities into executable plans without displacing functional authority.

• Review project cost and schedule performance, challenge assumptions, ensure credible estimates-at-completion and recovery plans, and escalate material deviations with recommended actions.

• Drive proactive risk management, structured problem solving, Kaizen, and lessons learned to reduce recurring issues and improve portfolio performance.

• Balance resources and priorities across projects, identify systemic constraints, and work with functional leaders to resolve capacity, capability, and sequencing conflicts.

• Ensure effective proposal and project-startup support, including executable scope, cost, schedule, resource, and risk assumptions.

• Lead change through the transition to the future-state Program Leader/IPTL operating model, reinforcing decision rights, interfaces, and expected leadership behaviors.

• Model EBAD core values, people-leader talent expectations, and EBOS leadership behaviors, including sound judgment, accountability, collaboration, and focus on the success of the whole business.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, operations, business, or a related discipline; technical degree strongly preferred.

• Typically 8-12 years of experience in engineering, operations, or program/project execution within a complex manufacturing environment, including meaningful leadership responsibility.

• Demonstrated success delivering complex development and/or production projects with accountability for cost, schedule, scope, risk, and cross-functional execution.

• Proven people leadership capability, including selection, coaching, performance management, development, and building strong teams.

• Ability to lead through influence across a matrixed organization and to make or escalate difficult trade decisions with appropriate urgency.

• Strong financial and project-management acumen, including estimating, budgeting, forecasting, EACs, variance analysis, and recovery planning.

• Effective customer and executive communication skills, with the ability to provide clear, fact-based status and recommendations.

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance, as required.

• Travel ~20% could be needed

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading other project or program leaders.

• Experience in both new-product development and recurring production environments.

• Demonstrated use of lean operating systems, visual management, structured problem solving, and continuous improvement.

• Experience supporting organizational design or significant operating-model change.

• PMP, engineering leadership, or comparable project/program management certification or experience.

Leadership Expectations

• People Leadership: Builds trust, sets clear expectations, differentiates performance, coaches actively, strengthens team capability and coverage, and creates an inclusive environment where people can do their best work.

• EBOS Leadership: Uses standard work, visual management, data, problem solving, and leader standard work to create predictable performance and continuous improvement.

• Enterprise Partnership: Makes decisions for the success of EBAD, works across organizational boundaries, challenges constructively, and balances near-term delivery with sustainable team capability.

• Customer and Business Judgment: Protects commitments and customer confidence while recognizing when execution decisions require Program Leader, commercial, technical, or executive alignment.

• Execution Judgment: Makes timely, fact-based decisions, creates transparency, surfaces issues early, and appropriately balances empowerment with accountability.

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, or veteran status.

EBI's 190-year history has been shaped by innovation and stewardship defining who we are today: a family-owned, independently led, and professionally managed company united by our people, Core Values, and Winning Vision. We invite you to explore our three strong businesses and discover how you can help shape the next chapter of our story.

Ensign-Bickford Industries (https://ensign-bickfordind.com/) founded in 1836, is a privately-owned high technology conglomerate that participates in businesses that are relevant to the future of the world and have multigenerational growth prospects. As One EBI, we innovate in science and technology for the safety, health, and well-being of society, creating exceptional long-term value.

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