Technical Program Manager

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Role Summary

The Technical Program Manager (TPM) serves as 3M's primary technical and manufacturing operations leader at contract manufacturing partners, responsible for driving manufacturing process development, production readiness, operational performance, and technical risk management throughout the product lifecycle.

The TPM acts as the key interface between Product Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Operations, Procurement, and contract manufacturing partners to ensure manufacturing processes are scalable, capable, and optimized to meet product performance, quality, cost, capacity, and delivery objectives from New Product Introduction (NPI) through mass production.

This role combines technical leadership, manufacturing engineering expertise, and operational excellence to ensure contract manufacturers achieve and sustain world-class manufacturing performance. The TPM is responsible for driving key manufacturing metrics including Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), Yield, Scrap, Downtime, Throughput, Cycle Time, Capacity Utilization, and Process Capability (Cp/Cpk), while leading continuous improvement initiatives that improve quality, productivity, and manufacturing competitiveness.

Manufacturing Process Development & Production Readiness

Lead manufacturing process development, qualification, and production readiness activities for new product introductions (NPI), product transfers, and major process changes.

Define process requirements, operating windows, manufacturing controls, tooling requirements, and equipment readiness plans to support successful production launches.

Drive process characterization activities and establish validated operating parameters that ensure consistent product quality and process stability.

Partner with contract manufacturers to develop robust, repeatable, and scalable manufacturing processes that meet 3M product specifications and customer requirements.

Lead engineering builds, pilot runs, process validations, and production ramp activities.

Drive IQ/OQ/PQ, process validation, line qualifications, and manufacturing readiness reviews.

Establish process control plans, reaction plans, SPC methodologies, and process monitoring strategies.

Evaluate manufacturing readiness and proactively identify technical risks that may impact quality, schedule, capacity, or production performance.

Production Performance, Capacity & Operational Excellence

Own manufacturing performance metrics including Yield, OEE, Scrap, Downtime, Throughput, Cycle Time, Capacity Utilization, and Process Capability (Cp/Cpk).

Develop KPI dashboards and performance review mechanisms with contract manufacturers to monitor operational health and identify improvement opportunities.

Analyze manufacturing performance data to identify trends, bottlenecks, variability, and emerging risks.

Drive yield improvement initiatives through data-driven problem solving, statistical analysis, and continuous improvement methodologies.

Lead OEE improvement programs focused on reducing downtime, setup losses, speed losses, and quality losses.

Drive scrap reduction initiatives through defect elimination, process optimization, and improved material utilization.