Program Leader - Aircraft Interiors Programs

About the role

TCI Aircraft Interiors, formed in 2023 by the merger of Turkish Airlines subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures and develops aircraft interior products such as seats, galleys, lavatories and in-flight entertainment systems. It serves Boeing, Airbus and other airlines from facilities in Istanbul and Seattle. The Program Leader leads assigned customer programs (airline retrofit/linefit and OEM programs) end to end, from contract award through entry into service and aftermarket support.

Key responsibilities

• Own the program baseline (scope, integrated master schedule, budget and margin) and track KPIs for schedule, cost, quality and delivery
• Act as the main customer contact, organise program and design reviews (PDR/CDR) and manage program communication
• Coordinate Engineering, Certification, Supply Chain, Production, Quality and Finance teams to deliver on time, on cost and to the required quality
• Manage change orders, contractual obligations and customer claims, and support commercial negotiations with Sales
• Identify, assess and mitigate risks, maintain the risk register and drive root-cause and corrective actions
• Follow qualification and certification milestones with Airworthiness & Certification and monitor supplier performance for critical parts
• Prepare program status reports for senior management and contribute to continuous improvement of program management processes

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial or Manufacturing Engineering; MSc or MBA is a plus
• 5-8 years of project/program management experience, at least 3 in aerospace, automotive or defense
• Experience in aircraft interiors (seats, cabin monuments, galleys, IFE) is a strong plus
• Proven track record managing scope, schedule, cost, risk and change across multiple concurrent programs
• Direct experience with airline and/or OEM (Airbus, Boeing) customers, including contract and change order management
• Fluent written and spoken English; willingness to travel domestically and internationally
• Completed or exempted from military service for male candidates

Required skills

• Solid knowledge of program lifecycle, stage-gate and product development and industrialization (APQP, FAI, PPAP)
• Familiarity with aviation certification and quality requirements
• PMP or equivalent project management certification preferred
• MS Project and MS Office; ERP experience (Microsoft Dynamics AX) is a plus