Project Manager | Design Engineer
Job Description:
Position Overview
Our Client is seeking an organized, detail-oriented Project Manager to oversee projects involving the design, engineering, fabrication, and delivery of custom electrical control panels. This individual will serve as the primary point of contact for customers while coordinating with engineering, production, purchasing, and other internal teams to ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and according to customer specifications.
The ideal candidate has experience managing technical or industrial projects, understands electrical control panel manufacturing or a similar engineered-to-order environment, and can effectively balance customer expectations, project schedules, budgets, and quality requirements.
Key Responsibilities
- Project Management: Manage projects from initial kickoff through engineering, production, testing, and final delivery, ensuring all milestones and deadlines are met.
- Customer Communication: Serve as the primary customer contact, providing regular updates on project status, schedules, deliverables, and potential issues.
- Cross-Functional Coordination: Collaborate with engineering, drafting, production, purchasing, quality, and shipping teams to coordinate resources and maintain project timelines.
- Scheduling and Tracking: Develop and maintain project schedules, monitor progress, identify risks, and implement corrective actions when necessary.
- Technical Documentation: Review customer specifications, drawings, bills of materials, engineering documents, and other project requirements to ensure alignment before production begins.
- Budget and Cost Control: Monitor project costs, labor, materials, and scope changes to help maintain profitability and minimize unnecessary expenses.
- Scope and Change Management: Evaluate customer requests and engineering changes, communicate their impact on cost and schedule, and coordinate approvals.
- Problem Resolution: Identify and resolve project obstacles, material shortages, technical questions, and production delays in collaboration with the appropriate teams.
- Quality and Compliance: Ensure projects meet customer requirements, applicable electrical standards, internal quality procedures, and required testing and inspection criteria.
- Project Closeout: Coordinate final testing, documentation, shipment, and customer handoff while ensuring outstanding issues are addressed.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Project Management, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
- Previous experience managing projects in electrical manufacturing, industrial automation, control panel fabrication, electrical systems, or a similar technical environment.
- Strong organizational, planning, time-management, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to read and interpret technical drawings, electrical schematics, engineering specifications, and bills of materials.
- Understanding of project scheduling, budgeting, resource coordination, and change management.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with customers, engineers, production personnel, and leadership.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project tracking or scheduling tools.
- Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail and meeting deadlines.
- Strong customer-service mindset and the ability to build productive working relationships.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct experience with custom electrical control panels, industrial control systems, PLC panels, automation equipment, or electrical enclosures.
- Familiarity with UL 508A requirements or other applicable electrical panel standards.
- Experience working in an engineered-to-order or custom manufacturing environment.
- Knowledge of electrical components, wiring, fabrication, assembly, testing, and quality-control processes.
- Experience with ERP, MRP, or project management software.
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or other relevant project management training.