Assistant Project Manager

Focus • Cicero, IL

4d • Onsite

About The Position

Accurate Metal Fabricating is seeking an energetic, detail-oriented Assistant Project Manager to support its manufacturing team. The role provides hands-on training in internal processes, methodologies such as Work Breakdown Structures, and systems, with the stated goal of advancing the employee to a full Project Manager within approximately nine months.

The Assistant Project Manager supports the full project lifecycle, from order intake and ERP transactions through shop-floor production, inventory control, and final delivery. Acting as a key link among Engineering, Quality, Purchasing, Shipping/Warehouse, and clients, the role helps keep production on schedule, ensure material availability, control costs, and meet customer requirements.

The position is based in an active manufacturing plant. Safety is paramount, and the employee must be comfortable around moving mechanical parts, fabrication equipment, and shop-floor noise and comply with PPE and safety standards. Standard hours are 8:00 AM–4:30 PM or 8:30 AM–5:00 PM, with built-in breaks and lunch. Dedicated mentoring and clear promotion benchmarks are provided during the first nine months.

Requirements

• 1–3 years of experience in project coordination, inventory control, material handling, or production support in a custom manufacturing or fabrication environment.
• Hands-on experience with ERP systems.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, and Outlook.
• Familiarity with job planning, inventory cycle counts, blueprint reading, and general shipping and receiving processes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organization and attention to detail, with a proactive approach to problem-solving under deadlines.
• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, or Management, or equivalent practical shop-floor experience.
• Comfort working in an active manufacturing plant around moving mechanical parts, fabrication equipment, and shop-floor noise.
• Compliance with PPE and safety standards.

Nice To Haves

• Epicor experience.

Responsibilities

• Track custom manufacturing orders from initial gate reviews through shop-floor operations, shipping, and delivery.
• Review project scopes, travelers, and timelines against original quotes to verify production standards and promised dates before work begins.
• Learn and apply Work Breakdown Structure frameworks to divide complex orders into tasks and track milestones.
• Participate in 15-minute morning stand-up meetings to align priorities, support team morale, and highlight production wins.
• Use Epicor to release, pick, and close manufacturing orders, monitor work in process, and track material availability.
• Coordinate with Warehousing, Purchasing, and Production to ensure raw materials and components arrive on time and are properly positioned on the shop floor, while mitigating surplus and obsolete inventory risks.
• Execute and expedite shop-floor orders, identify production roadblocks early, and work with department heads to keep jobs moving.
• Monitor inventory levels, participate in cycle counts, and resolve material discrepancies.
• Ensure special customer requirements—including material certifications, PPAP packages, aesthetic handling, and tight tolerances—are recorded in gate review notes and traveler documents and communicated to Quality Control.
• Act as the client point of contact during RMAs or non-conformances and track products through rework to support rapid turnaround or prompt credit issuance.
• Monitor production for added, unquoted operations and work to update quote baselines to protect margins on subsequent runs.
• Communicate proactively with client engineers, buyers, and project managers about print discrepancies, tight tolerances, outside vendor delays, and schedule updates.
• Follow up with Purchasing on purchase orders for outside services, including plating, heat treating, and powder coating, to verify vendor delivery dates meet production timelines.
• Manage Engineering Change Notifications and client design changes, ensuring scope or drawing changes are not implemented without formal customer approval.
• Maintain tracking logs such as short-shipment matrices, record shop-floor recommendations for repeat runs, and document lessons learned to improve future production runs.

Benefits

• Hands-on training in internal processes, methodologies, and systems.
• Dedicated mentoring during the first nine months, with clear benchmarks for promotion to Project Manager.
• Supportive team coverage when life happens.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree