Associate Technical Project Manager - Equipment Engineering and Integration

Valmont Industries, Inc. • Valley, NE

1d

About The Position

The Associate Technical Project Manager supports GEMS manufacturing equipment projects from identifying a plant need through requirements definition, design, procurement, fabrication, integration, installation, commissioning, production validation, and plant handoff. The role coordinates defined project workstreams and may independently manage lower-complexity projects under the general direction of a senior project manager or functional leader. It applies project-management fundamentals and technical understanding to connect mechanical, electrical, controls, software, safety, process, supplier, and plant activities.

The position also partners with GEMS leadership and technical teams to build and improve repeatable systems for standardized equipment. It documents requirements, tracks commitments, coordinates interfaces, and escalates risks or decisions requiring additional technical or leadership support. Success is measured by accurate planning and reporting, timely issue resolution, and safe, reliable equipment performance within approved scope, schedule, cost, and quality expectations.

The role collaborates across functions, plants, suppliers, and contractors, and supports manufacturing plants and project leaders in developing site technology roadmaps. Travel may be up to 50%, including overnight domestic travel and occasional international travel, with concentrated travel during equipment build, installation, and startup.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, engineering technology, manufacturing, industrial technology, project management, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Two or more years of experience supporting industrial equipment, automation, manufacturing engineering, or capital projects; relevant internship or co-op experience may be considered.
• Experience participating in or coordinating multidisciplinary technical work through one or more phases of design, build, installation, commissioning, or production ramp-up.
• Basic to working knowledge of industrial equipment design, fabrication, electrical systems, controls, automation, machine safety, and manufacturing processes, with the ability to learn across disciplines.
• Experience supporting project scope, schedules, budgets, resource plans, risk tracking, and objective acceptance criteria.
• Experience working with manufacturing operations and at least one of the following: equipment suppliers, system integrators, contractors, or component manufacturers.
• Ability to interpret technical drawings, equipment specifications, process requirements, and project documentation.
• Ability to understand technical problems sufficiently to facilitate decisions and recognize when escalation or additional engineering analysis is required.
• Strong written, verbal, organizational, facilitation, problem-solving, and stakeholder-coordination skills.
• Ability to coordinate defined projects or workstreams and influence contributors without direct authority over all project resources.
• Ability and willingness to travel to Valmont facilities and supplier locations as required.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%, including overnight domestic travel and occasional international travel.

Nice To Haves

• Engineering degree in mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, industrial, automation, or a related field.
• Certified Associate in Project Management, PMP certification, or comparable formal project-management training.
• Experience with custom or internally built manufacturing equipment from concept through completion.
• Familiarity with PLCs, HMIs, industrial networks, robotics, machine safety, and manufacturing data systems.
• Experience with welding, cutting, forming, material handling, or other heavy-manufacturing processes.
• Familiarity with equipment risk assessments, design reviews, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, and production validation.
• Exposure to capital appropriation, investment governance, and financial forecasting.
• Familiarity with reliability, maintainability, OEE, preventive maintenance, and continuous-improvement principles.

Responsibilities

• Translate plant operating needs into project scope, requirements, deliverables, acceptance criteria, responsibilities, budgets, and resource plans in collaboration with relevant teams.
• Document technical assumptions, interfaces, constraints, risks, and long-lead requirements, and escalate gaps before significant commitments are made.
• Develop and maintain integrated schedules for engineering, procurement, fabrication, controls development, testing, installation, commissioning, training, and production ramp-up.
• Support capital requests, cost estimates, business cases, resource plans, and project execution plans.
• Coordinate interfaces and dependencies across mechanical and electrical design, controls, software, fabrication, tooling, utilities, safety systems, manufacturing processes, internal teams, plants, and external suppliers.
• Organize and support design reviews, documenting decisions, changes, system impacts, open items, accountable owners, and due dates.
• Coordinate equipment design, fabrication, assembly, integration, and internal testing activities.
• Coordinate supplier, integrator, contractor, and component-manufacturer communications and deliverables; track progress against requirements, milestones, costs, quality, and documentation expectations; and report significant deviations.
• Review equipment build status on fabrication and assembly floors and track decisions, long-lead components, and technical, material, resource, or schedule constraints.
• Support resolution of nonconforming components, design deviations, and supplier performance issues with technical and project leadership.
• Verify with technical leads that purchased equipment requirements address safety, controls, maintenance, operating, and data environments.
• Assist technical leads and receiving plants in developing commissioning and validation plans with measurable factory acceptance and site acceptance test criteria.
• Support testing of production capability, including safety, throughput, quality, uptime, cycle time, and process capability.
• Coordinate assigned installation, utilities, controls integration, safety validation, debugging, production-trial, and ramp-up activities.
• Track test results, exceptions, and open items through final resolution and formal acceptance, escalating unresolved concerns as needed.
• Coordinate plant operations, maintenance, engineering, safety, and quality engagement throughout assigned projects or workstreams.
• Track delivery and completion of training, spare-parts recommendations, preventive maintenance plans, technical documentation, software backups, and troubleshooting knowledge.
• Document ownership and escalation paths and support the transition from project execution to sustained plant ownership and support.
• Compile evidence that performance is stable and acceptance criteria are met before project closure.
• Maintain project controls for scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks, issues, actions, decisions, and changes.
• Prepare concise, fact-based reports connecting technical progress and capital commitments to business objectives and identifying material variances.
• Escalate decisions and constraints early and develop options and recommendations with guidance when needed.
• Facilitate routine cross-functional meetings and support complex reviews that produce decisions, accountable owners, and due dates.
• Partner with GEMS leadership and subject matter experts to develop and improve repeatable execution systems for standardized equipment.
• Assist in building and maintaining project templates, standard work, estimating and material-planning tools, schedules, checklists, gate requirements, acceptance criteria, and documentation packages.
• Facilitate lessons-learned reviews and incorporate outcomes into updated standards, tools, and requirements for future equipment builds.
• Support adoption of standardized processes by training users, monitoring use, identifying gaps, and recommending improvements based on project performance and plant feedback.
• Stay apprised of emerging equipment, automation, controls, and manufacturing technologies through supplier engagement, industry events, professional networks, and technical research.
• Consider equipment maintainability, reliability, obsolescence risks, and total cost of ownership when coordinating project decisions.

Benefits

• Healthcare, including medical, prescription drugs, dental, and vision.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match.
• Paid time off.
• Employer-paid life insurance.
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term disability, including maternity leave.
• Work Life Support.
• Tuition reimbursement up to $5,250 per year.
• Voluntary programs including tobacco cessation, Type 2 diabetes reversal, one-on-one health coaching, and mortgage services.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level