Large Project Lead (LPL)

Tstna•Reynoldsburg, OH

7d•Onsite

About The Position

TS Tech Americas, Inc. is the regional corporate headquarters, research and development, and strategic center for 17 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. These locations manufacture and sell automotive and powersports seats, interior parts, and accessories. The company highlights its commitment to quality, customer satisfaction, environmental protection, and support for local communities. This position is located at the facility in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. The company is unable to sponsor employment visas for this position and asks recruiters and employment agencies not to submit candidates. Large Project Leaders lead new-model development projects from concept through mass production and are accountable for project success from engineering and business perspectives. The role is primarily responsible for project planning, organization, communication, and execution, leading cross-functional teams to achieve objectives for quality, cost, delivery, scope, and customer requirements. The LPL acts as a key interface between customers and internal functions, identifies and addresses project risks and issues, manages changes, and maintains organizational alignment. The position leads through influence and has no direct supervisory responsibility. The role involves leading project teams and coordinating engineering, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, suppliers, prototype, and other functions. It also includes managing project finances and changes, coordinating prototype and development builds, reporting project status to management, supporting RFQs and new business strategies, mentoring associates, and identifying continuous-improvement opportunities. Travel is up to 10%, including domestic and overseas travel as required.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Project Management, or a related technical field; an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.
Experience leading automotive development programs from RFQ or concept through mass production.
Experience in a Tier 1 automotive supplier or OEM environment.
Experience managing project budgets, engineering labor, tooling, prototype costs, or other development expenditures.
Experience with APQP, product development, design reviews, change management, or similar automotive development processes.
Experience with project management tools and structured project management methodologies.
Technical knowledge of automotive seating, interiors, or related vehicle components.
Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional projects, teams, or significant workstreams.
Demonstrated ability to lead and influence others without direct supervisory authority.
Strong project management skills, including establishing priorities, managing schedules, tracking deliverables, and driving projects to completion.
Understanding of product cost, tooling, prototype development, manufacturing processes, and engineering changes.
Understanding of quality, cost, delivery, and scope considerations in a product development environment.
Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to identify project risks and develop effective countermeasures.
Strong written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
Ability to communicate effectively with customers, suppliers, internal associates, and executive leadership.
Strong negotiation and conflict-resolution skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office or Microsoft 365 applications, including Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Must be willing and able to travel domestically and overseas as required.

Responsibilities

Lead assigned new-model development projects from concept or RFQ through mass production.
Manage project scope, schedule, cost, and quality baselines.
Lead cross-functional project teams and drive accountability for deliverables without direct supervisory authority.
Serve as a primary project interface with customers regarding development timing, requirements, status, and concerns.
Coordinate communication and activities across engineering, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, suppliers, prototype, and other supporting functions.
Identify project risks, concerns, and potential schedule or cost impacts, and drive solutions.
Organize and coordinate prototype and development builds, including timing, parts, tooling, resources, and cross-functional activities.
Lead or support negotiations concerning product specifications, timing, cost, scope, and engineering changes.
Manage project changes and evaluate their impacts on scope, cost, timing, resources, and deliverables.
Monitor project financial performance, including material costs, tooling, engineering labor, prototype expenses, and other development costs.
Provide timely project status, risks, issues, and recovery plans to management and executive stakeholders.
Drive resolution of project concerns and ensure actions are assigned, tracked, and completed.
Support technical and business strategy development for competitive RFQs and new business opportunities.
Support benchmarking and competitive analysis related to assigned projects.
Mentor and develop less-experienced engineering associates and project team members.
Identify and implement continuous-improvement and Kaizen opportunities that improve development efficiency, cost, quality, or timing.
Promote effective utilization of global engineering and organizational resources.
Travel domestically and overseas as required, up to 10%.
Perform other duties as assigned.