Mass Production Project Manager

Minth North America•Gadsden, AL

3d•$90,000 - $110,000

About The Position

Our team is expanding and looking to add a Launch Project Manager. We are seeking a dynamic and driven candidate interested in joining a rapidly growing global automotive company. The Launch Project Manager will act as the primary liaison between the factory and its key clients.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Automotive, Materials, or related field).
Minimum 7 years in the automotive components industry, with at least 5 years in full-cycle automotive project management, specifically encompassing both New Product Introduction (NPI) and mass production management experience.
Proven, successful experience directly interfacing with and managing projects for North American OEMs (GM, Ford, Stellantis, Tesla, Toyota, etc.).
Experience working in or closely with China HQ/Asia-Pacific teams while supporting an overseas plant is highly preferred.
Familiarity with processes such as stamping, injection molding, painting, plating, or aluminum processing is advantageous.

Nice To Haves

An MBA, PMP, or Master's in Project Management is a strong plus.
Bilingual proficiency in English and Chinese (Mandarin) is preferred, but not required.
Experience in new plant, new product launch, or mass-production ramp-up is preferred.
Familiarity with APQP, PPAP, IATF 16949, capacity planning, and automotive quality tools.
Strong project leadership, cross-functional coordination, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Project, Excel, or similar project-management tools; PMP certification is preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead project kick-off meetings, develop a detailed master project schedule, and define key milestones, deliverables, and resource requirements for all phases.
Strictly drive the five phases of APQP, ensuring all deliverables (FMEA, Control Plans, Process Flow, PPAP, etc.) are completed on time and to standard.
Serve as the main liaison with the customer's engineering team, leading technical reviews, managing engineering change requests (ECN), and overseeing sample delivery and approval.
Coordinate efforts between the China R&D center and US factory teams (Process Engineering, Quality, Purchasing) to ensure product design is manufacturable and cost-optimized.
Identify technical, supply chain, and scheduling risks during development, and lead the development of mitigation strategies.
Lead PPAP submission and approval, ensuring a stable production start-up and achieving Initial Quality (IQ) targets.
Hold ultimate responsibility for the project's post-launch quality performance, cost (budget vs. actual), delivery performance, and customer satisfaction.
Lead post-launch cost optimization (VA/VE), production efficiency improvements, and problem resolution (leading 8D reports).
Evaluate and manage all customer and internal engineering changes during mass production, conducting impact analysis, providing quotations, and ensuring flawless implementation.
Act as the primary day-to-day contact for the customer, managing contracts, quotations, regular business reviews (QBR), and payment collection.
Manage the end-of-life (EOL) phase, including final production runs, tooling disposition, and final financial settlement.