Project Engineer 3

Mercedes-Benz Vans•Charleston, SC

About The Position

Leads complex equipment, production-system, and industrialization projects for an assigned production shop, from feasibility through production readiness, acceptance, and handover. Translates new products, variants, model-year changes, and manufacturing requirements into technical scopes and implementation plans. Coordinates suppliers, cross-functional resources, governance, budgets, schedules, and risks to deliver compliant systems that meet agreed safety, quality, capacity, availability, and cost targets. Ensures operational readiness and complete handover to production and support teams. The role plans operations, working cycles, production equipment, and lead times for complete systems, including surface technology, body-in-white, and new component runs. It evaluates production capacity and investment costs, reviews technical documentation, coordinates subsystem planning, and supports equipment acquisition or changes. The Project Engineer also prepares specifications and RFQ inputs, evaluates supplier proposals, coordinates procurement and technical negotiations, and manages project costs and financial closure. The position plans and coordinates installation, commissioning, production trials, and ramp-up; leads equipment and production-readiness acceptance; resolves technical and delivery issues; and hands accepted systems over to Maintenance, Production, and Process Engineering. It also improves project standards and acceptance methods, mentors less experienced engineers, and may represent the Engineering Manager when designated. There are no direct reports; purchasing and spending approvals remain subject to established authorization limits.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, Electrical, Electronics Engineering, or another relevant engineering discipline, or equivalent qualification.
Five or more years of relevant engineering, industrialization, manufacturing, or technical project experience, including experience leading equipment or production-system projects.
Demonstrated experience leading equipment projects and coordinating suppliers and cross-functional teams.
Proficiency in project planning, governance and milestone readiness, risk and change management, cost control, decision documentation, and project status reporting.
Experience with product industrialization, technical specifications, quotation evaluation, design reviews, equipment installation, commissioning, production trials, acceptance, ramp-up, and handover.
Understanding of cycle time, throughput, equipment availability, maintainability, quality capability, production robustness, ergonomics, machine safety, environmental compliance, and maintenance requirements.
Strong technical judgment, analytical skills, and structured problem-solving capability.
Knowledge of lean production systems and applicable quality management and planning standards.
Ability to work independently, coordinate cross-functional stakeholders, and communicate technical information clearly through documentation, presentations, and reports.
Ability to mentor engineers and influence teams without direct supervisory authority.
Proficiency with office, data analysis, and relevant engineering tools.

Nice To Haves

Automotive manufacturing experience.
PMP certification.
Relevant foreign-language skills, where applicable.

Responsibilities

Perform advance, primary, and detailed planning of operations, working cycles, production equipment, and lead times for complete systems, based on new or modified procedures and ergonomic and operational findings.
Change or acquire production equipment, or perform NISP programming, based on rationalization measures.
Compare required capacities with actual capacities; present alternatives; and compile, reconcile, and monitor asset investment or capital expenditure costs, overheads, and production times.
Review technical documentation and construction criteria for realizability and amend or adjust them as required.
Coordinate suppliers, specialist departments, and subsystem planning for measures within the assigned area.
Lead equipment, technical-system, and product-industrialization projects from feasibility and concept development through design, procurement, installation, commissioning, production readiness, acceptance, and handover; establish scope and delivery targets with stakeholders.
Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, work packages, resource requirements, risk assessments, decision papers, approvals, and milestone deliverables; coordinate teams, conduct gate-readiness reviews, and report or escalate progress, decisions, risks, and corrective actions against quality, cost, and timing targets.
Translate product changes and process, cycle-time, throughput, quality, ergonomic, safety, availability, maintainability, and maintenance requirements into equipment concepts, technical specifications, implementation plans, and acceptance criteria; review drawings and technical documentation for feasibility and conformity.
Prepare technical specification books and RFQ inputs; evaluate supplier quotations, technical solutions, investment and operating costs, lifecycle support, and delivery capability; support Procurement with supplier selection and technical negotiations.
Coordinate suppliers, contractors, specialist departments, and internal and international partners; resolve design discrepancies, technical interfaces, and delivery issues; control changes to scope and requirements; and ensure compliance with company standards, legal and permitting requirements, machine safety, environmental requirements, and IT/cybersecurity requirements.
Prepare investment estimates and budget recommendations; track assigned capital and non-capital project costs, commitments, forecasts, and deviations; recommend corrective actions; and support financial closure with management and Controlling within established approval processes.
Plan and coordinate installation, line interventions, commissioning, production trials, and ramp-up with Production, Maintenance, and other stakeholders; resolve technical problems, minimize operational disruption, and confirm readiness of training, spare parts, preventive maintenance, documentation, and open-item ownership.
Lead equipment and production-readiness acceptance with Process Engineering, Production, Maintenance, Quality, Safety, and other stakeholders; validate cycle time, throughput, quality capability, safety, equipment availability, maintainability, and production robustness; document results and coordinate correction and repeat acceptance of deficiencies.
Hand over accepted equipment and systems, technical documentation, training records, spare-parts and preventive-maintenance readiness, and open-item responsibilities to Maintenance, Production, and Process Engineering; track warranties, supplier obligations, and remaining actions through project closure.
Improve project standards, technical specifications, methods, lessons learned, and acceptance checklists; mentor less experienced engineers, lead defined work packages, provide technical direction to project teams, and represent the Engineering Manager on assigned matters when designated.
Provide technical leadership and coordinate cross-functional project activities without formal supervisory authority; purchasing and spending approvals remain subject to established authorization limits.