Design Project Manager

Slate Auto•Long Beach, CA

1d•$155,000 - $194,000

About The Position

At Slate, we’re building safe, reliable vehicles that people can afford, personalize and love—and doing it here in the USA as part of our commitment to reindustrialization. The spirit of DIY and customization runs throughout every element of a Slate, because people should have control over how their trucks look, feel, and represent them. We are seeking a highly organized, collaborative, and proactive Project Manager to support our Design organization in delivering innovative products from concept through execution. The ideal candidate thrives in fast-paced, creative environments and has a proven ability to coordinate complex projects, manage competing priorities, and build strong relationships across cross-functional teams. The successful candidate will bring a blend of project management expertise, business acumen, and an appreciation for the design and product development process. This individual is a natural problem solver who can anticipate challenges, identify risks, and drive solutions while maintaining alignment with project objectives, timelines, and budgets.

Requirements

Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a professional product development environment, ideally in an automotive design studio
Bachelor’s degree in design, Engineering or Business disciplines
Good working knowledge of project software management tools, such as Microsoft Project or Monday
Aptitude to read technical drawings and models
Strong communication & interpersonal skills a must
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship at this time.

Responsibilities

Creating, reviewing and updating task-based project plans, reflecting changes in scope or schedule to ensure that the project stays on track
Communicating with key stakeholders provide regular updates on project status
Communicating with team members to ensure they are meeting deadlines, resolving issues, and following procedures
Managing project budgets by tracking progress and expenditure against plan
Reviewing project deliveries to ensure they meet the defined scope of requirements
Scheduling resources, both internal and external to support Design team deliverables
Liaising with key stakeholders, including other internal teams and external partners to agree inputs, deliverables and dependencies, and the timing of
Assist Design Leadership in all managerial tasks related to physical modeling, surfacing and asset development
Organize and ensure on time completion of physical modeling team deliverables
Build relationships with internal design team members and key stakeholders, such as Brand, Commercial, Engineering and Manufacturing teams, relating to the asset development
Support the definition and procurement of tools and materials for project team members to successfully deliver content
Producing monthly projects reports, including a dashboard to clearly communicate status
Ability to think creatively and work collaboratively to resolve issues and mitigate risks to projects
Proactively work with colleagues within and outside of Design in developing solutions to constantly improve processes
Ability to appropriately work in a creative space while working in unison with others independently and together
Has wide latitude for independent judgement with only general supervision
Keeps abreast of and support wider vehicle program and company needs
Flexibility to support activities outside of the role
Willingness to travel (domestically) to support activities at other company locations
Ability to identify critical paths and associated risk mitigations
Ability to create Scope of Work documents for outsourced activities