Project Manager

Search Leaders, LLC • White Bear Lake, MN

5d • $90,000 - $115,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Lead cross-functional new product introduction initiatives from initial concept and business case through validation, production launch, and post-launch stabilization. This role owns project execution across engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, sales, and supporting functions while ensuring launches achieve schedule, budget, quality, safety, and performance objectives. Manage multiple NPI programs of varying scope, complexity, and priority from concept through stable production.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, operations, business, project management, or a related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience spanning project management, new product introduction, product development, manufacturing engineering, or operations.
• Demonstrated success directing cross-functional initiatives from concept development through production launch.
• Proven ability to manage schedules, budgets, project risks, deliverables, resources, and stakeholder communications.
• Hands-on experience using Planview Project Advantage for project plans, milestones, resources, risks, deliverables, and reporting.
• Demonstrated experience operating within a formal Stage-Gate product-development methodology, including gate preparation, reviews, decisions, and follow-through.
• Working knowledge of manufacturing operations, production processes, and product-launch requirements.
• Strong planning, organization, prioritization, problem-solving, risk-management, and decision-making capabilities.
• Ability to influence and lead multidisciplinary teams without direct reporting authority.
• Effective written, verbal, presentation, meeting-facilitation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, technical specifications, manufacturing documentation, and project financial information.
• Proficiency with project scheduling, spreadsheet, presentation, and collaboration tools.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines with a strong sense of ownership and urgency.
• Ability to work within office, engineering, laboratory, and manufacturing environments and participate in prototype builds and production trials.
• Ability to travel periodically to facilities, suppliers, customers, or project partners.

Nice To Haves

• Project Management Professional certification or comparable project-management training.
• Background within engineered products, tooling, machining, fabrication, automation, or discrete manufacturing environments.
• Experience using ERP, MES, PLM, PDM, project-management, or business-intelligence platforms.
• Familiarity with bills of material, routings, engineering drawings, specifications, change-control processes, and quality documentation.
• Experience coordinating projects across multiple facilities or global teams.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain comprehensive project plans covering scope, milestones, resources, dependencies, responsibilities, risks, and target completion dates.
• Facilitate project kickoffs, design reviews, Stage-Gate reviews, launch-readiness assessments, and post-launch evaluations.
• Coordinate cross-functional stakeholders across product management, engineering, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, supply chain, finance, sales, and customer-facing teams.
• Translate customer, market, and business needs into actionable project objectives, requirements, and deliverables.
• Drive prototype builds, pilot runs, testing, validation, first-article activities, preproduction efforts, and production ramp-up.
• Ensure tooling, fixtures, materials, equipment, documentation, routings, bills of material, inspection methods, work instructions, and training are production-ready.
• Champion design considerations supporting manufacturability, assembly, inspection, reliability, serviceability, and cost objectives.
• Manage project schedules, spending, capital requirements, tooling costs, product cost targets, resources, and financial assumptions.
• Identify technical, manufacturing, commercial, quality, supply chain, cost, and scheduling risks while maintaining appropriate mitigation and recovery plans.
• Maintain risk registers, action logs, decision records, project changes, and stakeholder communications using Planview Project Advantage.
• Coordinate supplier decisions, make-versus-buy evaluations, and procurement activities involving long-lead materials and equipment.
• Monitor early production performance across quality, delivery, scrap, rework, productivity, cost, and customer feedback.
• Lead launch-related issue resolution and transition completed programs into normal production ownership.
• Capture lessons learned and promote repeatable NPI practices that strengthen future product-development and launch performance.

Benefits

• Competitive salary plus a comprehensive benefits package.
• Health coverage, retirement plans, and other company-sponsored perks.
• Generous paid time off, including holidays, to support work-life balance.
• Flexible schedules and work life balance.
• Strong focus on employee development with on-the-job training and career growth.
• A positive company culture that values diversity and collaboration.

What This Job Offers

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