Project Manager - Vactor Manufacturing

Federal Signal Openings•Streator, IL

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Federal Signal Corporation is seeking a Project Manager for Vactor Manufacturing. This role is responsible for owning overall project performance, ensuring delivery on time, within scope, and within budget. The Project Manager will lead the end-to-end execution of products from concept, design, and prototyping through production launch, driving alignment between engineering design, manufacturability, and cost targets. The position involves developing and managing detailed project plans, timelines, budgets, and resource allocations, while coordinating with various teams including product management, engineering, operations, supply chain, quality, and sales. The role also includes managing projects through structured stage-gates, ensuring completion of required deliverables, maintaining project documentation, and partnering with operations to ensure design for manufacturability (DFM) and efficient production processes. Additionally, the Project Manager will coordinate testing, validation, and quality assurance, support the development of work instructions, tooling, and equipment, and manage supplier timelines and quality expectations. Risk management and continuous improvement through post-launch reviews are also key aspects of this role.

Requirements

5+ years of project management experience in industrial manufacturing or engineered products
Strong familiarity with NPD processes, including stage-gate, or similar frameworks
Strong understanding of manufacturing processes (machining, fabrication, assembly, etc.)
Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and project management tools, such as Asana preferred
Ability to manage complex, multi-phase projects with technical and operational dependencies
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
Strong problem-solving, risk management, and decision-making capabilities

Nice To Haves

Experience with capital equipment, heavy manufacturing, or custom-engineered products preferred
PMP certification or equivalent preferred

Responsibilities

Own overall project performance, ensuring delivery on time, within scope, and within budget
Lead end-to-end execution of products—from concept, design, and prototyping through production launch
Drive alignment between engineering design, manufacturability, and cost targets
Develop and manage detailed project plans, timelines, budgets, and resource allocations
Maintain project timelines and track progress against milestones, including design reviews, prototype builds, testing, and production readiness
Coordinate with product management, engineering (mechanical, electrical, controls), operations, supply chain, quality, and sales teams
Lead regular project meetings and provide updates to leadership
Manage projects through structured stage-gates
Ensure completion of required deliverables such as design validation, risk analysis, and process documentation
Maintain project documentation within appropriate systems
Partner with operations to ensure design for manufacturability (DFM) and efficient production processes
Coordinate testing, validation, and quality assurance activities to meet performance standards
Support development of work instructions, tooling, and equipment requirements
Collaborate with supply chain to source materials, components, and outsourced services
Manage supplier timelines, tooling development, and quality expectations
Address supply chain risks impacting product launch
Identify, assess, and mitigate project risks (technical, schedule, cost, supply chain)
Lead issue tracking and resolution to ensure timely closure of project gaps
Drive continuous improvement through post-launch reviews, lesson learned, and process enhancements