R&D Project Manager
About The Position
The R&D Project Manager leads new product development and continuous improvement projects for our car wash equipment portfolio, guiding them from concept through production launch. Acting as the hub between mechanical, electrical/controls, software, and chemistry teams, this role keeps complex, cross-functional projects aligned on scope, schedule, and budget. You'll define requirements, manage prototyping and testing, coordinate stage-gate reviews, and partner with manufacturing and supply chain to bring producible, reliable products to market. It's a hands-on role suited to someone who's equally comfortable building a project plan and troubleshooting equipment on the shop floor or at a wash site.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or Manufacturing Engineering (or equivalent experience); technical background strongly preferred over a purely administrative PM profile.
- 5+ years managing hardware or electromechanical product development projects, ideally in industrial equipment, capital equipment, appliances, automotive, or a similar physical-product environment.
- Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) is a must.
- Demonstrated ability to run cross-functional projects involving mechanical, electrical, and software workstreams simultaneously.
- Strong command of project management fundamentals: scheduling, budgeting, risk management, and stage-gate/phase-gate development processes.
- Comfort on the shop floor and at test sites—this is a hands-on, get-into-the-details role, not a spreadsheet-only one.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate between technical teams and business stakeholders.
- Proficiency with project management and collaboration tools (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, Jira, or similar) and familiarity with PLM/ERP systems.
Nice To Haves
- PMP, Agile, or equivalent certification.
- Experience with car wash, water treatment/reclaim, fluid handling, conveyor systems, or dosing/chemical equipment.
- Exposure to connected/IoT products, PLCs, or embedded controls.
- Experience taking a physical product from prototype through volume manufacturing.
Responsibilities
- Lead the full lifecycle of R&D and new product development projects, from requirements definition and concept through prototyping, testing, validation, and production handoff.
- Build and maintain project plans, schedules, budgets, and risk registers; track milestones and proactively resolve blockers.
- Coordinate cross-functional teams spanning mechanical design, electrical/controls engineering, embedded and application software, industrial design, and chemistry/water treatment.
- Partner with manufacturing and supply chain to ensure designs are producible, sourceable, and cost-effective (DFM/DFA, BOM readiness, supplier lead times).
- Facilitate stage-gate reviews and design reviews, and keep leadership informed with clear status reporting.
- Manage prototype builds and field/pilot testing at customer or in-house wash sites, including data collection and iteration.
- Own change management and documentation throughout development, ensuring designs meet safety, regulatory, and reliability requirements (e.g., UL/CE, electrical, and water/chemical handling standards).
- Coordinate with Product Management and Sales on requirements, launch timing, and go-to-market readiness.
- Drive continuous improvement of the R&D process itself—templates, tools, and lessons learned.
- Other duties as assigned
Benefits
- medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
- 401(k) with company match
- Paid time off, holidays, and flexible scheduling
- Monthly Car allowance
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
