Technical Project Manager - Equipment Engineering and Integration

Valmont Industries, Inc. • Valley, NE

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About The Position

The Technical Project Manager leads custom manufacturing equipment projects from the initial plant need through requirements, design, procurement, fabrication, integration, installation, commissioning, production validation, and plant handoff. The position combines disciplined project management with enough technical understanding to coordinate mechanical, electrical, controls, software, safety, process, supplier, and plant activities as an integrated system. The manager does not replace discipline experts, but ensures their work is defined, connected, sequenced, tested, and delivered against plant operating requirements. Success is measured by safe, reliable, maintainable production performance as well as scope, schedule, and cost performance.

The role serves as the central integration point for technical disciplines and internal teams, suppliers, contractors, and plant personnel. It oversees equipment design and build, supplier deliverables, testing, installation, commissioning, production validation, and the transition to sustained plant ownership. The manager also supports technology roadmaps and standardization, remains current on emerging manufacturing technologies, and balances project delivery with maintainability, reliability, obsolescence risk, and total cost of ownership.

The work is approximately 50% in an office or remote-work environment and 50% in manufacturing, fabrication, storage, shipping, supplier, or equipment-installation areas. Travel may reach 50%, primarily domestic with occasional international travel. Extended or off-shift hours may be required during equipment builds, installation, commissioning, troubleshooting, and critical milestones.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, engineering technology, manufacturing, industrial technology, project management, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Five or more years of experience managing industrial equipment, automation, manufacturing engineering, or capital projects.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multidisciplinary technical teams through design, build, installation, commissioning, and production ramp-up.
• Working knowledge of industrial equipment design, fabrication, electrical systems, controls, automation, machine safety, and manufacturing processes.
• Experience developing project scope, schedules, budgets, resource plans, risk plans, and objective acceptance criteria.
• Experience working directly with manufacturing plants, equipment suppliers, system integrators, contractors, and component manufacturers.
• Ability to interpret technical drawings, equipment specifications, process requirements, and project documentation.
• Ability to understand technical problems sufficiently to facilitate decisions and recognize when escalation or additional engineering analysis is required.
• Strong written, verbal, facilitation, decision-making, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to lead high-visibility, high-capital projects without direct authority over all project resources.
• Ability and willingness to travel to Valmont facilities and supplier locations as required.

Nice To Haves

• Engineering degree in mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, industrial, automation, or a related field.
• Project Management Professional certification or comparable formal project-management training.
• Experience with custom or internally built manufacturing equipment from concept through completion.
• Familiarity with PLCs, HMIs, industrial networks, robotics, machine safety, and manufacturing data systems.
• Experience with welding, cutting, forming, material handling, or other heavy-manufacturing processes.
• Knowledge of equipment risk assessments, design reviews, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, and production validation.
• Experience supporting capital appropriation, investment governance, and financial forecasting.
• Familiarity with reliability, maintainability, OEE, preventive maintenance, and continuous-improvement principles.

Responsibilities

• Translate plant operating needs into project requirements, deliverables, acceptance criteria, schedules, budgets, and resource plans.
• Establish project scope with leadership and manufacturing, operations, maintenance, safety, quality, and Technology functions.
• Confirm technical assumptions, interfaces, constraints, and responsibilities before design and procurement commitments.
• Develop integrated schedules covering engineering, procurement, fabrication, controls development, testing, installation, commissioning, training, and production ramp-up.
• Identify scope gaps, technical risks, and long-lead constraints; support capital requests, cost estimates, business cases, resource plans, and execution plans.
• Coordinate mechanical, electrical, controls, software, fabrication, tooling, utilities, safety systems, and manufacturing-process integration.
• Facilitate design reviews; document and resolve technical decisions, open items, and interface requirements.
• Evaluate the system-wide effects of technical changes and drive timely resolution of technical issues and design decisions.
• Maintain decision, risk, issue, action, and change-control records throughout the project lifecycle.
• Coordinate equipment design, fabrication, assembly, integration, and internal testing.
• Manage technical communication and deliverables with equipment suppliers, integrators, contractors, and component manufacturers.
• Monitor supplier progress against technical requirements, milestones, cost, quality, and documentation expectations; review build status and address constraints and nonconformances.
• Ensure purchased equipment integrates with Valmont safety, controls, maintenance, operating, and data environments.
• Develop commissioning and validation plans, and establish measurable factory acceptance test and site acceptance test criteria.
• Coordinate installation, utilities, controls integration, safety validation, debugging, production trials, and ramp-up.
• Verify that equipment meets agreed requirements for safety, throughput, quality, uptime, cycle time, and process capability; resolve open items through formal acceptance.
• Engage plant operations, maintenance, engineering, safety, and quality personnel throughout the project.
• Ensure plant personnel receive training, spare-parts recommendations, preventive-maintenance plans, technical documentation, software backups, and troubleshooting knowledge.
• Define ownership and escalation paths during installation and production ramp-up; coordinate handoff to sustained plant ownership and support.
• Confirm stable performance and acceptance criteria before project closure; capture lessons learned for future equipment designs, standards, and practices.
• Manage project scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks, issues, actions, and changes; report project status to plant and Manufacturing Technology leadership.
• Escalate decisions and constraints with options and recommendations, and facilitate cross-functional meetings that establish decisions, owners, and due dates.
• Remain apprised of emerging equipment, automation, controls, and manufacturing technologies through supplier engagement, industry events, professional networks, and technical research.
• Partner with manufacturing plants on site technology roadmaps and support equipment, supplier, component, and technology standardization where it improves lifecycle value.
• Balance project delivery with maintainability, reliability, obsolescence risk, and total cost of ownership; meet or exceed project performance and equipment acceptance goals.
• Work independently and lead through influence across functions, plants, suppliers, and contractors; travel to facilities and supplier locations as required.

Benefits

• Healthcare (medical, prescription drugs, dental and vision)
• 401k retirement plan with company match
• Paid time off
• Employer paid life insurance
• Employer paid short-term and long-term disability including maternity leave
• Work Life Support
• Tuition Reimbursement up to $5,250 per year
• Voluntary programs like tobacco cessation, Type 2 diabetes reversal, one-on-one health coaching, mortgage services and more

What This Job Offers

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