Vice President of Projects Aftermarket Services

FORTNA

About The Position

The Aftermarket Services Vice President of Projects is responsible for the strategic leadership, operational execution, and financial performance of the Project Management, Estimating, and Installation functions at FORTNA. This executive role ensures successful delivery of complex automation, warehouse, fulfillment, conveyor, robotics, and integrated systems projects from proposal development through final customer acceptance. The VP of Projects drives project execution excellence, margin performance, installation productivity, customer satisfaction, risk management, and organizational scalability while partnering closely with Sales, Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, and Customer Support teams. This role provides leadership for project governance, estimating accuracy, field installation performance, resource planning, contract execution, and continuous improvement initiatives across all project delivery activities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Operations, Business, or related field required.
Minimum of 8 years of experience in managing engineering, multiple customer project portfolios, and diverse and large technical skills groups
Minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in project management or Engineering
Excellent leadership skills for supporting management and their teams
Strong strategic thinking and creative problem-solving skills
Strong communication skills for presenting ideas and technological concepts, negotiation, and persuasion
Previous leadership experience developing high functioning teams.
Solid operational background and proven track record of accomplishments in an engineering or construction environment
Technical knowledge of the various engineering disciplines required for engineering solutions development including mechanical, structural, electrical, and controls
Robust computer skills using MS Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and familiarity with specialty applications for project and resource collaboration
Proven experience in a role entailing customer accountability and budget and fiscal responsibilities.
Ability to support active project teams on “off hours” at night and on weekends / holidays

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced technical degree preferred.
Bachelor's degree in engineering, combined with a management degree, Master's degree a plus
Project Management experience in leading project values over $10M preferred
In-depth knowledge of interdependencies and relationships between engineering systems
Robotics, ASRS, software, and other technologies experience is a plus

Responsibilities

Lead and develop the Project Management, Estimating, and Installation organizations across multiple regions and customer programs.
Establish strategic direction, organizational structure, operational standards, and performance expectations for all project execution functions.
Build a high-performance culture focused on accountability, safety, customer satisfaction, operational excellence, and profitability.
Develop succession plans and talent pipelines for project leadership and field operations teams.
Partner with executive leadership to align project execution capabilities with company growth objectives.
Oversee execution of large-scale material handling and automation projects including conveyors, ASRS, robotics, sortation systems, warehouse automation, controls integration, and software implementation.
Ensure projects are delivered on schedule, within budget, within scope, and in accordance with contractual obligations.
Establish project governance methodologies, KPI dashboards, stage-gate reviews, and standardized execution processes.
Lead risk identification, mitigation planning, and escalation management across all active projects.
Drive improvement in project margins, forecasting accuracy, change order management, and customer acceptance metrics.
Lead the estimating organization responsible for labor modeling, installation estimating, project costing, and execution budgets.
Ensure estimating accuracy and consistency for complex automation and integration projects.
Partner with Sales and Solutions teams during proposal development and contract negotiations.
Develop standardized estimating tools, labor models, productivity benchmarks, and cost databases.
Lead all installation and field execution activities for customer projects.
Ensure field operations meet safety, quality, productivity, and schedule performance expectations.
Drive standardization of field execution processes, subcontractor management, commissioning coordination, and site readiness practices.
Ensure compliance with OSHA, customer safety standards, and regulatory requirements.