Project Manager

Your Job

Molex's Optical Connectivity Group (OCG) is seeking a Project Manager, Product Development to lead the planning and execution of product development, customer delivery, and business projects.

The Project Manager is accountable for guiding assigned projects from initiation through launch and closure. This role establishes clear project plans, aligns cross-functional teams, manages dependencies and the critical path, and maintains visibility into project health, risks, changes, decisions, and commitments.

Working across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, commercial, and product management teams, the Project Manager drives execution, facilitates timely decisions, and ensures projects remain aligned with business objectives, customer requirements, and the Product Development Process.

Our Team

Molex's Optical Connectivity Group designs and delivers optical solutions supporting data centers, telecommunications infrastructure, and next-generation computing. Our global Project Management team provides the execution discipline, cross-functional coordination, and project visibility needed to move complex initiatives from concept through launch.

The Project Manager will independently lead assigned projects, strengthen alignment across global teams, and support continuous improvement of OCG's project management practices, governance, and portfolio reporting.

Reports to: Director, Project Management

Location: Onsite in Lisle, IL, or Eden Prairie, MN

What You Will Do

• Lead assigned projects from initiation through launch and closure, driving delivery against agreed scope, schedule, cost, quality, customer, and business objectives
• Define project scope, deliverables, milestones, ownership, and execution plans aligned with customer requirements and business objectives
• Develop and manage project schedules, dependencies, and critical paths
• Coordinate execution across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, commercial, and product management teams
• Identify resource requirements, secure cross-functional commitments, and escalate capacity or priority conflicts that threaten project objectives
• Track project costs and financial commitments, identify variances, and coordinate appropriate actions with Finance and project leaders
• Identify and manage project risks, issues, changes, and recovery actions
• Lead project meetings and phase reviews, facilitate cross-functional decision-making, and document resulting decisions, actions, and commitments
• Ensure project requirements, decisions, approvals, and required phase-gate documentation are complete, current, and appropriately maintained
• Maintain alignment with customer requirements, business priorities, and Product Development Process requirements
• Provide clear, objective reporting on project health, milestones, risks, and decisions
• Escalate issues requiring leadership decisions, prioritization, or additional resources

Leadership Expectations

* This position has no direct reports but is responsible for leading cross-functional project teams through influence, coordination, accountability, and sound judgment. The Project Manager independently leads assigned projects, provides objective visibility into project health, recommends appropriate actions, and escalates matters requiring leadership decisions or additional support. Success requires strong execution discipline, business judgment, communication, problem-solving, and the ability to build alignment across global teams.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, supply chain, finance, or a related field
• Three or more years of experience planning, executing, and managing cross-functional projects from initiation through completion
• Experience managing new product introduction (NPI) or other product development projects
• Experience working within a formal stage-gate, phase-gate, Product Development Process, or similar product development framework
• Experience developing and managing project schedules, milestones, risks, issues, changes, and deliverables
• Experience leading cross-functional teams across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, commercial, or related functions
• Experience communicating project health, risks, decisions, and recommendations to stakeholders and leadership
• Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority and hold teams accountable for commitments
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, navigate ambiguity, and maintain execution discipline
• Ability to support global teams, including occasional meetings outside standard business hours
• Ability to travel occasionally to manufacturing sites, suppliers, customers, or other Molex locations based on project needs

What Will Put You Ahead

• PMP certification or another formal project management credential
• Experience leading projects in a mechanical, electromechanical, optical connectivity, or related manufacturing environment
• Previous experience in an engineering or technical role
• Experience managing customer-specific product development or delivery projects
• Experience collaborating with international cross-functional teams
• Experience with project change control, risk management, and recovery planning
• Working knowledge of manufacturing, logistics, bills of material, component structures, sourcing, capacity, and product launches
• Experience using Microsoft Project, Excel, PowerPoint, PLM, ERP, or portfolio management systems
• Experience supporting portfolio reporting, governance reviews, or business-level project prioritization

For this role, we anticipate paying $120,000 - $150,000 per year. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form.

At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are

As a Koch company, Molex is a leading supplier of connectors and interconnect components, driving innovation in electronics and supporting industries from automotive to health care and consumer to data communications. The thousands of innovators who work for Molex have made us a global electronics leader. Our experienced people, groundbreaking products and leading-edge technologies help us deliver a wider array of solutions to more markets than ever before.

At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aqui, or tu).

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