Project Director

Project Director

Franklin, TN, or Remote

About the role

As a Project Director within our Distribution & Fulfillment (D&F) team, you are the executive leader responsible for the successful delivery of a large-scale, highly complex and fully integrated Material Handling Systems (MHS) and Controls and SW project from contract award through final acceptance. You own project performance across scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk management and customer outcomes while serving as the primary leadership point for both the customer and the DCS project team.

The Project Director provides strategic direction and executive oversight across Engineering, Procurement, Site Operations, Testing & Commissioning, Controls, and Project Management to ensure successful project outcomes. This role is typically assigned to large, high-visibility automation projects with significant financial, operational, and customer impact.

All in all, you'll be a key member of the Project Delivery organization, ensuring projects are delivered with precision, accountability and execution excellence.

We value leaders who can manage complexity, drive alignment across stakeholders, make informed decisions, and consistently deliver successful outcomes for our customers.

In this role, you will

Project Leadership & Execution

• Lead large, high-complexity distribution center and automation implementations, including greenfield and brownfield projects.
• Serve as the executive owner of a single large-scale project from concept through go-live and final acceptance.
• Own project performance across scope, schedule, budget, quality, safety, and customer satisfaction.
• Establish project execution strategies that align customer expectations with DCS business objectives.
• Maintain overall accountability for successful project delivery and achievement of contractual commitments.
• Drive accountability across all project stakeholders and functional teams.

Customer Leadership

• Serve as the primary executive interface between DCS and the customer.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with customer leadership and key decision-makers.
• Lead executive project reviews, steering committee meetings, and critical escalation discussions.
• Provide proactive communication regarding project performance, risks, mitigation plans, and key decisions.
• Resolve customer concerns while balancing commercial protection and long-term partnership objectives.

Financial & Commercial Management

• Own project financial performance including revenue, margin, cash flow, forecasting, and change management.
• Partner with Project Controls and Finance to maintain accurate project forecasts and financial visibility.
• Lead executive review of change orders, claims, commercial risks, and contract matters.
• Ensure project decisions support both customer success and DCS financial objectives.

Risk Management & Decision Making

• Identify project risks early and drive proactive mitigation strategies.
• Make timely and informed decisions to manage tradeoffs and protect project outcomes.
• Lead resolution of complex technical, commercial, schedule, procurement, permitting, installation, commissioning and integration challenges.
• Maintain executive visibility of project health through KPIs, risk registers, and governance reviews.
• Escalate critical issues appropriately while driving accountability for resolution.

Technical & Operational Leadership

• Apply expertise in Material Handling Systems, Controls, SW and Distribution Center Operations to support project execution.
• Partner with Engineering, Procurement, Controls, SW, Site Operations, and Testing teams to ensure alignment and successful delivery.
• Define project requirements and execution strategies in collaboration with customers and internal stakeholders.
• Oversee major project milestones including engineering completion, equipment procurement, installation, commissioning, testing, and go-live.
• Manage vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors, serving as the executive escalation point when required.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and mentor Project Managers, Site Managers, and project leadership teams.
• Delegate effectively while maintaining accountability for project performance.
• Determine resource requirements and partner with leadership to ensure projects are properly staffed.
• Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, safety, collaboration, and execution excellence.
• Support the development of future project leaders through coaching and mentorship.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive lessons learned and continuous improvement initiatives throughout the project lifecycle.
• Improve project delivery processes, tools, governance, and execution methodologies.
• Utilize data, metrics, and root cause analysis to solve problems and prevent recurrence.
• Promote standardization and best practices that improve project predictability and customer outcomes.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business, Project Management, or a related field.
• 15+ years of experience delivering complex automation, material handling, industrial, or large-scale capital projects.
• Demonstrated success leading projects exceeding $50M-$100M+ in value.
• Strong financial, commercial, contract, and risk management experience.
• Proven ability to lead executive-level customer relationships and cross-functional teams.
• Excellent leadership, communication, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel 20–40% based on project and business needs.

Preferred

• PMP certification or equivalent project management credential.
• Experience delivering large-scale automation projects for major customers in the US
• Experience with Material Handling Systems, Controls Integration, Distribution Centers, or Warehouse Automation.

About Us:

Conveyor may be in our name, but it's only part of what we do. DCS was founded in 1982 and has grown to serve major clients in multiple industries by providing material handling, full-scale warehouse operations and conveyor design solutions that are custom crafted for their need. We don't sell ready-made systems - we build relationships that empower us to craft custom solutions together. It's the teamwork approach, sharing ideas and building upon them, that produces the best results.

And DCS is committed to creating an extraordinary employment experience for our team. We work like crazy to hire and develop great people, build relationships, and ensure that the programs and services we offer our team are among the best in the business- from a killer snack wall and casual work environment to flexible PTO and opportunities to give back within the community.

More reasons to join our team:

• We pride ourselves in our family-like culture and casual, but focused, work environment
• We offer competitive salaries and health benefits
• Our 401K program includes a 100% match up to 5%
• Participation in our Discretionary Profit-Sharing Program
• We offer our employees flexibility and autonomy
• We do community outreach projects throughout the year
• We know how to throw company events
• We work hard, but we also know how to have fun - darts, anyone?

Individuals seeking employment at Designed Conveyor Systems are considered without regards to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Accommodation is available to applicants with a disability condition, when applying, testing, or interviewing for a position. Please let us know if you need accommodation