Project Manager // IE //Greenfield Mfg. Launch

Role Overview

The Project Manager, Industrial Engineering will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and delivering industrial engineering programs for a large-scale greenfield manufacturing facility. This role supports the end-to-end factory industrialization journey, from early capacity and layout planning through line design, equipment installation, commissioning, production ramp-up, and operational handover.

The role focuses on turning product, volume, quality, safety, cost, and schedule requirements into an integrated, executable industrial engineering plan. The ideal candidate combines a strong industrial engineering foundation, proven program management discipline, and the cross-functional leadership to drive large-scale factory launch on aggressive timelines.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end project management of industrial engineering workstreams from concept planning through production launch and ramp-up.
• Develop and maintain integrated project plans, milestones, critical path schedules, resource plans, budgets, and risk registers for line and factory launch programs.
• Manage the scope, schedule, and cost of industrial engineering deliverables, including capacity models, takt and cycle time studies, line balancing, station design, labor models, and layout concepts.
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering, Product Engineering, Layout Engineering, Equipment Engineering, Controls Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Facilities, Construction, EHS, Maintenance, and Operations to integrate industrial engineering requirements into the overall plant design.
• Coordinate factory master planning inputs, including line layout, equipment placement, operator movement, material flow, utility needs, ergonomics, safety, maintainability, and scalability.
• Drive capacity planning and throughput modeling, including simulation, bottleneck analysis, and what-if scenarios across volume, mix, and shift patterns.
• Oversee labor and manpower planning, including headcount models, staffing ramps, skill requirements, training plans, and labor utilization targets.
• Track and manage dependencies between design, procurement, construction, equipment delivery, installation, and commissioning, and escalate critical risks early.
• Support PFEP integration, including packaging strategy, sequencing, replenishment, point-of-use storage, line-side delivery, warehouse interfaces, and internal logistics.
• Lead station, equipment, tooling, manpower, material, documentation, and quality readiness tracking for new production lines, and run launch readiness reviews and gate reviews.
• Support equipment installation, commissioning, debug, process validation, run-at-rate, ramp-up stabilization, and transition to stable operations.
• Establish program governance, including status reporting, KPI dashboards, RAID logs, change control, and executive updates.
• Monitor production performance using OEE, cycle time, downtime, yield, scrap, rework, labor utilization, first-time quality, and throughput data, and drive corrective actions where targets are missed.
• Lead root-cause analysis and countermeasures for launch issues related to line balance, material flow, operator efficiency, ergonomics, equipment interaction, and capacity shortfalls.
• Drive continuous improvement and cost reduction initiatives using lean manufacturing, Kaizen, 5S, VSM, SMED, Poka-Yoke, standardized work, and structured problem-solving methods.
• Manage supplier and integrator interfaces for layout, simulation, automation, and material handling scope, including schedule, cost, and deliverable tracking.
• Capture lessons learned and build repeatable launch playbooks, templates, and standards for future lines and facilities.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Production Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, production launch, or industrialization, including 3+ years leading projects or programs.
• Experience in large-scale manufacturing environments such as automotive, battery, energy, heavy equipment, aerospace, industrial equipment, or high-volume discrete manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of industrial engineering fundamentals, including time studies, line balancing, capacity planning, facility layout, ergonomics, and material flow.
• Demonstrated project management skills, including scheduling, budgeting, risk management, and stakeholder communication.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams across engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, equipment, controls, facilities, and EHS.

Preferred Qualifications

• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent project management certification.
• Experience supporting greenfield facility development, large-scale plant launch, or major capacity expansion programs.
• Hands-on experience with production line launch, equipment installation, commissioning, run-at-rate, ramp-up stabilization, and operational handover.
• Experience with discrete event simulation and layout tools (e.g., Plant Simulation, FlexSim, AutoCAD, Visio) and with 3D factory visualization.
• Strong knowledge of OEE, cycle time, takt time, bottleneck analysis, yield improvement, scrap reduction, cost reduction, and throughput improvement.
• Experience with PFEP, material flow, line-side delivery, packaging, sequencing, warehouse interfaces, and internal logistics.
• Familiarity with APQP, PFMEA, control plans, process validation, production trials, and readiness reviews.
• Familiarity with MES, SCADA, Andon, OEE dashboards, ERP, SAP, PLM, Teamcenter, and project tools such as MS Project, Primavera, Smartsheet, or Jira.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
• Experience managing budgets, capital expenditure tracking, and vendor or integrator contracts.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Strong program and project leadership with the ability to drive complex, multi-disciplinary launches to schedule.
• Hands-on shop-floor mindset with the ability to translate industrial engineering analysis into practical production solutions.
• Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, from shop floor to executive leadership.
• Proactive risk identification, issue escalation, and conflict resolution across competing priorities.
• Strong ownership mindset with focus on safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and scalability.
• Systems-thinking mindset with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with multiple priorities, evolving requirements, and aggressive launch timelines.