Technical Project Manager - Equipment Engineering and Integration

Technical Project ManagerThe 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. This role combines disciplined project management with sufficient technical understanding to coordinate mechanical, electrical, controls, software, safety, process, supplier, and plant activities as one integrated system. The Technical Project Manager does not replace discipline experts; the role ensures their work is clearly defined, connected, sequenced, tested, and delivered against the plant's operating requirements. Success is measured by safe, reliable, maintainable production performance as well as scope, schedule, and cost performance.Essential Functions:Project Definition & PlanningTranslate plant operating needs into clear project requirements, deliverables, acceptance criteria, schedules, budgets, and resource plans.Establish project scope with leadership, manufacturing engineering, operations, maintenance, safety, quality, and Technology functions.Confirm technical assumptions, interfaces, constraints, and responsibilities before design and procurement commitments are made.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 early enough to prevent downstream cost and schedule impacts.Support capital requests, cost estimates, business cases, resource plans, and project execution plans.Technical Integration:Serve as the central integration point across mechanical design, electrical design, controls, software, fabrication, tooling, utilities, safety systems, and manufacturing processes.Facilitate design reviews and ensure technical decisions, open items, and interface requirements are documented and resolved.Challenge specifications and assumptions that create risk to safety, performance, reliability, maintainability, cost, or schedule.Coordinate technical dependencies among internal GEMS team, AMET, Controls Engineering, Welding and Cutting Management, Asset Care and Reliability, plant resources, and external suppliersEnsure changes within one technical discipline are evaluated for their effects on the complete equipment system.Maintain decision, risk, issue, action, and change-control records throughout the project lifecycle.Drive timely resolution of technical issues and design decisions to maintain project schedule while appropriately balancing safety, performance, cost, manufacturability, and risk.Equipment Build & Supplier Management:Coordinate equipment design, fabrication, assembly, integration, and internal testing.Manage technical communication and deliverables with equipment suppliers, integrators, contractors, and component manufacturers.Confirm critical technical decisions and long-lead components are addressed early in the project.Monitor supplier progress against technical requirements, milestones, cost, quality, and documentation expectations.Regularly review equipment build status on the fabrication/assembly floor and identify technical, material, resource, or schedule constraints requiring resolution.Coordinate resolution of nonconforming components, design deviations, and supplier performance issues.Ensure purchased equipment can be integrated into Valmont's safety, controls, maintenance, operating, and data environments.Testing, Installation & Validation:Develop commissioning and validation plans with technical leads and the receiving plant.Establish measurable factory acceptance test and site acceptance test criteria before testing begins.Ensure testing verifies production capability rather than only basic machine movement or functionality.Coordinate installation, utilities, controls integration, safety validation, debugging, production trials, and ramp-up activities.Confirm the equipment achieves agreed requirements for safety, throughput, quality, uptime, cycle time, and process capability.Maintain an open-items process through final resolution and formal acceptance.Plant Readiness and Handoffs:Engage plant operations, maintenance, engineering, safety, and quality personnel throughout the project.Ensure the plant receives required training, spare-parts recommendations, preventive-maintenance plans, technical documentation, software backups, and troubleshooting knowledge.Define ownership and escalation paths for issues that arise during installation and production ramp-up.Coordinate the transition from project execution to sustained plant ownership and support.Confirm performance is stable and acceptance criteria are met before project closure.Capture lessons learned and incorporate them into future equipment designs, standards, and project practices.Project Controls & Communication:Manage project scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks, issues, actions, and changes.Provide concise, fact-based project reporting to plant and Manufacturing Technology leadership.Escalate decisions and constraints early with clearly defined options and recommendations.Facilitate cross-functional meetings that produce decisions, accountable owners, and due dates.Maintain alignment between technical progress, capital commitments, and the project's business objectives.Other Important Details about the Role:Remain apprised of emerging equipment, automation, controls, and manufacturing technologies through supplier engagement, industry events, professional networks, and technical research.Partner with manufacturing plants in developing site technology roadmaps that improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and capacity.Support equipment, supplier, component, and technology standardization across the organization where standardization improves lifecycle value.Balance near-term project delivery with equipment maintainability, reliability, obsolescence risk, and total cost of ownership.Meet or exceed established project performance and equipment acceptance goals.Work independently and lead through influence across functions, plants, suppliers, and contractors.Travel up to 50%, including overnight domestic travel and occasional international travel, with periods of concentrated travel during build, installation, and startup.Required Qualifications of Every Candidate (Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities)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 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.Highly Qualified Candidates Will Also Possess: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.Working Environment and Physical Efforts:A normal office or remote-work environment makes up approximately 50% of the role, with approximately 50% of the work performed in manufacturing, fabrication, storage, shipping, supplier, or equipment-installation areas.