Project Manager, Mech & Elec Sys. (NPI)

Catalyzing a cleaner future


At ESS (NYSE: GWH), our mission is to accelerate global decarbonization by providing safe, sustainable, long-duration energy storage that powers people, communities, and businesses with clean, renewable energy anytime and anywhere it's needed. As more renewable energy is added to the grid, long- duration energy storage is essential to providing the reliability and resiliency we need when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.


Our technology uses earth-abundant iron, salt, and water to deliver environmentally safe solutions capable of providing up to 12 hours of flexible energy capacity for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications. Established in 2011, ESS Inc. enables project developers, independent power producers, utilities, and other large energy users to deploy reliable, sustainable long-duration energy storage solutions.

Position Profile

ESS is seeking a Project Manager II, BESS Mechanical & Electrical (NPD / NPI) to drive project execution across our mechanical and electrical systems product development initiatives. This role drives detailed project planning, coordination, and delivery for complex, cross-functional development efforts, ensuring that timelines are realistic, dependencies are understood, and teams remain aligned to product roadmaps and company commitments as we deliver next-generation energy storage products.

You will act as a key execution driver, integrating internal teams of engineers, architects, product leaders, and third-party partners into a cohesive project structure, proactively managing dependencies, identifying risks, tracking costs, and maintaining timelines to ensure projects are executed effectively and with emphasis on quality results. This role operates with moderate autonomy and emphasizes hands-on coordination, schedule integration, and risk management, operating as a bridge between functional execution and program objectives.


The ideal candidate is proactive, highly organized, technologically fluent, and comfortable navigating competing priorities with support from leadership.

What you'll do

• Own end-to-end scope capture and facilitate execution of mechanical and electrical system product development projects
• Detail and maintain integrated project plans, including milestones, dependencies, and risks
• Proactively engage with mechanical and electrical engineering teams to ensure progress against milestones, leveraging sprint methodologies to keep teams focused and organized

• Partner with technical SMEs to define, scope, and manage subcontractor engagements, including development of SoW and deliverable expectations
• Serve as the primary coordination point for third-party development vendors, ensuring alignment to project timelines and deliverables
• Identify, escalate, and resolve cross-team risks, blockers, and execution gaps with support from leadership
• Track project progress to support accurate portfolio KPIs
• Run project reviews, standups, and status communications with a focus on accuracy and consistency
• Support translation of product and technical strategy into executable plans
• Implement and reinforce project management tools, processes, and governance standards
• Contribute to resource planning, forecasting, and project-level budgeting as needed

What you bring

• Execution mindset and the ability to organize and motivate teams to implement with excellence
• 3-6+ years of experience in project management, program management, engineering within a physical product development environment
• Experience delivering complex, multi-team project outputs in integrated system NPD/NPI or product evolution applications - relevant industries include automotive, aerospace, energy, or similar technical products
• Strong working knowledge of product development + NPI lifecycles and PMI processes
• Proven ability to manage cross-functional dependencies and external partners
• Excellent organizational, communication, and stakeholder coordination skills
• Ability to operate independently in fast-paced, evolving environments
• Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail and follow-through
• Ability to engage deeply with technical teams without direct authority and understand complex integrated system design strategies/development interplay to identify associated effort, risks, & challenges

• Ability to deal with ambiguity and dynamic priorities

Key Attributes

• Execution-focused with the ability to operate 'in the details' while maintaining alignment to broader program objectives
• Proactively identifies and drives mitigation in partnership with engineering and program leadership
• Drives clarity, accountability, and alignment across complex projects
• Builds strong cross-functional relationships and fosters collaboration
• Drives impact through data-driven communication
• Balancesstructure and flexibility to enable execution in dynamic environments
• Maintains high standards for communication quality, consistency, and transparency

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in energy storage, power systems, EV, utilities, or similar industries
• Background in hardware-focused NPI and integrated systems product development
• Experience with mechanical / electrical subcontractors, consultants, and equipment suppliers
• Familiarity with product safety and regulatory compliance requirements
• Familiarity with information management tools such as Smartsheet, MS Project, Jira, Confluence, Oracle Cloud, Fusion PLM
• Proficiency with Excel and / or Power BI

Education

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience'
• PMP, Scrum, or similar certification (preferred)

Benefits of working at ESS

In addition to the value of working with and helping grow a global reaching clean technology, ESS offers Company assisted medical, dental and vision, 401k with Company match, Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), generous flexible time off (FTO), and 8 paid holidays.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are open to considering every qualified candidate who is eligible and legally authorized to work in the United States on a full or part-time basis, without need for sponsorship.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.