Industrial Programs Project Lead (Automation & Manufacturing)

A day in this role

You start your morning reviewing a multi-site project dashboard, confirming schedules are on track and budgets align with forecasts. A quick customer call clarifies scope and deliverables, then you huddle with engineering, procurement, and operations to line up resources. Midday, you facilitate a stand-up, update action logs, and escalate a supplier delay with a clear mitigation plan. In the afternoon, you review a change request with internal stakeholders, ensure documentation meets company standards, and prepare a concise status report for leadership. Before you sign off, you confirm travel for an upcoming installation and coordinate the handoff plan to service and operations once commissioning is complete.

What you'll do

• Coordinate project activities from kickoff through closeout, keeping safety, schedule, cost, and quality at the forefront.
• Collaborate across functions to define scope, deliverables, timelines, and resource needs.
• Act as the primary contact for customer communications and project documentation.
• Build and maintain schedules; track progress; provide timely status reporting.
• Identify and escalate risks, issues, and schedule impacts; drive mitigation actions.
• Assist with budget management, forecasting, and cost tracking.
• Lead project meetings, maintain action item logs, and follow up on commitments.
• Support contract review and change management with internal stakeholders.
• Ensure project records and documents comply with company standards.
• Support project closeout and coordinate transition to service and operations teams.

How you'll work

• Champion safety policies and regulatory requirements throughout execution.
• Partner with engineering, procurement, operations, and customer teams to remove roadblocks.
• Continuously assess risk and implement practical mitigation plans.
• Deliver clear, regular updates to management and stakeholders.
• Resolve customer concerns through proactive communication and internal coordination.
• Participate in lessons learned and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Keep schedules, records, and reporting tools current across the project lifecycle.

What you bring

• Experience coordinating or managing projects in manufacturing, industrial, logistics, engineering, automation, construction, or related settings.
• Strong organization, communication, and interpersonal abilities.
• Comfort juggling multiple priorities in a collaborative team environment.
• Hands-on experience tracking schedules, budgets, and deliverables.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project management tools.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 50% to meet project and customer needs.

Preferred attributes

• Proven problem-solving and sound decision-making.
• Customer-focused mindset with attention to detail and follow-through.
• Skill in building strong cross-functional relationships.
• Adaptability and comfort working in a fast-paced environment.
• Background with automation, material handling, manufacturing, or distribution operations is a plus.

Travel

• Travel up to 50% to customer sites, project locations, and company facilities for execution, meetings, installations, testing, and key milestones.