Who You’ll Work With 
 
You will join one of our 45 offices in the US, be part of a committed team of over 1600 professionals, and work in teams and directly with our clients doing work that is shaping the world around us. You will be welcomed into a rapidly growing business and team and empowered to make an impact. You will be valued, cared for, and challenged on your path to becoming a world-class professional consultant and surrounded by leaders who are committed to creating an environment that enables you to realize your own success and fulfillment. 
 
When you join Design Group as an Automation Project Manager, you are joining a team that will challenge you and position you for growth. In this role, you will work with a team of industry experts to help the world’s leading companies solve their most difficult problems. You will partner with seasoned leaders, technical specialists, and subject matter experts to deliver the highest quality solutions to our clients with consistency and accuracy. 
 
What You’ll Do 
 
Design Group is looking for Automation Project Managers with 10 to 15 years’ experience in delivering end-to-end automation scope for a life sciences capital expansion project. 

The Automation Project Manager role will operate through close partnership with designated automation and process system owners who retain technical and lifecycle responsibility for their respective systems. While system owners are accountable for technical decisions, standards compliance, and system performance, this role retains overall accountability for integrated execution, schedule, cost, risk management, and delivery outcomes across the automation scope. 

Operating with a high degree of autonomy and judgment, the Automation Project Manager role coordinates across Engineering, CQV, Manufacturing, Quality, IT, system owners, and external partners to ensure the automation solution is compliant, robust, and aligned with project schedule and cost commitments. The role is inspection‑sensitive and critical to achieving safe startup, licensure, and sustained GMP operations. 

In addition to working on these project lifecycle phases, you will be expected and responsible for performing technical activities, which would include supporting: 
 

Automation Project Leadership & Execution Accountability 

• Serve as the single point of accountability for integrated automation execution for the project, spanning multiple process and utility systems. 

• Lead end‑to‑end delivery of the automation scope from design through implementation, qualification, startup, and handover. 

• Maintain clear separation of accountabilities: system owners retain technical authority, while the automation project manager owns delivery, integration, and performance against schedule and cost. 

• Drive execution across multiple vendors, system integrators, system owners, and internal teams without direct authority. 

System Owner Integration & Collaboration 

• Partner closely with automation system owners and process system owners to integrate technical system requirements into the overall project execution plan. 

• Ensure system owner inputs are incorporated into design, build, test, and handover activities without fragmenting execution accountability. 

• Facilitate timely technical decision‑making by system owners to support project milestones and risk mitigation. 

• Resolve conflicts between system‑level optimization and overall project delivery objectives. 

Automation Scope Definition & Integration 

• Define and manage automation execution scope, sequencing, and interfaces across multiple cross-functions. 

• Ensure alignment between automation design, process intent, system owner standards, CQV strategy, and operational readiness. 

• Coordinate system integration across DCS, PLCs, MES interfaces, batch records, data historians, and site infrastructure. 

• Manage dependencies between automation, equipment procurement, installation, and construction readiness. 

Governance, Risk & Compliance