Job Title: Project ManagerJob Description
We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Project Manager to join our aerospace forging operation during a critical period of commercial growth. This role is accountable for leading production ramp-up and rate-readiness initiatives-aligning people, equipment/tooling, processes, suppliers, and quality systems to achieve safe, compliant, and on-time delivery performance. The ideal candidate is comfortable working across the shop floor and leadership team, drives structured execution (scope/schedule/cost/risk), and thrives in a fast-paced, highly regulated manufacturing environment.
Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end ramp-up and rate-readiness plans for major aerospace commercial programs, coordinating execution across operations, engineering, quality, supply chain, maintenance, and finance.
• Develop and maintain integrated master schedules and resource plans, including long-lead raw material, outside processing, tooling, equipment capacity, staffing/training, and first-article/qualification milestones.
• Own the project risk/opportunity register; identify constraints and drive mitigation plans with clear owners, due dates, and escalation paths.
• Establish and report ramp-up KPIs, providing data-driven recommendations to leadership.
• Facilitate daily/weekly operating cadences, readiness gate reviews, and cross-functional problem-solving sessions; publish clear agendas, decisions, and action-item closure.
• Manage project budgets and capital/tooling plans; track actuals vs. plan, forecast to completion, and support purchase justification, vendor coordination, installation, and commissioning activities.
• Partner with Supply Chain to ensure supplier readiness and long-lead procurement, including capacity/risk assessments and recovery plans.
• Coordinate manufacturing readiness deliverables in alignment with customer requirements and the site quality system.
• Drive disciplined change control throughout ramp-up, ensuring impacts to cost, schedule, capacity, and customer commitments are assessed and communicated.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (Manufacturing/Mechanical/Industrial/Metallurgical).
• 3+ years of project/program management experience in manufacturing, including at least 1 year in aerospace/defense or another regulated environment.
• Experience with project scheduling tools (MS Project, Smartsheet, or equivalent) and comfort working with manufacturing systems/data (ERP/MRP, capacity models, Excel/BI dashboards).
• PMP certification (or active pursuit) preferred; Lean/Six Sigma and/or APQP/PPAP familiarity is a plus.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities in a high-tempo environment.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience developing and maintaining integrated master schedules and resource plans.
• Budget and CapEx tracking experience.
• ERP/MRP system experience required - current system is Great Plains, transitioning to Microsoft Dynamics 365.
• SAP or Oracle experience a plus.
• AS9100 or NADCAP familiarity beneficial but not required.
• Highly organized, methodical, and process-driven.

Work Environment
This position is 100% onsite in El Cajon, CA at the Precision Metal Products forge facility. Approximately 60% of the time is spent on the production floor with 40% in the office, with some weeks shifting to 70/30 floor heavy depending on the program phase. The role is a high-visibility position with direct interaction with the CEO, VP of Operations, and plant leadership. The position offers cross-functional exposure spanning virtually every department including engineering, operations, supply chain, finance, HR, production, and external vendors.
Job Type & Location
This is a Permanent position based out of El Cajon, CA.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $100000.00 - $130000.00/yr.
benefits, PTO, etc provided upon offer
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in El Cajon,CA.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Aug 17, 2026.