Position SummaryWe 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.
Principal Duties and 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 that include long-lead raw material, outside processing, tooling, equipment capacity, staffing/training, and first-article/qualification milestones.
- Own the project risk/opportunity register; identify constraints (capacity, labor, tooling, yield, inspection throughput, supplier performance) and drive mitigation plans with clear owners, due dates, and escalation paths.
- Establish and report ramp-up KPIs (schedule attainment, on-time delivery, throughput/cycle time, capacity utilization, yield/scrap/rework, and WIP/lead time), providing data-driven recommendations to leadership.
- Facilitate daily/weekly operating cadences (tier meetings), 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 (billet/ingot, die steel, heat treat, NDT, machining), including capacity/risk assessments and recovery plans.
- Coordinate manufacturing readiness deliverables (process flow, work instructions/routers, inspection plans, gage strategy, control plans as applicable) in alignment with customer requirements and the site quality system (e.g., AS9100/NADCAP where applicable).
- Drive disciplined change control throughout ramp-up (engineering changes, tooling changes, routing revisions, inspection changes), ensuring impacts to cost, schedule, capacity, and customer commitments are assessed and communicated.
Experience and Education Required- 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; ramp-up, capacity expansion, or production start-up experience strongly preferred.
- Experience with project scheduling tools (MS Project, Smartsheet, or equivalent) and comfort working with manufacturing systems/data (ERP/MRP, capacity models, Excel/BI dashboards) preferred.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing operations and planning (S&OP/MPS/MRP), with exposure to forging/heat treat/NDT/machining and first-article/qualification workflows a plus.
- PMP certification (or active pursuit) preferred; Lean/Six Sigma and/or APQP/PPAP familiarity is a plus.
- Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills; able to influence across functions and levels using clear priorities and data.
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities in a high-tempo environment; working knowledge of aerospace quality requirements (e.g., AS9100) and special process controls (e.g., NADCAP) is beneficial.
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