Manufacturing Project Manager

Actalent; South Bend (IN); On-site; USD 50,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

401(k) plan

Life insurance

Disability insurance

HSA

Transportation benefits

Employee Assistance Program

Paid time off

Job summary

Actalent is seeking a Manufacturing Project Manager in South Bend, IN to oversee multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced manufacturing and engineering environment, coordinating customers, engineering, production, operations, and suppliers to deliver on time and within budget.

This contract-to-hire role offers long-term ownership from planning through delivery, with high visibility and direct customer interaction, and opportunities to drive continuous improvement across processes.

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing multiple manufacturing/engineering projects.
• Experience coordinating equipment and capital projects.
• Strong PM and coordination skills with ability to oversee multiple active projects.
• Solid understanding of engineering or mechanical concepts for collaboration with technical teams.
• Proficiency with project tracking, scheduling, and documentation methods.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with customers and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and adapt to changing requirements.
• Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills with a structured approach.

Responsibilities

• Manage multiple projects from kickoff to final delivery, ensuring objectives are met.
• Define scope, timelines, milestones, and resources, maintaining detailed schedules.
• Coordinate customer-supplied and company equipment, ensuring proper integration.
• Track materials and dependencies to prevent delays and disruptions.
• Lead regular cross-functional project meetings to review progress and risks.
• Monitor budgets and support cost control efforts and escalation issues.
• Communicate status and changes clearly to customers and stakeholders.
• Maintain comprehensive project documentation to support transparency.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance processes and outcomes.

Skills

Project management

Manufacturing experience

Cross-functional collaboration

Engineering concepts

Scheduling tools

Customer communication

Budget management

Documentation

Continuous improvement

Job description

Job Title: Manufacturing Project Manager

Job Description

The Manufacturing Project Manager oversees multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced manufacturing and engineering environment. This role serves as the central point of coordination between customers, engineering, production, operations, and suppliers to ensure custom-engineered projects are delivered on time, within budget, and in full alignment with customer requirements. The position offers long-term ownership of projects from initial planning through final delivery and provides high visibility with direct customer interaction and cross-functional exposure.

Responsibilities

• Manage multiple manufacturing and engineering projects simultaneously from kickoff through final delivery, ensuring all objectives are met.

• Define project scope, timelines, milestones, and resource needs, and maintain detailed, accurate project schedules throughout the project lifecycle.

• Coordinate both customer-supplied and company-provided equipment, ensuring proper integration and availability at each project phase.

• Track incoming and outgoing materials, including long lead-time items and critical project dependencies, to prevent delays and disruptions.

• Lead regular project meetings with engineering, production, operations, and supply chain teams to review progress and identify and resolve project risks.

• Monitor project budgets, support cost control efforts, and escalation issues that may impact financial performance or timelines.

• Communicate project status, schedule changes, and potential delays clearly and proactively to customers and internal stakeholders.

• Maintain comprehensive project documentation, including schedules, reports, and records, to support transparency and accountability.

• Drive and support continuous improvement initiatives related to project execution and delivery, identifying opportunities to enhance processes and outcomes.

Essential Skills

• Proven experience managing projects, coordinating schedules, or supporting project execution in a manufacturing, engineering, industrial, or technical environment.

• Experience coordinating custom equipment, industrial systems, controls, electrical equipment, or capital projects.

• Strong project management and project coordination skills, with the ability to oversee multiple active projects concurrently.

• Solid understanding of engineering or mechanical concepts sufficient to collaborate effectively with technical teams.

• Proficiency with project tracking, scheduling, and documentation tools and methods.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact directly with customers and cross-functional teams.

• Ability to manage competing priorities, adapt to changing requirements, and maintain focus on key deliverables.

• Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills, with a structured approach to identifying and resolving issues.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience in project engineering within manufacturing or industrial settings is highly beneficial.

• Experience working with cross-functional teams including engineering, operations, production, and supply chain.

• Comfort presenting project updates and status reports to stakeholders at various levels of the organization.

• Interest in contributing to continuous improvement initiatives and process optimization.

• Ability to build strong working relationships with customers, suppliers, and internal teams.

Work Environment

This role operates in a fast-paced manufacturing and engineering environment with regular interaction across engineering, operations, production, and supply chain teams. The position is full-time, working Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The work involves coordinating custom-engineered equipment and industrial systems, managing detailed schedules and documentation, and participating in project meetings. The environment emphasizes collaboration, clear communication, and long-term ownership of projects from planning through delivery, offering high visibility and direct customer engagement.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of South Bend, IN.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $36.00 - $48.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan - Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in South Bend,IN.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 23, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News‑Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.