Product Development Project Manager — Lean PM Leader

Jobtailor; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in Chicago seeks a Senior Project Manager to lead cross-functional Product Development initiatives, define scope, plan budgets, and govern schedules for complex programs.

You will mentor teams in Lean and Agile approaches, manage risk, track milestones, and report progress to stakeholders, ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery.

Qualifications

• Experience leading complex projects in Product Development.
• Ability to translate market needs into project scope and requirements.
• Proven capability to manage budgets, timelines and stakeholder communications.

Responsibilities

• Act as SME for project management in Product Development.
• Translate market needs into product requirements and scope.
• Oversee pre-project preparation including analysis, design, budget and resources.
• Create and maintain project plans, budgets, roles and timelines.
• Lead risk management and develop contingency plans.
• Coach teams in Lean and Agile project practices.
• Lead initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and closure.
• Deliver status updates to customers and stakeholders.

Skills

Project Management

Lean Project Management

Budget Management

Stakeholder Communication

Change Management

Agile Project Management

Data Analysis

Project Planning

Risk Management

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)

Project Documentation

Project Success Metrics

Education

PMP certification

Tools

Microsoft Project Professional

Job description

• Act as a subject matter expert for project management in Product Development, advising others on best practices.
• Facilitate product requirement identification events to translate market needs into tangible product requirements and project scope.
• Oversee pre-project preparation, including the analysis, design, budget, communication and assess project design resource capabilities and needs.
• Facilitate project planning events to create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), develop overall project schedule and drive critical path activities.
• Collaborate with project stakeholders to identify knowledge gaps and develop rapid learning cycle programs to close those gaps.
• Collaborate with project stakeholders to define budget, develop project financial justification and regularly forecast project costs.
• Create and maintain project plans and other documentation defining project objectives, scope, deliverables, resource allocation, roles and responsibilities, timelines, and quality gates for each project phase.
• Assemble project teams of subject matter experts and assign responsibilities and tasks, engaging third parties as needed when internal resources are unavailable or specialized knowledge is needed.
• Schedule, lead, and/or participate actively in project meetings, facilitating clear communication, taking detailed notes, and updating project plans/trackers to ensure efficient follow-up and execution of actions to keep stakeholders accountable.
• Tailor predictive and adaptive project management approaches for best project fit.
• Facilitate risk identification events to drive risk response plans and lead risk management sessions throughout the project life cycle.
• Understand and mitigate against risks, ensuring that mitigation strategies and contingency plans address broader issues and provide all-encompassing issues to large obstacles.
• Own the overall information flow of project information and decision points, communicating effectively with key team members and partners at key junctions of projects to facilitate smooth delivery.
• Leverage Lean Project Management / Product Development methodologies.
• Holds project teams accountable and pushes back on contractors and other stakeholders to ensure successful outcomes.
• Mentor project team members in Lean Project Management / Product Development methodologies and other best practices to drive effective and efficient project execution.
• Define project success metrics and track project status, budget, and delivery, advising of delays and revised delivery dates or costs as required.
• Lead the project team through initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & controlling, and closure phases of the project.
• Measure project outcomes and analyze data to assess the project's impact on and delivery to the customer.
• Deliver status updates and reports to customers, project teams, leaders, and third parties at an agreed upon cadence, leveraging various communication methods to ensure customers feel heard and information flows effectively.
• Evaluate the success of projects against predefined objectives and customer expectations and collect feedback from stakeholders to identify areas for improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Technology, Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• 4+ years of Project Management experience within project management related to hardware and software development in a manufacturing environment.
• Advanced understanding of products and a sound understanding of Engineering principles. Able to lead technical discussions.
• Excellent knowledge of and demonstrated experience applying project management principles to manage a large portfolio of complex projects to successful delivery. Able to be tasked with the most challenging project assignments in Product Development.
• Sound technology proficiency, including experience using project management tools such as Microsoft Project Professional.
• Able to support mission-critical change management activities.
• Leading project management skills including the ability to create detailed project plans, define scope, establish timelines/milestones, and manage project finances and budgets at the highest level.
• Excellent customer service orientation, ensuring satisfaction of high-level customers and consistent communication throughout the most difficult projects.
• Sound time management and organizational skills, coordinating internal and external resources, creative problem-solving when obstacles arise, prioritizing tasks, managing multiple deadlines and keeping others organized.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to establish professional relationships built on mutual trust and respect, foster a shared sense of purpose in project teams, navigate and resolve conflict, moderate behaviors and foster collaborative working relationships across a diverse Product Development team and cross-functional project teams.
• Excellent communication skills, (written, verbal, listening and presentation) able to liaise with internal and external stakeholders at all levels from leadership to support staff, and present influentially regarding project progress and risks.
• Business acumen,critical thinking and analytical skills with the ability to use and analyze data to drive informed decisions, problem-solve difficult issues and leverage data and learnings to drive continuous improvement.
• Financial acumen and numerical ability to manage project budgets and finances to maximum effectiveness.
• Skilled at navigating through ambiguity, leading project teams through change and building change management into project plans.
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills to present project related updates, foster discussion regarding project plans and elicit contributions and discussion from stakeholders.
• Agile project management approach with an ability to help teams pivot approaches to meet project needs.

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in Project Management, including the ability to lead complex projects in Product Development while effectively managing budgets, timelines, and stakeholder communication. Proficient in Lean Project Management methodologies and skilled in facilitating project planning and risk management.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Lean Project Management
• Microsoft Project Professional
• Budget Management
• Stakeholder Communication

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Project Planning
• Risk Management
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Project Financial Justification
• Data Analysis
• Change Management
• Agile Project Management
• Technical Discussion Leadership
• Project Documentation
• Project Success Metrics

Soft Skills

• Interpersonal Skills
• Customer Service Orientation
• Time Management
• Creative Problem-Solving
• Communication Skills

Certifications & Qualifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP)

Industry Keywords

• Product Development
• Manufacturing Environment
• Engineering Principles
• Complex Projects
• Change Management Activities