Project Leader Engineering III

Vanderlande Industries GmbH; Marietta, Northern (GA, KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Vanderlande Industries GmbH is seeking a Project Leader Engineer III to head a project team responsible for designing, optimizing, and delivering material handling systems. You will lead planning, execution, and handover, coordinating with customers and multi-disciplinary teams.

The role requires hands-on leadership, extensive travel, and strong technical knowledge across hardware, software, and controls. You will ensure quality, schedule adherence, and efficient project delivery within a

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or equivalent.
• Minimum 5 years of experience working on large-scale material handling systems.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 80% or as required by project needs.
• Proactive and hands-on work ethic.
• Self-motivated with proven problem-solving abilities, especially in stressful situations.
• Pragmatic and capable of balancing quality, schedule, costs, scope, and resources.
• Ability to lead a specialized team responsible for complex projects.
• Motivator and trainer for team members.
• Basic knowledge of mechanical installation and design standards.
• Knowledge of controls engineering theories and principles.
• Knowledge of electrical installation and design standards.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite of Tools.

Responsibilities

• Execute projects from conception through customer handover, contributing to technical performance, financial results, and organizational success.
• Oversee the system design, including hardware, system and network design, software development, electrical installation, integration of components, system commissioning, and testing, leading to final handover to the customer.
• Ensure system functionality and maintain technical quality for material handling systems.
• Maintain on‑site presence during commissioning effort coordinating closely with installation and integration teams.
• Develop engineering project plans and schedules, monitor and report progress.
• Coordinate activities with Leads, Project Manager, Site Manager, Integration Manager, and subcontractors.
• Document functional system specifications and test plans and manage project information and archiving.
• Report project progress and risks to Project Manager and Engineering Manager.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Travel flexibility

Problem solving

On-site execution

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Tools

PLC programming

Microsoft Office

Job description

Overview

The Project Leader Engineer III is responsible for leading a project team in organizing, optimizing, and realizing sold projects into a functional system design. Extensive planning and coordination with other disciplines are essential to ensure on‑time, cost‑effective, and efficient project execution. As the spearhead of the engineering team, the Project Leader Engineer III acts as a communication bridge between all parties, including customers, outside of engineering, and serves as the technical expert for the engineering team.

Responsibilities & Tasks

Project Execution:

• Execute projects from conception through customer handover, contributing positively to technical performance, financial results, and organizational success.
• Oversee the system design, including hardware, system and network design, software development (PLC and/or PC related systems), electrical installation, integration of components, system commissioning, and testing, leading to final handover to the customer.
• Ensure system functionality and maintain technical quality for material handling systems.
• Maintain on‑site presence during commissioning effort coordinating closely with installation and integration teams.

Project Planning and Coordination:

• Develop engineering project plans and schedules for the project team, consistently monitoring and reporting progress.
• Coordinate and communicate activities with the Controls Lead, Area Leads, Project Manager, Site Manager, Integration Manager, and subcontractors as needed.
• Collaborate closely with all members of the value chain to ensure as planned execution.

Documentation and Reporting:

• Document functional system specifications, interface specifications, and (high-level) test plans (FAT, SAT, CAT), including validation.
• Manage all engineering project‑related information, including complete project archiving.
• Report project progress and status to the Project Manager and Engineering Manager (Project Status Report with risks and opportunities).

Budget and Safety:

• Monitor and control project engineering budgets.
• Execute health and safety analysis and coordinate safety during the engineering phase.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or equivalent.
• Minimum 5 years of experience working on large-scale material handling systems.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 80% or as required by project needs.
• Proactive and hands‑on work ethic.
• Self‑motivated with proven problem‑solving abilities, especially in stressful situations.
• Pragmatic and capable of balancing quality, schedule, costs, scope, and resources.
• Ability to lead a specialized team responsible for complex projects.
• Motivator and trainer for team members.
• Basic knowledge of mechanical installation and design standards.
• Knowledge of controls engineering theories and principles.
• Knowledge of electrical installation and design standards.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite of Tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Project Management certification or experience.
• Technical knowledge/background in material handling processes and standards.
• In‑depth knowledge of test approaches (Software).
• Knowledge of Allen-Bradley or Siemens PLC architecture.
• Leadership experience as a project team and people manager.