Project Manager

Smith Industries; Midland (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

401(k)

401(k) matching

Dental insurance

Job summary

Smith Industries in Midland, TX is seeking a Project Manager for SI Utility to own orders from award through invoicing. You will coordinate engineering, drafting, purchasing, shop production, and logistics to deliver on-time, on-budget projects.

This hands-on manufacturing PM role emphasizes schedule adherence, clear handoffs to the shop, and meticulous documentation to keep customers informed and satisfied. Must be willing to work on the shop floor.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of project management in steel fabrication or closely related engineered-to-order production.
• Ability to read structural drawings, bills of materials, weld symbols, and customer specifications.
• Proven record of running multiple concurrent jobs against committed ship dates in a shop environment.
• Strong written communication and clear RFIs, status reports, and change-order language.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; comfort with ERP, job-tracking, or scheduling tools.

Responsibilities

• Review orders, drawings, and terms; flag conflicts and commercial risk before release.
• Build and maintain project schedules with milestones and ship dates.
• Own BOMs and cut lists; confirm material availability with purchasing.
• Issue RFIs, drawings revisions, and submittals to customers.

Skills

Project management

Reading structural drawings

Bill of materials

Written communication

MS Office

ERP / scheduling tools

Shop floor experience

Driver's license

Team coordination

Tools

ERP systems

Job tracking software

Job description

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance

SI Utility designs and manufactures steel structures that keep the grid standing — tubular transmission poles and H-frames (up to 500 kV), substation steel, pre-engineered wood-pole-equivalent steel poles, and distribution poles. Founded as a complementary business unit of Smith Industries and launched as SI Utility in 2025, the company is based in Midland, Texas and serves utilities, EPCs, and energy customers across the U.S., with a strong footprint in the Permian Basin and Texas power-delivery market. Work is engineered in-house, fabricated in Texas, and delivered on schedule.

Position Summary

The Project Manager owns the order from award through invoicing and follow-up customer satisfaction. You will turn customer specifications, drawings, and contract documents into a buildable, on-time, on-budget plan — coordinating engineering, drafting, purchasing, shop production, quality, galvanizing/coating partners, and logistics. This is a hands‑on manufacturing PM role, not a construction‑site PM role. Success is measured by schedule adherence, clean handoffs to the shop, accurate documentation, and customers who do not have to chase status.

Reports to President / Operations leadership, with daily coordination across Engineering, Production, Quality, Purchasing, and Inside Sales.

Order intake and planning

• Review purchase orders, MSAs, drawings, specifications, and customer T&Cs at award; flag conflicts, missing data, hold points, and commercial risk before the job is released.
• Build and maintain the project schedule: engineering/drafting milestones, material lead times, press-brake and welding capacity, coating/galvanizing slots, inspection hold points, and ship dates.
• Own the bill of materials and cut lists in coordination with engineering; confirm plate, shaft, and hardware availability with purchasing.
• Issue and track RFIs, drawing revisions, and customer submittals (shop drawings, PE-stamped packages where required, coating specs, shipping lists).

Execution and shop coordination

• Release work packages to production with complete, current drawings and traveler/job packets. Protect the shop from incomplete or changing information.
• Attend daily or weekly production meetings; resolve bottlenecks on press brake, fitting, welding, and finishing before they become late loads.
• Coordinate third-party galvanizing, weathering-steel handling, coatings, and outbound freight (including in-house logistics when used).
• Track change orders: scope, cost, schedule impact, and written customer approval before extra work is released.

Quality, safety, and documentation

• Enforce hold points for inspection, NDE, and dimensional checks. Close punch lists before product leaves the yard.
• Maintain job files: contracts, approved drawings, MTRs, weld maps, inspection records, shipping documents, and as-built packages.
• Support shop safety and compliance expectations on the floor; stop work that is unsafe or off-spec and elevate immediately.

Customer and commercial

• Serve as the primary post‑award contact for utilities, EPCs, and contractors. Give accurate status without over‑promising.
• Support bid-to-award handoff with inside sales so committed dates and exceptions in the quote actually match the job that was sold.
• Protect margin: identify extras, expedite costs, and freight deviations early and document them.

Working Conditions

Primarily office and shop‑floor in Midland, Texas (3601 E State Highway 158). Expect regular time in a fabrication environment: noise, steel, welding, and outdoor yard activity. Occasional travel to galvanizers, customers, or jobsites. Hours follow production needs — deadline weeks can run long.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. SI Utility is not currently sponsoring employment visas for this position.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of project management in steel fabrication, structural steel, utility structures, heavy manufacturing, or closely related engineered-to-order production.
• Demonstrated ability to read structural drawings, bills of material, weld symbols, and customer specifications.
• Proven record of running multiple concurrent jobs against committed ship dates in a shop environment.
• Strong written communication — clear RFIs, status reports, and change-order language.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; comfort with ERP, job-tracking, or scheduling tools (or ability to learn SI Utility's system quickly).
• Willingness to work on the shop floor in Midland, TX. This is not a remote role.
• Valid driver's license and ability to pass a pre‑employment background check and drug screen.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with tubular steel poles, H‑frames, substation steel, or galvanized/weathering structural products.
• Familiarity with utility and EPC customers (Oncor and similar IOUs, cooperatives, and transmission contractors such as Quanta‑affiliated firms).
• PMP or equivalent credential; AWS or fabrication-quality exposure (WPS/PQR awareness) is a plus.
• Working knowledge of AISC, AWS D1.1, NESC, or RUS pole specifications.
• Spanish/English bilingual is helpful on the floor but not required.