Senior Project Manager - Communications

OTTO Engineering, Inc.; Carpentersville (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

OTTO Engineering, Inc. seeks a Senior Project Manager for the Communications division in the United States.

The role oversees product development from concept to production, coordinating EE, ME, FW, and SW teams, sourcing, manufacturing, and supplier interactions to meet schedule and budget. The Senior PM will drive phase-gate processes, manage NRE and tooling implications, and lead weekly cross-functional meetings to keep projects on track while reporting to senior management.

Qualifications

• 7 years of project management experience.
• Hands-on engineering experience from concept through production.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project or equivalent.
• Experience launching projects in a production facility.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate activities across engineering disciplines (EE/ME/FW/SW) to meet project goals.
• Manage timelines, assign responsibilities, and track progress.
• Prepare status reports for upper management and stakeholders.
• Maintain project budgets, risk registers, and resource plans.
• Lead weekly cross-functional project meetings and drive issue resolution.
• Ensure documentation, BOMs, and change controls are up to date.

Skills

Project management

Hands-on engineering

Production launches

Cross-functional coordination

Tools

Microsoft Project

Job description

Senior Project Manager - Communications

Why join OTTO Engineering?

At OTTO, we don’t just manufacture products—we engineer mission-critical solutions with precision and pride. Our Communications Division designs and manufactures ruggedized, application-specific communication systems built to perform when failure isn’t an option, serving the military, law enforcement, public safety, and industrial customers worldwide.
As a core value, we focus on delivering for our customers through innovative technology, superior quality, value, and responsiveness … as a result, our growth continues!
Employees are our greatest asset, which is why we share our company’s profits to celebrate our collective success.
As a privately-owned company, we are proud to invest significantly in our community and in our own growth, focusing on long-term business success.
We are proudly American!
You’ll love our Engineering Team!
Join a team where your engineering talent directly supports the people who protect and serve. At OTTO Engineering, we design and build innovative communications and power?management products used by Public Safety professionals and Military teams around the world. You’ll help create rugged, reliable, and innovative products that professionals depend on every day. If you’re excited by meaningful engineering challenges and the chance to build technology that truly matters, this role is a great fit.

Specifically, we are seeking experience with …

• Project management – 7 years
• Previous hands‑on engineering experience – concept through production
• Microsoft Project (or equivalent)
• Launching projects in a production facility

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Our Senior Project Manager will manage all the aspects of product development activities, from concept to production. Responsibilities include coordinating the activities between the engineering disciplines (EE, ME, FW, SW), sourcing, manufacturing, production, and in some cases suppliers, customers, and partners to achieve project goals in a timely fashion. Set deadlines, assign responsibilities, and monitor team members. Prepare reports for the upper management regarding the status of a project. Must have the ability to translate big‑picture business needs into plans for detailed‑oriented tasks. Strong, proactive management and people skills to encourage collaboration and keep projects on track (yet know when escalation to management is necessary).

The Senior Project Manager will:

• Work with the project teams to develop product requirements, project schedules, and milestones that meet or exceed customer expectations
• Coordinate internal resources and third parties/vendors for the flawless execution of projects
• Apply modern project management tools and techniques to keep a project on schedule and within budget
• Ability to address root cause issues using problem‑solving skills and execute contingency planning with the project team to keep schedules on track
• Making effective decisions when presented with multiple options
• Depending on project size, the Project Manager may be required to be part of the project team – engineering, analysis, etc.
• Maintain and regularly update NRE hours, tooling costs, part costs, and test costs
• Manage BOMs, engineering change notices, and all project‑related documents
• Runs weekly project meetings to keep a cross‑functional team informed and on task
• Present monthly project reviews to senior management – schedule, costs, issues
• Adhere to OTTO’s phase‑gate process and ensure phase requirements are completed and properly documented
• Assist with other duties as required or assigned