Welding Project Manager

Kids for the Future; City of Pewaukee (WI); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Kids for the Future in Pewaukee, WI is seeking a Project Manager within the Welding Group to plan, administer, and complete projects on time and within budget. You will work with the project team to develop plans, milestones, and resource needs while aligning with customer requirements.

The role emphasizes coordinating with sales, lead engineers, and suppliers, identifying risks, and guiding design and cost-control efforts.

Qualifications

• Experience managing complex welding projects.
• Knowledge of welding processes (laser, plasma, MIG, resistance).
• Ability to define scope, schedule, and budget.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and vendors.

Responsibilities

• Develop project plan, milestones, and schedule.
• Coordinate with sales and engineers to define scope and costs.
• Monitor changes to schedule, cost, and resources.
• Provide risk assessment and mitigation plans.
• Ensure on-time, within-budget project delivery.

Skills

Project management

Robotics experience

Welding knowledge

Cost/time/resource estimation

Cross-functional coordination

Problem solving

Education

AAS in electronics/robotics/automation

Bachelors in mechanical/electrical engineering

Tools

Robot programming

PLC systems

CAD software

Project management tools

Job description

• Job Category Welding Group
• Employee Type FT Exempt

Description

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may occasionally be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities, as management may deem necessary.

• Meet with the project team to develop a project plan schedule and milestones. Identify open issues, and pending decisions, and assign responsibilities.
• Assist the sales engineer in defining the scope of a project. Establish schedules and resource assignments. Ensure that scope definitions meet with established baselines for performance measurement and control. The goal is to improve the accuracy of cost, time, and resource estimates and to provide a mechanism for effectively handling changes in project scope.
• Coordinate with the sales and lead engineer to identify and control changes to project scope. Define whether change is beneficial and that a change has occurred. Determine the impact of the scope change on project schedules.
• Identify and develop strategies for continual process improvement, including analyzing performance statistics regarding the project's actual and expected outcomes.
• Monitor and control changes in project schedule. Determine that schedule changes are beneficial, that the schedule has changed, and manage the changes in the schedule when they occur.
• Assist the sales engineer and lead engineer in determining what resources are required to perform project activities (human resources, materials, etc.), cost estimating, lead time data, and overall project cost control when changes have occurred. Use resource strengths to assist in project resource assignments. Identify training needed to improve employee skills for improved project performance.
• Assist the lead engineer in determining the standards that must be applied to a project. Ensure that the standards are met.
• Monitor projects to ensure that they stay in scope and will meet the customer’s requirements.
• Determine what information the customer and project team require and ensure that it is delivered promptly.
• Assist and monitor the administrative closure of project phases and project completion. Assist the controller in contract completion procedures, contract administration, and job costing. Monitor job costs during the project and distribute final data to the controller.
• Assist in risk identification, control, and responses.
• Assist the lead engineer in identifying problems and developing resolution strategies.
• Assist in the identification of project opportunities
• Depending on the scope of the project, act as Lead Engineer to outline and guide the direction of the detailed design and ensure design consistency is carried out throughout the project. Work with the respective Engineering Manager(s) to review/approve final designs.
• Sales/Applications Support – review new opportunities to help determine the direction of the solution and support the Sales/Application team with estimates & quotes.
• Work with Applications Engineering to standardize cost sheets and industry-specific quote documents
• Review the potential to develop/design new “standard” products including the development and design of a lab machine
• Work with all departments to establish best design practices establishing “standards and guidelines” for equipment pertaining to company needs and industry requirements.
• Establish safety standards for industry-specific equipment and review/confirm execution on each project (requirements, devices, design parameters, etc.)
• Provide support to engineering and purchasing to identify/qualify/select appropriate vendors
• Assist with putting together an industry-specific template for a “Maintenance Manual”
• Other responsibilities as assigned by management.
• Other projects as assigned by management.
• Travel as required to complete PM tasks

Requirements

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Education and/or Experience:

• Associate’s degree in a related field, such as electronics, robotics, or automation technology, and five years of experience; or bachelor’s degree in mechanical or electrical engineering and three years of experience.
• Experience using or applying various industrial or automation equipment, such as robots, electric motors, servo motors, conveyors, PLCs and related control systems, specialty machines, gearboxes, pneumatics, bearings, etc.
• Fundamental understanding of welding processes including, but not limited to, laser beam, plasma arc, resistance, friction-stir, gas tungsten arc, and gas metal arc
• Robot programming experience for automated welding solutions
• Tooling design experience for welded assemblies to reduce part distortion and improve part consistency
• Understanding of weld strength testing methodologies, standards, and data acquisition systems used to make informed welding decisions
• Welding Project Manager must have experience with welding; preferably MIG, laser, and resistance welding. CWI experience is also preferred.

Summary

Under general supervision, the Project Manager (PM) is responsible for planning, administering, and completing assigned projects within budget and scheduling restraints. Organize and define the total scope of a project plan. Define project requirements and coordinate and facilitate project communication. Assist the lead engineers in developing and executing project plans. Review reports of production, malfunction, and maintenance to determine or address problems. Provide technical support for the engineering process.