Kernel Solutions Jobs in Bolingbrook, IL (NOW HIRING)

We are seeking an experienced and customer-focused Project Manager to serve as the bridge between our customers, sales team, and technical delivery teams. This role requires a hands-on professional who excels at managing project execution, coordinating cross-functional teams, handling incidents, and ensuring customer expectations are met or exceeded.

The ideal candidate is PMP-certified, highly organized, skilled in stakeholder management, and capable of balancing strategic customer interactions with detailed internal operational coordination.

Key Responsibilities

Customer & Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact for customers throughout project execution and service delivery.
• Understand customer objectives, expectations, and business priorities.
• Facilitate communication between customer stakeholders and internal teams.
• Conduct regular customer meetings, project reviews, and status updates.
• Manage customer escalations and ensure timely resolution of issues.
• Build and maintain strong long-term customer relationships.
• Support account growth opportunities by identifying customer needs and collaborating with sales teams.

Project & Delivery Management

• Plan, coordinate, and monitor project activities from initiation through completion.
• Manage project timelines, deliverables, resources, dependencies, and risks.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned with customer expectations.
• Develop and maintain project plans, status reports, and executive summaries.
• Track project performance metrics and communicate progress to stakeholders.

Resource Planning & Internal Coordination

• Understand the strengths, technical skills, and capacity of each team member.
• Allocate resources effectively based on project requirements and priorities.
• Coordinate work across engineering, operations, support, and business teams.
• Establish clear ownership, deadlines, and accountability for assigned tasks.
• Prioritize competing demands and ensure optimal utilization of internal resources.
• Identify potential resource constraints and proactively address them.

Incident & Service Management

• Lead incident management activities and coordinate rapid response efforts.
• Communicate incident status, impact, and resolution plans to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Facilitate post-incident reviews and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure service commitments and SLAs are consistently met.
• Escalate critical issues when necessary and coordinate cross-functional resolution efforts.

Sales & Account Support

• Partner with Sales and Account Management teams to support customer retention and growth.
• Participate in customer business reviews and strategic planning discussions.
• Help identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities.
• Support proposal development, project scoping, and delivery planning.
• Ensure smooth handoffs between sales, delivery, and support teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field.
• PMP (Project Management Professional) certification required.
• 5+ years of project management experience in customer-facing environments.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent projects.
• Strong understanding of project management methodologies and best practices.
• Experience with incident management and customer escalation processes.
• Proven ability to manage cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in technology, software, cloud services, managed services, or professional services organizations.
• Familiarity with Agile, Scrum, or hybrid project management methodologies.
• Experience with project management platforms such as Salesforce, Jira, Monday.com, Asana, or Microsoft Project.
• Account management or customer success experience.

Key Competencies

• Customer Relationship Management
• Project Delivery & Execution
• Resource Planning & Allocation
• Incident Management
• Stakeholder Communication
• Team Coordination
• Prioritization & Time Management
• Risk Management
• Sales & Account Support
• Conflict Resolution
• Leadership & Influence

Success Metrics

• On-time project delivery
• Customer satisfaction (CSAT)
• Incident response and resolution effectiveness
• Resource utilization and team productivity
• Customer retention and account growth
• Achievement of project and service-level objectives

What We're Looking For

We are looking for someone who is equally comfortable in a customer executive meeting, an incident bridge call, a project status review, or an internal planning session. This person will thrive in a dynamic environment where customer success, operational excellence, and effective team coordination are critical to business outcomes.

This role requires a proactive professional who can anticipate challenges, build trust with customers, and drive successful execution across multiple stakeholders and priorities simultaneously.