Manufacturing Project Engineer Jobs in California

Description

Overview
Since 1904, Nelson Miller Group (NMG) has been a leading global provider of custom solutions, partnering with organizations across industrial, IoT, lighting, medical, telecommunications, consumer, and aerospace and defense sectors. We bring complex products to life by solving intricate challenges in engineering design, manufacturing, and supply chain management. Our expertise spans Human-Machine Interface (HMI) solutions, value-added distribution, plastics, membrane switches, overlays, touch panels, electronics, metals, and cables.

Our century-long legacy is built on a deep commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and unwavering customer satisfaction. These principles drive everything we do as we continue to grow and expand our global market presence.

Opportunity
We are seeking a skilled and experienced Project Engineer to manage and coordinate the successful execution of larger-scale, strategic customer programs. This role emphasizes cross-functional leadership and program execution, ensuring that complex, high-value projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to exacting quality standards. The ideal candidate combines strong technical knowledge in materials and process engineering with proven project leadership skills to align customer expectations, engineering design, and manufacturing execution.

Key Responsibilities

Customer and Program Alignment

• Serve as the primary engineering interface for strategic customers, ensuring deep understanding of requirements, specifications, and long-term objectives.
• Build strong technical relationships with customer engineering/program teams, facilitating alignment between NMG and customer milestones.

Project Planning and Execution

• Lead planning, scheduling, and execution of complex engineering programs, managing cross-functional teams across design, manufacturing, supply chain, and quality.
• Own project scope, timeline, and budget for large customer programs, ensuring risks are identified early and mitigated effectively.
• Oversee formal design reviews, program gates, and customer reporting requirements.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Coordinate technical hand-offs between applications engineering, design engineering, and manufacturing, ensuring customer requirements flow seamlessly through execution.
• Work closely with supply chain and operations to ensure material availability, manufacturability, and cost competitiveness.
• Partner with quality and regulatory teams to ensure program compliance with industry standards and customer-specific requirements.

Technical Leadership

• Provide guidance on complex technical decisions, ensuring manufacturability, reliability, and compliance with performance requirements.
• Review and validate technical specifications, CAD models, and prototypes to ensure customer expectations are met.
• Support root-cause analysis and resolution of engineering or production challenges on strategic programs.

Financial and Business Focus

• Collaborate with finance and operations to manage program budgets, NRE costs, and margin objectives.
• Develop accurate program cost estimates and forecasts, balancing competitive pricing with profitability.
• Support business development representatives and customer success representatives with technical input and strategic quoting initiatives, particularly for long-term or high-value opportunities.

Industry Expertise and Strategy

• Maintain awareness of industry trends, competitor approaches, and emerging technologies relevant to strategic customers.
• Provide structured feedback to product development teams on gaps, new opportunities, and strategic customer needs.

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related technical field.

Experience

• 5+ years in a project engineering, applications engineering, or technical project management role within custom manufacturing, electronics, HMI, or related industries.
• Proven track record coordinating cross-functional teams and delivering complex, customer-facing projects.

Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of manufacturing and assembly processes (plastics, electronics, HMI solutions, supply chain interactions).
• Ability to read and interpret technical drawings, specifications, and standards.
• Proficiency with ERP and project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, or equivalent) for planning, scheduling, and cost tracking.
• Knowledge of quality systems, compliance requirements, and engineering change processes in regulated industries (e.g. ISO9001, AS9100).
• Solid grounding in cost estimation, risk management, and financial impacts of engineering and manufacturing decisions.

Soft Skills

• Excellent project management and organizational skills, with ability to manage multiple high-value programs concurrently.
• Strong leadership and cross-functional coordination abilities to align engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and customer teams.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders, internally and externally.
• Proactive problem-solving and decision-making under pressure, with ability to anticipate risks and drive resolution.
• Customer-focused mindset with the ability to build long-term trust and credibility with strategic accounts.

Additional Information

• Travel: Willingness to travel to customer sites and manufacturing facilities as needed.
• This position requires candidates to be a U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident Alien, or Protected Individual per 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) due to ITAR and/or CUI compliance.

Compensation and Benefits:

Pay Range: $97k - $110k (Pay to be determined by the experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the candidate, and alignment with market data)

Benefits Offered: Comprehensive benefit package including medical, dental and vision coverage; company-paid basic life/AD&D insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance; voluntary supplemental insurances, flexible spending accounts and employee assistance program (EAP). Sick Leave, Vacation Time, and company-paid Holidays are also provided as paid time off. Nelson Miller Group also provides a 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan option with a safe harbor non-elective company contribution.

Nelson Miller Group is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.