Project Associate Jobs in Rockford, IL (NOW HIRING)

All World is your one-stop shop solutions provider for aftermarket machine tool spare parts, services, repairs, and custom-engineered applications. Our mission is to empower today's manufacturing customer with solutions that fit their personalized needs and budget. Our growth-oriented company operates on six primary values to create maximum results in the workplace: support, transparency, respect, innovation, dependability, and efficiency.

As the Manufacturing Project Manager, you will guide Arrow Workholding engineering projects from purchase order receipt through shipment, keeping dates achievable, information organized, and communication consistent. This position exists to ensure clear ownership of schedules, disciplined handoffs between proposal, engineering, and manufacturing, and a reliable customer experience for custom-engineered work.
Key responsibilities:
- Review incoming PO/quote packages for completeness; confirm the customer PO aligns to quoted scope, pricing, and terms
- Open and maintain project records in the tracking system, including job numbers, customer data, quoted hours, and delivery commitments; establish clean folder structures for customer-furnished documents
- Build project schedules by working backward from committed ship dates; maintain a master schedule/status board with current milestones and next actions
- Lead timely kickoff coordination with the Engineering Manager and manage phase transitions from design through release and manufacturing
- Prepare thorough manufacturing release packages (drawings, BOM, router initiation, and special engineering notes) and ensure the receiving team has complete, current information
- Track actual hours versus quoted hours; identify budget risk, blockers, and schedule variance early and drive corrective/recovery actions
- Submit approval drawings, monitor approval status, and route technical questions between customers and engineering while documenting decisions
- Provide structured customer updates and weekly internal reporting on status, completions, risks, and key performance metrics
Required knowledge and skills:
- Associate degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, or related field required; Bachelor’s degree preferred
- PMP certification or equivalent project management training preferred
- Minimum 3–5 years of project management or project coordination experience in a manufacturing or engineering environment; experience with custom-engineered products or a job shop environment strongly preferred
- Experience with ERP systems and project management software
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Project, Outlook)
- Ability to read and understand engineering drawings and technical specifications
- Understanding of manufacturing processes including CNC machining, assembly, and quality requirements
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills for customer and internal coordination
- Problem-solving ability and initiative to drive issues to resolution
If you’re ready to bring structured coordination and clear follow-through to complex builds, apply today.

Your morning starts by scanning the master schedule, confirming what moved overnight, and identifying any approvals, information gaps, or long-lead items that could threaten the ship date. You’ll send concise status notes to customers, then pivot into short internal touchpoints to align expectations before work advances to the next stage.
As the day progresses, you keep project files clean and current, log hour trends, and follow up on pending customer approvals. When questions surface—technical clarifications, scope checks, or schedule impacts—you route them quickly, document decisions, and keep communication direct and transparent. You close out the day updating milestones, preparing the next release, and summarizing risks and upcoming deliveries for leadership.

Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage; 401(k); Life Insurance; Health Savings Account (HSA); Flexible Spending Account (FSA); Competitive Salary; Paid Time Off (PTO).