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Project Manager – Industrial Automation

Location: Denver, Colorado

Industry: Industrial Automation / Custom Machinery

Travel: Up to 20%

Employment: Full-Time

The Opportunity

We are partnering with a leading industrial automation and custom machinery organization seeking an experienced Project Manager to join its Denver-based project management team.

The Project Manager will take ownership of complex customer automation projects, leading multidisciplinary engineering and technical teams through design, build, integration, debugging, validation, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), installation and successful project completion.

This is a highly technical Project Management position requiring someone who understands custom automation machinery and engineering-led projects. You will be responsible for ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, to the required quality standards and in accordance with customer specifications.

The successful candidate will work closely with Mechanical, Controls, Electrical and Software Engineers, Technicians, functional managers, suppliers and customers throughout the complete project lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Take overall responsibility for the successful execution and delivery of assigned customer automation projects.
• Manage project schedules, budgets, resources, technical requirements, risks and delivery milestones.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams of Engineers and Technicians throughout project execution.
• Coordinate Mechanical, Controls, Electrical, Software, assembly and debugging activities.
• Ensure engineering activities are completed in line with project proposals, cost sheets, budgets and agreed timelines.
• Review mechanical engineering documentation and project design packages.
• Review Software Design Specifications alongside Controls and Mechanical Engineering teams.
• Lead internal and external project design reviews.
• Interpret customer User Requirement Specifications (URS), proposals, technical specifications and manuals.
• Coordinate project resource requirements and forecasts with functional managers.
• Manage suppliers and system vendors across technical requirements, equipment buy-off, schedules, risks and project deadlines.
• Monitor project costs and provide cost and delivery estimates throughout project execution.
• Work with Excel-based project cost sheets and understand the underlying project financial data.
• Lead customer, supplier and internal project meetings.
• Establish strong working relationships with customers and act as a key point of contact throughout project delivery.
• Drive daily project activities with engineering teams and within the machine build/debugging environment.
• Support the machine debugging phase and coordinate troubleshooting of engineering modifications and technical issues.
• Apply structured root-cause analysis techniques to resolve project and engineering challenges.
• Lead Internal Acceptance Testing activities and associated documentation.
• Lead validation activities during Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT).
• Support validation teams in developing and testing customer-specific validation packages.
• Coordinate technical issue resolution during installation and commissioning at customer sites.
• Identify project delays, technical risks, cost concerns and deadline challenges and escalate appropriately.
• Work collaboratively with other Project Managers and functional leaders to improve project execution and share technical knowledge.
• Maintain a strong focus on project quality, customer satisfaction and successful final acceptance.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.
• 10+ years of experience within industrial automation, ideally including significant project, engineering or technical leadership responsibility.
• Strong experience delivering complex custom automation machinery or engineered equipment projects.
• Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering and technical teams.
• Strong understanding of mechanical, controls, electrical and software engineering activities within automated machinery projects.
• Experience managing projects through design, build, integration, debugging, FAT, SAT, installation and customer acceptance.
• Strong project budgeting, scheduling, cost management and resource-planning capabilities.
• Experience managing external suppliers, system vendors and technical partners.
• Ability to analyze and interpret customer URS documents, engineering specifications, proposals and technical documentation.
• Ability to identify technical problems, conduct root-cause analysis and coordinate appropriate engineering solutions.
• Strong customer-facing communication, presentation and negotiation skills.
• Ability to organize and lead large meetings involving customers, suppliers and internal engineering teams.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize multiple activities during different project phases.
• Strong attention to detail and a structured approach to project execution.
• Ability to work collaboratively across multiple engineering and business functions.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Excel.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States.
• Valid driver’s license required.
• Must be eligible to obtain a passport for international travel.
• Ability to travel up to approximately 20%, including travel at relatively short notice.
• Flexibility to work additional hours when required to meet critical project deadlines.

Preferred Experience

Experience in any of the following would be particularly advantageous:

• Industrial automation and custom machine building
• Medical device manufacturing automation
• Pharmaceutical manufacturing automation
• Life sciences automation
• Highly regulated manufacturing environments
• High-speed assembly automation
• Validation-intensive automation projects
• Microsoft Project
• PDM/PLM systems
• ERP systems
• Previous responsibility for supervising or managing Engineers, Technicians or Project Managers

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for someone who combines technical engineering knowledge with strong project leadership.

You should be comfortable operating in a hands-on automation environment, working directly with engineering teams and customers rather than managing projects solely through schedules and spreadsheets.

The ideal candidate will be capable of understanding complex engineering challenges, driving decisions, managing competing priorities and keeping multidisciplinary teams focused on successful project delivery.

This position offers the opportunity to lead technically sophisticated automation projects from initial engineering through final customer acceptance within an organization delivering advanced automated manufacturing systems.

For further information or a confidential discussion, please apply through LinkedIn or contact the recruitment team directly.