Project Jobs in Portland, OR (NOW HIRING)

Job Title: Project Manager – Steel Fabrication Projects

Job Description

This Project Manager role oversees and executes steel scope projects ranging from $20,000 to $10 million, from initial planning through final delivery. The position leads all aspects of project delivery, including scope definition, scheduling, budgeting, risk management, and stakeholder communication. The Project Manager ensures strict compliance with safety, quality, and contractual requirements while maintaining strong client relationships and consistently delivering projects on time and within budget. The ideal candidate is a highly motivated, detail-oriented self-starter who understands how to build complex steel fabrication projects and has the organizational skills to plan the work and drive it to successful completion.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage steel scope projects from inception to completion, ensuring adherence to project scope, budget, and schedule.
• Develop and maintain detailed project plans, schedules, and budgets for multiple concurrent projects.
• Coordinate closely with internal departments such as purchasing, engineering, and fabrication to optimize project execution and resolve issues quickly.
• Monitor and control project performance, tracking progress against milestones and identifying issues before they impact cost, schedule, or quality.
• Proactively identify project risks and develop mitigation strategies to ensure smooth execution and successful outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with all contractual requirements, customer specifications, industry standards, and company procedures throughout the project lifecycle.
• Develop and track project budgets, ensuring accurate financial reporting and effective cost control.
• Analyze financial performance of projects and implement corrective actions when necessary to protect margins and schedules.
• Own and manage project change orders, ensuring scope and budgets remain aligned and accurately reflected in contracts.
• Collaborate with the estimating team to develop accurate change order estimates and incorporate them into project documentation.
• Negotiate contracts and manage vendor relationships to optimize cost-effectiveness and ensure terms and conditions, flow-down requirements, and receiving requirements are clearly documented.
• Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of project management processes and best practices within the organization.
• Enforce strict adherence to company safety policies, OSHA regulations, and environmental and regulatory requirements on all projects.
• Promote and support a strong culture of safety in both office and shop environments.
• Act as the primary point of contact for clients and subcontractors, ensuring clear and timely communication.
• Provide regular project status updates and reports to internal and external stakeholders, including schedule, cost, and risk information.
• Address and resolve project-related issues efficiently to maintain client satisfaction and project momentum.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key clients to support ongoing and future business development efforts.
• Manage the accuracy of project timeline tracking and reporting in the company’s project management software.
• Support design and engineering activities by leveraging a strong technical and mechanical experience, especially on NQA-1 or complex fabrication projects.
• Work closely with shop production teams, regularly interacting with the fabrication environment to ensure plans and drawings are executed correctly.
• Review and interpret fabrication drawings and plans, ensuring the work aligns with customer specifications and project requirements.
• Review and evaluate customer specifications and requirements to ensure all projects meet or exceed expectations.
• Apply earned value management principles to track project performance and forecast outcomes.
• Use Microsoft Project and/or Smartsheet, along with MS Office tools, to plan, track, and report on project activities and deliverables.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
• 10+ years of proven experience in project management, quality, and/or design-build project management within steel scope industries.
• Experience working in a steel fabrication environment, preferably in job-shop or general contract settings.
• Strong fabrication and builder mentality with a fundamental understanding of how to build complex steel projects.
• Mechanical engineering experience or equivalent technical experience, with strong technical aptitude.
• Demonstrated experience managing design/build projects where production progresses while design work continues.
• Proven ability to keep teams and projects on track, delivering on time and within budget.
• Experience working in a steel fabrication environment, including coordination with shop production.
• Ability to read and understand fabrication drawings and plans.
• Experience supporting or working under NQA-1 or other complex fabrication standards (highly preferred).
• Strong analytical and planning skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining high quality standards.
• Ability to work independently and manage tasks in an organized and structured manner.
• Detail-oriented approach to reviewing and evaluating customer specifications and requirements.
• Excellent problem-solving, negotiation, and leadership skills.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively with craft personnel, customers, government regulators, and inspectors.
• Understanding and practical application of earned value management principles.
• Proficiency with MS Office, including Outlook, Word, and Excel.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project and/or Smartsheet (Smartsheet preferred).

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with NQA-1 quality and project standards is highly preferred.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is preferred.
• Project management experience in nuclear or aerospace industries is preferred.
• Experience with pressure vessels, including familiarity with Section VIII standards, is preferred.
• Experience working with government contracts is preferred.
• Has done ASME-related projects or standards is beneficial.
• Experience with complex mechanical and steel fabrication projects is advantageous.

Work Environment

This role is based onsite in Newberg, Oregon, within a steel fabrication and office environment. The Project Manager works primarily in an office setting while collaborating closely with colleagues on the shop floor and regularly interacting with production teams. The environment includes active fabrication operations, where adherence to safety procedures and personal protective equipment requirements is essential. Work is highly collaborative, involving frequent coordination with engineering, purchasing, fabrication, and other internal departments, as well as external vendors and clients. Standard business hours apply, with additional time as needed to support critical project milestones and shop activities

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Newberg, OR.

The pay range for this position is $100000.00 - $160000.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a fully onsite position in Newberg,OR.

This position is anticipated to close on Jul 23, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.