About the position
Pratt Miller is a product development company in motorsports, defense, and mobility industries providing clients with product engineering and low-volume production solutions. Our range of research & development, engineering, prototype manufacturing, test & validation, and low-rate production capability help our customers bring their high-quality products to market faster. The project leader is responsible for supporting customer engagements, developing a technical plan, and forming a project team from the matrix organization. They manage various aspects of project execution to ensure customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and project profitability. The leader will focus on building core competencies that deliver exceptional value to our customers, creating a competitive edge for the Warfighter. This includes overseeing technical teams involved in full vehicle design, chassis design, technology integration, simulation, objective testing, and subjective evaluation. Depending on experience and skill, the candidate may be assigned as a Technical Project Manager or Project Lead.
Responsibilities
- Train and mentor engineers, building core teams and supporting personnel development.
- Coordinate project planning, organization, control, integration, and completion.
- Formulate engineering programs and review product designs for compliance with engineering principles, company standards, customer contract requirements, and specifications.
- Manage technical development, scheduling, and resolve engineering issues.
- Define the technical objectives, establish decision-making processes, conduct trade studies, resolve conflicts, and guide the team through the design space.
- Serve as the voice of the customer in internal communications and represent PMD externally.
- Coordinate project personnel through resource forecasting, working with department managers and HR recruiting.
- Identify risks to customer satisfaction and project deliverables, and develop action plans to mitigate them.
- Assist Program Managers in planning project financials, tracking costs, and ensuring profitability.
- Support Business Development in market research, competitor analysis, and identifying potential customer leads.
- Assist the Defense Director in executing strategy, expanding capabilities, recruiting technical staff, and managing deliverables.
- Support the development of design, simulation, and testing best practices across Pratt Miller Defense.
- Lead the integration and deployment of best practices throughout the organization.
- Blend technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and program management experience to lead a team in tackling challenging military vehicle applications.
- Adapt to changing tools and technologies, guiding the team to select the right tools at the right time to optimize performance.
- Be a motivated individual who exceeds customer expectations while building, guiding, and inspiring a team of 5 to 30 people.
- Operate effectively in ambiguous, time-sensitive environments with complex engineering challenges.
- Ability to obtain a Government clearance.
Requirements
- BS or MS in Mechanical, Aerospace, or a related engineering discipline.
- 10-15+ years of experience in defense, automotive, or aerospace industries.
- Specific experience in defense programs.
Nice-to-haves
- A systems integration approach to vehicle development, with knowledge of various automotive and defense subsystems.
- Experience in structural analysis, multibody simulation, vehicle dynamics, and control system development.
- Exceptional ability to communicate technical and programmatic data effectively.
- Strong verbal and written skills, particularly in creating reports and specifications using MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Ability to manage ambiguity and navigate open design environments with competing requirements.
- Strong desire to work with top talent, support the team, and continually improve.
- Experience with Development or Program of Record pursuits.
- Familiarity with combat or tactical ground vehicles.
Benefits
- Competitive total rewards package.
- People-first culture.
- Opportunities to support team member growth and success.
