Lead Manufacturing Project Manager

Location: Buffalo, NY (On-Site)

Department: Manufacturing Operations

Reports To: Business Unit Director

Direct Reports: 5–6 Project Managers and Senior Project Managers

About GTI Fabrication

GTI Fabrication designs and manufactures complex modular systems, structural steel assemblies, and containerized solutions for defense, energy, and industrial customers. With a rapidly expanding manufacturing footprint, GTI delivers highly engineered, build-to-order products that require precise coordination and world-class execution from concept to shipment.

As GTI’s project portfolio grows, we are investing in senior leadership roles capable of driving consistent performance across multiple high-stakes customer programs.

Position Overview

The Lead Manufacturing Project Manager is a senior-level leader responsible for managing a team of Project Managers and Senior PMs, ensuring consistent and disciplined execution across a portfolio of manufacturing programs. This role combines strategic oversight, operational leadership, and hands-on project governance.

The Lead PM ensures project teams deliver on scope, schedule, budget, risk mitigation, customer communication, and manufacturing readiness — while driving continuous improvement across GTI’s project management function.

This role is suited for a highly experienced project leader who thrives in fast-paced industrial environments and excels at leading other project managers.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & People Management

• Directly lead, mentor, and develop a team of 5–6 Project Managers and Senior Project Managers.
• Define performance expectations, set goals, conduct reviews, and build a high-performance PM team.
• Oversee project assignments, capacity planning, and workload distribution.
• Coach PMs on customer management, production alignment, communication, and escalation techniques.
• Establish standardized processes, templates, governance routines, and execution methodologies across the PM organization.
  
  

Program Governance & Execution Oversight

• Provide executive-level oversight for all active manufacturing programs within the business unit.
• Monitor project performance across timeline adherence, cost variance, production readiness, and deliverable quality.
• Lead executive-level reviews and enforce disciplined adherence to GTI’s PM framework.
• Identify systemic risks or resource constraints and escalate to leadership with recommended solutions.
• Partner with Production, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Business Unit Directors to maintain smooth execution.
  
  

Customer Leadership & Communication

• Serve as the senior escalation point for key customers during project execution.
• Oversee PM-led customer communications, ensuring accuracy, professionalism, and alignment with contract expectations.
• Participate in major customer reviews, factory acceptance tests (FAT), and milestone approvals as needed.
• Ensure all customer requirements, documentation, and deliverables are met on schedule.
  
  

Reporting, Metrics & Continuous Improvement

• Build and oversee portfolio-level dashboards, schedule trackers, and risk logs.
• Review PM-submitted reports for accuracy and early risk identification.
• Track KPIs such as:
• Schedule adherence
• Throughput & bottlenecks
• Budget vs. actuals
• Change order impact
• Customer satisfaction
• Lead “lessons learned” and drive cross-functional improvements to engineering, production, documentation, and scheduling processes.
  

Required Qualifications

• 8–12 years of project management experience in manufacturing, fabrication, industrial equipment, or production environments.
• 2–5 years of formal leadership experience managing Project Managers or Senior PMs.
• Strong grasp of:
• Production flow
• Fabrication and assembly processes
• Material dependencies and scheduling
• Manufacturing change management
• Demonstrated ability to lead multiple high-complexity projects simultaneously.
• Advanced communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience with MS Project, Smartsheet, or other advanced scheduling tools.
• Strong data orientation — capable of reviewing dashboards and KPIs to drive action.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in metal fabrication, modular construction, welding operations, or containerized structures.
• ERP experience (NetSuite preferred).
• Power BI or Tableau reporting experience.
• PMP, Lean Six Sigma, or equivalent certification.
• Experience scaling a PM team or installing a project governance framework.
  
  

Why Join GTI Fabrication

• Lead an expanding project management organization with high visibility across GTI’s executive team.
• Influence strategic decision-making tied to production throughput, delivery performance, and customer success.
• Work in a fast-growing, highly technical industrial manufacturing environment.
• Competitive compensation and leadership-track advancement opportunities.