Technical Project Manager - Equipment Engineering and Integration

Valmont · Omaha

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Why Valmont
 

We’re Here to Move the World Forward.

Valmont impacts millions of people around the world every day, yet they might not realize the many ways. Our technology is helping feed the growing population, supplying the world with more reliable energy and access to renewables, enhancing connectivity in remote and urban locations to create a sustainable future and so much more. Simply put, Valmont is advancing agricultural productivity and reimagining vital infrastructure to make life better.

Join a Fortune 1000 company that respects hard work, honors diversity and invests in our employees as we focus on creating the world of tomorrow, today. We are the modern workforce. Are you ready to move the world forward? Apply now.

A Brief Summary of This Position:

The Technical Project Manager leads custom manufacturing equipment projects from the initial plant need through requirements, design, procurement, fabrication, integration, installation, commissioning, production validation, and plant handoff. This role combines disciplined project management with sufficient technical understanding to coordinate mechanical, electrical, controls, software, safety, process, supplier, and plant activities as one integrated system. The Technical Project Manager does not replace discipline experts; the role ensures their work is clearly defined, connected, sequenced, tested, and delivered against the plant's operating requirements. Success is measured by safe, reliable, maintainable production performance as well as scope, schedule, and cost performance.

Essential Functions:

• Project Definition & Planning
• Translate plant operating needs into clear project requirements, deliverables, acceptance criteria, schedules, budgets, and resource plans.
• Establish project scope with leadership, manufacturing engineering, operations, maintenance, safety, quality, and Technology functions.
• Confirm technical assumptions, interfaces, constraints, and responsibilities before design and procurement commitments are made.
• Develop integrated schedules covering engineering, procurement, fabrication, controls development, testing, installation, commissioning, training, and production ramp-up.
• Identify scope gaps, technical risks, and long-lead constraints early enough to prevent downstream cost and schedule impacts.
• Support capital requests, cost estimates, business cases, resource plans, and project execution plans.

Technical Integration:

• Serve as the central integration point across mechanical design, electrical design, controls, software, fabrication, tooling, utilities, safety systems, and manufacturing processes.
• Facilitate design reviews and ensure technical decisions, open items, and interface requirements are documented and resolved.
• Challenge specifications and assumptions that create risk to safety, performance, reliability, maintainability, cost, or schedule.
• Coordinate technical dependencies among internal GEMS team, AMET, Controls Engineering, Welding and Cutting Management, Asset Care and Reliability, plant resources, and external suppliers
• Ensure changes within one technical discipline are evaluated for their effects on the complete equipment system.
• Maintain decision, risk, issue, action, and change-control records throughout the project lifecycle.
• Drive timely resolution of technical issues and design decisions to maintain project schedule while appropriately balancing safety, performance, cost, manufacturability, and risk.

Equipment Build & Supplier Management:

• Coordinate equipment design, fabrication, assembly, integration, and internal testing.

• Manage technical communication and deliverables with equipment suppliers, integrators, contractors, and component manufacturers.

• Confirm critical technical decisions and long-lead components are addressed early in the project.

• Monitor supplier progress against technical requirements, milestones, cost, quality, and documentation expectations.

• Regularly review equipment build status on the fabrication/assembly floor and identify technical, material, resource, or schedule constraints requiring resolution.

• Coordinate resolution of nonconforming components, design deviations, and supplier performance issues.

• Ensure purchased equipment can be integrated into Valmont's safety, controls, maintenance, operating, and data environments.

Testing, Installation & Validation:

• Develop commissioning and validation plans with technical leads and the receiving plant.
• Establish measurable factory acceptance test and site acceptance test criteria before testing begins.
• Ensure testing verifies production capability rather than only basic machine movement or functionality.
• Coordinate installation, utilities, controls integration, safety validation, debugging, production trials, and ramp-up activities.
• Confirm the equipment achieves agreed requirements for safety, throughput, quality, uptime, cycle time, and process capability.
• Maintain an open-items process through final resolution and formal acceptance.
  

Plant Readiness and Handoffs:

• Engage plant operations, maintenance, engineering, safety, and quality personnel throughout the project.

• Ensure the plant receives required training, spare-parts recommendations, preventive-maintenance plans, technical documentation, software backups, and troubleshooting knowledge.

• Define ownership and escalation paths for issues that arise during installation and production ramp-up.

• Coordinate the transition from project execution to sustained plant ownership and support.

• Confirm performance is stable and acceptance criteria are met before project closure.

• Capture lessons learned and incorporate them into future equipment designs, standards, and project practices.

Project Controls & Communication:

• Manage project scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks, issues, actions, and changes.
• Provide concise, fact-based project reporting to plant and Manufacturing Technology leadership.
• Escalate decisions and constraints early with clearly defined options and recommendations.
• Facilitate cross-functional meetings that produce decisions, accountable owners, and due dates.
• Maintain alignment between technical progress, capital commitments, and the project's business objectives.

Other Important Details about the Role:

• Remain apprised of emerging equipment, automation, controls, and manufacturing technologies through supplier engagement, industry events, professional networks, and technical research.

• Partner with manufacturing plants in developing site technology roadmaps that improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and capacity.

• Support equipment, supplier, component, and technology standardization across the organization where standardization improves lifecycle value.

• Balance near-term project delivery with equipment maintainability, reliability, obsolescence risk, and total cost of ownership.

• Meet or exceed established project performance and equipment acceptance goals.

• Work independently and lead through influence across functions, plants, suppliers, and contractors.

• Travel up to 50%, including overnight domestic travel and occasional international travel, with periods of concentrated travel during build, installation, and startup.

Required Qualifications of Every Candidate (Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities)

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, engineering technology, manufacturing, industrial technology, project management, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.

• Five or more years of experience managing industrial equipment, automation, manufacturing engineering, or capital projects.

• Demonstrated experience coordinating multidisciplinary technical teams through design, build, installation, commissioning, and production ramp-up.

• Working knowledge of industrial equipment design, fabrication, electrical systems, controls, automation, machine safety, and manufacturing processes.

• Experience developing project scope, schedules, budgets, resource plans, risk plans, and objective acceptance criteria.

• Experience working directly with manufacturing plants, equipment suppliers, system integrators, contractors, and component manufacturers.

• Ability to interpret technical drawings, equipment specifications, process requirements, and project documentation.

• Ability to understand technical problems sufficiently facilitate decisions and recognize when escalation or additional engineering analysis is required.

• Strong written, verbal, facilitation, decision-making, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills.

• Ability to lead high-visibility, high-capital projects without direct authority over all project resources.

• Ability and willingness to travel to Valmont facilities and supplier locations as required.

Highly Qualified Candidates Will Also Possess:

• Engineering degree in mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, industrial, automation, or a related field.

• Project Management Professional certification or comparable formal project-management training.

• Experience with custom or internally built manufacturing equipment from concept through completion.

• Familiarity with PLCs, HMIs, industrial networks, robotics, machine safety, and manufacturing data systems.

• Experience with welding, cutting, forming, material handling, or other heavy-manufacturing processes.

• Knowledge of equipment risk assessments, design reviews, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, and production validation.

• Experience supporting capital appropriation, investment governance, and financial forecasting.

• Familiarity with reliability, maintainability, OEE, preventive maintenance, and continuous-improvement principles.

Working Environment and Physical Efforts:

A normal office or remote-work environment makes up approximately 50% of the role, with approximately 50% of the work performed in manufacturing, fabrication, storage, shipping, supplier, or equipment-installation areas. In production areas, the employee may be exposed to welding smoke, noise, seasonal temperature changes, dirt, oil, coolant, moving equipment, and other conditions common to heavy manufacturing. Extended or off-shift hours may be required during equipment builds, installation, commissioning, troubleshooting, and critical project milestones. Travel may reach 50% and will be primarily domestic, with occasional international travel. Most tasks are sedentary or light in physical effort, but the employee may be required to stand or walk for extended periods, climb stairs, reach above shoulder height, work around machinery, and occasionally perform basic mechanical or electrical support activities. The employee may rarely lift or move up to 50 pounds; lifting devices and material-handling equipment are available for heavier items. Specific vision abilities important to this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, color identification, and depth perception.

Benefits

Valmont offers employees and their families a comprehensive Total Wellbeing benefit package to ensure their individual and family’s overall wellness needs are met. Some offerings are dependent upon the role, work schedule, or location and can include the following:

• Healthcare (medical, prescription drugs, dental and vision)

• 401k retirement plan with company match

• Paid time off

• Employer paid life insurance

• Employer paid short-term and long-term disability including maternity leave

• Work Life Support

• Tuition Reimbursement up to $5,250 per year

• Voluntary programs like tobacco cessation, Type 2 diabetes reversal, one-on-one health coaching, mortgage services and more

Valmont does not discriminate against any employee or applicant in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by law.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

If you have a disability and require any assistance in filling out the application for employment email EEOCompliance@Valmont.com.

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