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.