Project Manager

About the role

This Project Manager role leads complex, high-value manufacturing projects that support government and regulated industries, including DOE, DOD, and national laboratories. You will own projects from initial planning through design, fabrication, and delivery, managing budgets above $1M while ensuring strict adherence to quality, technical, and compliance requirements. Operating in a custom fabrication environment, you will coordinate cross-functional teams across both office and shop floor settings to deliver mission-critical, highly engineered solutions.

Responsibilities

• Own the full lifecycle of complex technical projects from concept and design through fabrication, testing, and final delivery.
• Develop, maintain, and execute detailed project plans that define scope, schedule, cost, and quality objectives for projects exceeding $1M in budget.
• Manage project budgets and financial performance, tracking costs and forecasts to ensure projects meet financial targets and contractual requirements.
• Lead cross-functional teams, including engineering, manufacturing, quality assurance, procurement, and shop personnel, using influence-based leadership in a matrixed environment.
• Cook up work across office and manufacturing/shop floor settings to ensure alignment between design intent, production activities, and customer expectations.
• Interpret technical drawings, bills of materials (BOMs), and engineering specifications to guide project decisions and ensure accurate execution.
• Establish and maintain project schedules using tools such as MS Project and Excel, monitoring progress and adjusting plans to keep projects on track.
• Apply project controls methodologies, including earned value or percentage-of-completion techniques, to track performance and report status.
• Identify project risks early, develop mitigation strategies, and manage contingencies for complex, custom builds in regulated environments.
• Ensure all project deliverables meet strict quality, regulatory, and compliance standards applicable to government and regulated industries.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for customers, providing clear communication on project status, issues, and changes.
• Collaborate closely with QA and engineering teams to resolve technical issues, nonconformances, and design changes during project execution.
• Prepare and deliver project reports and updates to internal leadership, highlighting progress, risks, and key decisions.
• Support continuous improvement by capturing lessons learned and contributing to enhancements in project management processes and tools.
• Drive a culture of safety, quality, and accountability across all project activities in both office and shop environments.

Requirements

• Proven experience managing complex projects with budgets greater than $1M, ideally in a manufacturing or engineering context.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams in a manufacturing and/or engineering environment using influence-based leadership.
• Strong project management skills, including scope definition, scheduling, budgeting, and risk management.
• Ability to interpret technical drawings, engineering specifications, and bills of materials (BOMs) to support decision-making and execution.
• Hands-on experience with project planning and tracking tools such as MS Project and Excel or equivalent software.
• Experience using project controls techniques, such as earned value management or percentage-of-completion methods, to monitor performance.
• Technical acumen to work effectively in a custom fabrication and engineered-product environment.
• Strong communication skills to interface directly with customers, engineering teams, shop personnel, and leadership.
• Ability to operate effectively in a regulated environment with strict quality and compliance requirements.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, or a related field.
• U.S. citizenship, with no sponsorship available for this role.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting government contracts in environments such as DOE, DOD, or NNSA programs.
• Familiarity with FAR, DFAR, and CAS compliance requirements for government-related projects.
• Experience working within NQA-1 or other nuclear quality programs.
• Background in custom fabrication or project-based manufacturing rather than high-volume, repetitive production.
• Experience with ERP or MRP systems for project tracking, materials planning, and cost control.
• Project management certifications such as CAPM or other relevant PM credentials.
• Exposure to high-complexity, custom engineering builds and mission-critical projects.
• Interest in growing into Senior Project Manager or Program Management roles over time.

Skills

• Proven experience managing complex projects with budgets greater than $1M, ideally in a manufacturing or engineering context.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams in a manufacturing and/or engineering environment using influence-based leadership.
• Strong project management skills, including scope definition, scheduling, budgeting, and risk management.
• Ability to interpret technical drawings, engineering specifications, and bills of materials (BOMs) to support decision-making and execution.
• Hands-on experience with project planning and tracking tools such as MS Project and Excel or equivalent software.
• Experience using project controls techniques, such as earned value management or percentage-of-completion methods, to monitor performance.
• Technical acumen to work effectively in a custom fabrication and engineered-product environment.
• Strong communication skills to interface directly with customers, engineering teams, shop personnel, and leadership.
• Ability to operate effectively in a regulated environment with strict quality and compliance requirements.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, or a related field.
• U.S. citizenship, with no sponsorship available for this role.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• 120 hours of PTO and 8 paid holidays
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Life and disability coverage
• HSA/FSA options
• 401k match
• Wellness programs
• Learning, growth, and development programs
• Workplace Type: Fully onsite position in Denver, CO

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $85,200.00 - $102,100.00/yr. Salary is commensurate with experience.

Work Environment

This is a fully onsite position based in Westminster, CO, operating within a hybrid environment that combines office work with regular presence on the manufacturing and shop floor. You will interact daily with engineering teams, quality assurance, procurement, and production staff in a matrixed organization where leadership is influence-based and does not include direct reports. The work centers on high-complexity, custom engineering builds that support long-term government programs, national defense, and advanced research, rather than repetitive production. Depending on shop exposure, you will follow applicable safety protocols and may be required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE).

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

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