Team Lead - Customer Project Manager

About the role

The Customer Project Manager (CPM) Team Lead is a key operational leadership role within the Industrial Sales Division. This position is responsible for building and leading a team of Customer Project Managers who coordinate new product projects from commercial opportunity through series production launch - serving both direct customers and distributor partners across the Americas region.

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Organizational Development

  • Lead, coach, and develop a structured team of Customer Project Managers across varying levels of experience.
  • Define, develop, and continuously refine team roles, responsibilities, and escalation paths to support organizational growth and project complexity.
  • Build team capability through regular one-on-one coaching, performance feedback, development planning, and succession planning.
  • Identify skill gaps and coordinate targeted training to strengthen team effectiveness and consistency.
  • Update and maintain the RASI and Support Matrix, with approval from department heads, to ensure clear ownership, accountability, and cross-functional alignment.
  • Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, professionalism, and continuous improvement within the team.

• Project Management & Operational Oversight

  • Oversee the full customer project coordination lifecycle, from opportunity handoff through launch and series production release.
  • Establish, maintain, and continuously improve project templates, task lists, and standardized workflows, including communication of expected lead times for critical activities.
  • Evaluate project tasks and progress to ensure due dates are achieved; proactively escalate risks, identify bottlenecks, and address internal capacity or process constraints that could impact delivery.
  • Confirm that solution levels are properly assigned and consistently utilized across projects to confirm it represents sustainable business for Stabilus.
  • Maintain focus on launch discipline and executional excellence across the entire project portfolio.

• Launch Management & Execution Accountability

  • Hold overall responsibility for ensuring all customer project launches are executed on time, meet target objectives, and satisfy quality and business requirements.
  • Drive launch readiness by monitoring key milestones, coordinating cross-functional actions, and escalating issues that place launch timing or quality at risk.
  • Facilitate formal pre-release review meetings as required gates prior to series production release.
  • Ensure timely communication with materials planning and purchasing when new components or requirements are introduced during launch preparation.
  • Maintain focus on launch discipline and executional excellence across the entire project portfolio.

• Customer, Distributor & Commercial Coordination

  • Serve as the senior escalation point for distributor and direct customer account issues requiring leadership involvement.
  • Oversee the team’s day-to-day coordination of distributor relationships, including quotations, pricing alignment, account reviews, and commercial support.
  • Support distributor account planning, demand forecasting, and joint commercial initiatives to strengthen customer relationships and business performance.

• Capacity Planning & Escalation Management

  • Maintain visibility across team workload, project pipelines, and internal task queues to identify constraints before they affect customer commitments.
  • Evaluate project activities to identify bottlenecks, restrictions, and capacity limitations across internal functions.
  • Serve as the primary coordination link between Sales and internal prototype, pilot, and launch execution teams.
  • Balance priorities across the active project portfolio to protect customer commitments and business objectives.
  • Evaluate PPAP pilot requests to confirm appropriate quantities, validate customer requirements, and ensure no practical alternative solution exists before approval.

• Cross-Functional Leadership

  • Serve as the central liaison between Customer Project Management, Application Engineering, Quality, Launch Coordination, Sales, and other supporting functions.
  • Ensure project ownership, responsibilities, and expectations are clearly communicated at project initiation and throughout execution.
  • As an internal advocate for the customer experience, promote transparency, responsiveness, and alignment across all functions.
  • Drive strong collaboration across both direct and distributor sales channels to ensure consistency in execution and communication.

• Metrics, KPI Ownership & Continuous Improvement

  • Develop and own the KPI framework for the Customer Project Management function, including measures related to speed, quality, customer satisfaction, team performance, and structural effectiveness.
  • Establish metrics that evaluate whether team structure, processes, and project execution methods are contributing to business success or revealing areas of inefficiency or loss.
  • Lead regular performance reviews and provide concise, actionable reporting to leadership.
  • Analyze recurring issues, project delays, and process bottlenecks to identify root causes and implement sustainable corrective actions.
  • Drive process simplification, automation, and knowledge capture initiatives, including playbooks, standard operating procedures, and reference guides.

Required Skills & Competencies

• Proven leadership capability with the ability to coach, develop, and hold a team accountable in a high-performance environment.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities across a complex stakeholder landscape.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and escalation management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build alignment and resolve issues across functions without direct authority.
• Advanced knowledge of project management methodologies, tools, and process governance.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to develop, interpret, and act on performance metrics and operational data.
• Commercial awareness, including a working understanding of pricing, margin considerations, and customer profitability.
• Continuous improvement mindset with the ability to create structure, standardize processes, and improve execution in evolving environments.
• Servant-leadership approach, leading with accountability, humility, and professionalism.

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, or a related field - Required
• PMP or equivalent project management certification - Preferred
• Credentials in APQP, ISO/IATF, or Lean Six Sigma - Preferred
• Formal training in leadership or people management - Preferred

Experience

• 5–8 years of experience in project or program management, sales operations, or technical sales coordination
• Minimum 2 years of direct team leadership or supervisory experience
• Proven track record of delivering projects on time in a cross-functional environment
• Hands-on experience with ERP systems (SAP preferred), CRM platforms, and MS Project or equivalent
• Background in manufacturing, industrial, or automotive environments
• Familiarity with product development lifecycles and production launch processes (e.g., PPAP, APQP)
• Experience managing distributor or channel partner relationships
• Exposure to quality systems and production readiness reviews