Sterling Engineering, Inc. logo

Commercialization Project Manager

Sterling Engineering, Inc.
  • Knoxville, TN
  • Instant Apply
30+ days ago

Job Description

Job Title: Commercialization Project Manager
Location: Knoxville, TN
Hire Type: Direct Hire, Onsite
Target Compensation: $145,000 base salary + annual bonus
Travel: Est. 10–20% (mostly local)
Benefits: Full employee benefits, company-funded pension plan, relocation assistance
 
Job Summary:
Sterling Engineering is partnering with to hire a Commercialization Project Manager to lead new product commercialization projects from concept through market launch. This role serves as the project leader for cross-functional teams responsible for bringing new products from development into full-scale manufacturing. You'll manage the entire product lifecycle, partnering with Engineering, R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Marketing, and Sales to ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and ready for successful launch. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced project manager who enjoys leading complex initiatives, driving continuous improvement, and collaborating across multiple business functions in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
 
Must Have Skills:
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Food Science, or a related technical discipline
  • 8+ years of project management and product commercialization experience within manufacturing
  • Experience leading New Product Introduction (NPI) or commercialization projects from concept through launch
  • Strong cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management skills
  • Experience with Stage-Gate product development processes
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Project or similar project management software
  • Preferred:
  • Food & Beverage or Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturing experience
 
Job Duties:
  • Lead cross-functional commercialization projects through the full product lifecycle, from concept development to commercial launch.
  • Develop and manage project plans, schedules, milestones, budgets, and critical path activities.
  • Coordinate Engineering, R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Marketing, and Sales teams to ensure project success.
  • Drive manufacturing readiness, pilot production, process scale-up, and production launch activities.
  • Identify project risks, develop mitigation strategies, and resolve issues that impact project timelines or objectives.
  • Facilitate Stage-Gate reviews and communicate project status to leadership and key stakeholders.
  • Partner with manufacturing teams to ensure successful knowledge transfer and operational readiness.
  • Lead continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen commercialization processes and project execution.
  • Travel 10–20% to manufacturing facilities as needed.
 
Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Food Science, or related technical field (required)
  • 8+ years of experience in project management, commercialization, engineering, or manufacturing
  • Proven ability to lead complex cross-functional projects in a manufacturing environment
  • Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, commercialization, and product launch processes
  • Excellent communication, organization, and problem-solving skills
  • Food manufacturing experience strongly preferred
  • PMP certification
  • Lean Six Sigma or Continuous Improvement certification


Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.


Numbers & Facts

LocationKnoxville, TN
IndustryStaffing/Employment Agencies
Company Size500 to 999 employees
Year Founded1969
Websitehttp://www.sterling-engineering.com

About Company

Sterling Engineering has been a trusted partner for engineering, project management, and staffing solutions for over five decades. We provide exceptional engineering/technical recruitment and engineering project services to clients nationwide:

 

  • Engineering & Technical Recruitment - With our focus on engineering, technical, and IT, Sterling has the in-depth knowledge, industry expertise, and robust employee pipeline it takes to rapidly find talent for even the most difficult to fill positions. Sterling’s extensive recruitment methodology allows us to engage the most talented employees in the marketplace. We offer exciting work and career-building opportunities for our candidates, along with expert support at every step of the process.

 

  • Engineering Project Services – Our experienced, multi-disciplined team of project managers, engineers, and designers, led by licensed Professional Engineers (PE), provide project management, engineering, design, and Commissioning, Qualification, and Validation (CQV) to manufacturing, OEM, and R&D customers. We work on complex, highly technical projects across a number of industry sectors, and our ability to scale and seamlessly integrate at multiple levels of your organization is what differentiates us.

 

Sterling offers a unique combination of engineering solutions and Best of Staffing level service to help our clients and talent achieve their goals.

Skills

  • Budget Managementunmatched
  • Budgetingunmatched
  • Calendar Managementunmatched
  • Communication Skillsunmatched
  • Consumer Packaged Goodsunmatched
  • Continuous Improvementunmatched
  • Cross-Functionalunmatched
  • Employee Benefitsunmatched
  • Food Productionunmatched
  • Food Scienceunmatched
  • Food and Beverage Industryunmatched
  • Knowledge Transferunmatched
  • Leadershipunmatched
  • Manufacturingunmatched
  • Manufacturing Operationsunmatched
  • Marketingunmatched
  • Microsoft Projectunmatched
  • Problem Solving Skillsunmatched
  • Process Improvementunmatched
  • Product Developmentunmatched
  • Product Lifecycleunmatched
  • Product Lifecycle Managementunmatched
  • Product/Service Launchunmatched
  • Project Executionunmatched
  • Project Management Professional (PMP)unmatched
  • Project Management Softwareunmatched
  • Project Planningunmatched
  • Project Scheduleunmatched
  • Project/Program Managementunmatched
  • Regulationsunmatched
  • Research & Development (R&D)unmatched
  • Retirement Planunmatched
  • Risk Analysisunmatched
  • Risk Managementunmatched
  • Salesunmatched
  • Strategic Planningunmatched
  • Supply Chainunmatched
  • Team Lead/Managerunmatched
  • Time Managementunmatched
  • Willing to Travelunmatched

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