Project Manager
El SEGUNDO, CA | FULL-TIME Onsite/Remote
Cambium is a global company building the advanced materials base for reindustrialization — from AI-driven molecular design to agile domestic manufacturing. Defense, aerospace, and other high-performance applications demand materials that are stronger, lighter, and more resilient, delivered at unprecedented speed and scale. Our team of world-class scientists and engineers was assembled specifically to take on those challenges. Whether enabling hypersonic flight or protecting critical systems, our solutions solve mission-critical problems and push the limits of what's possible. Come join us and revolutionize advanced materials for defense, aerospace, and beyond.
THE ROLE
Your projects are yours; from first concept and funding through delivery and closeout. You’re accountable for each project’s execution, cost, schedule, scope, and margin. You’ll work daily with all core functions of the company - chemists, materials engineers, executives, sales, and finance, and you’ll be the main point of contact for the customer.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Own cost, schedule, scope, and margin for each project from kickoff through closeout.
- Turn research goals into action plans: work breakdown, schedules, resourcing, and spend plans that hold up when experiments drift or fail.
- Work with scientists and engineers to scope technical tasks, set realistic milestones, and decide when to push forward, change direction, or stop.
- Manage the path from lab to production: coordinate scale-up, process development, testing, and handoff to our manufacturing teams.
- Track spend and forecast where each project will land.
- Own deliverables: technical reports, milestone reviews, test data packages, and the deadlines tied to them.
- Proactively manage customer relationships.
- Brief status, risks, and decisions candidly and cross-functionally.
- Write full proposal packages and statements of work to win funding government and commercial sources.
- Manage outside test labs, suppliers, and consultants: scope, purchase orders, schedule, change orders, and quality of work.
- Keep cost tracking and project records accurate and audit-ready.
- Capture lessons learned are incorporated into future program planning and execution.
KEY REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or business, or equivalent experience.
- 5+ years managing technical research and development projects.
Preferred Skills and Experience
- 10+ years managing research, development, and testing programs, including multi-year, multi-million-dollar projects.
- Technical background in materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, or aerospace engineering.
- Experience taking a new material or technology from lab scale to manufacturing.
- A record of writing proposals that won, then running those projects.
- Experience managing Government projects or Contracts.
- Experience in a dynamic, fast paced manufacturing environment.
- Master of Business Administration or Project Management Professional certification.
- Advanced skills in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel); experience with reporting and visualization tools.
You’ll Do Well Here If
- You’re comfortable planning work where the answer isn’t known yet.
- You give executives and customers bad news early, with a recovery plan attached.
- You can dig into test data with a chemist in the morning and rebuild a budget forecast in the afternoon.
- You’re comfortable on a lean team and will build some of the tools and templates you use.
- You lean on AI to enhance and expand your capabilities, not as a crutch.
Additional Requirements
- Full-time on-site at our headquarters in El Segundo.
BENEFITS: Cambium offers a highly competitive compensation and benefits plan. This includes excellent medical/dental/vision benefits, and a matching 401(k) plan, professional development reimbursement, and an opportunity for equity for most full-time positions