PROJECT MANAGER

Reports to: Director of Product Management

Position Type: Full-Time

Location: Florida

Summary of Position Mission

The Project Manager, New Product Development leads and coordinates Century Arms' product development projects from initial concept through production launch. This position manages project scope, schedules, budgets, risks, and deliverables to support on-time launches that meet approved product specifications and cost objectives.

Working closely with Engineering, Product Management, Manufacturing, Quality, Procurement, and external partners, this individual guides projects through established development processes and ensures readiness for production. The role combines technical understanding, structured project management, and cross-functional leadership to maintain accountability, resolve challenges, and communicate decisions requiring leadership attention.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Project Planning and Execution

• Lead new product development projects through concept development, design, prototyping, testing, validation, manufacturing readiness, and production launch.
• Develop and maintain integrated project plans defining scope, deliverables, schedules, dependencies, critical paths, budgets, and resource requirements.
• Guide projects through established stage-gate processes, ensuring required reviews, documentation, decisions, and approvals are completed.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects, maintaining visibility into priorities, commitments, and potential conflicts.
• Evaluate proposed changes to project scope or requirements, document their impact, and obtain appropriate approvals before updating project commitments.

Cross-Functional Leadership and Communication

• Coordinate project activities across Engineering, Product Management, Manufacturing, Quality, Procurement, and other participating departments.
• Work with functional leaders to establish priorities, confirm resource commitments, and resolve competing demands.
• Lead project meetings, document decisions, and track action items, owners, and completion dates.
• Provide clear project updates to stakeholders and senior leadership, including milestone performance, budget status, risks, and decisions required.
• Drive accountability for agreed-upon deliverables and escalate unresolved issues affecting project objectives.
• Coordinate project execution while Engineering, Quality, and other designated stakeholders retain responsibility for technical approvals, validation acceptance, and product release authorization.

Budget, Resource, and Risk Management

• Monitor development spending, tooling costs, product cost estimates, and resource requirements against approved plans.
• Identify budget and schedule variances, assess their impact, and coordinate corrective actions.
• Maintain project risk and issue registers, assign owners, and track mitigation activities through completion.
• Communicate tradeoffs involving cost, schedule, quality, and product performance to support timely decisions.
• Coordinate supplier schedules and deliverables with Procurement and technical teams, identifying external dependencies that may affect project execution.

Product Development and Production Readiness

• Coordinate tooling development, prototype builds, testing schedules, and validation activities with responsible departments.
• Support pilot builds and production readiness reviews to confirm that materials, tooling, equipment, documentation, and required training are in place.
• Work with Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, and Procurement to address issues affecting manufacturability, supplier readiness, product quality, and target cost.
• Coordinate the transition from development into production, including launch issue tracking and follow-up.
• Manage significant improvements to existing products and coordinate related engineering changes and production transitions.
• Ensure applicable quality, safety, regulatory, and Company requirements are addressed by the responsible departments throughout the project lifecycle.

Documentation and Continuous Improvement

• Maintain accurate project schedules, budgets, status reports, risk assessments, decision records, and change documentation.
• Establish and report project performance measures, including milestone completion, budget performance, target product cost, and production readiness.
• Lead project closeout and lessons-learned reviews, documenting opportunities to improve future development and launch activities.
• Recommend improvements to project management practices, stage-gate processes, and cross-functional workflows.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Experience & Qualifications Required

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering, Project Management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant technical experience.
• At least five years of technical project management experience in a manufacturing environment, including demonstrated experience leading new product development projects through production launch.
• Experience managing projects across design, prototyping, testing, validation, and manufacturing readiness.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams involving Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Procurement, and Product Management.
• Experience using stage-gate or other structured product development processes.
• Strong understanding of project scheduling, dependencies, critical path analysis, resource planning, budgeting, risk management, and change control.
• Working knowledge of manufacturing processes, mechanical products, tooling, and production readiness requirements.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project or comparable project management software for schedule development, milestone tracking, and reporting.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to influence team members, drive accountability, and resolve competing priorities across departments.
• Ability to communicate technical and business tradeoffs clearly to functional leaders and senior management.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent.
• Experience managing projects involving precision manufacturing, mechanical product design, or complex mechanical assemblies.
• Experience in firearms, shooting sports products, or related manufacturing industries.
• Familiarity with engineering drawings, CAD/CAM systems, bills of materials, engineering change processes, and product lifecycle management systems.
• Experience with SolidWorks Manage or comparable product development management platforms.
• Experience coordinating suppliers, tooling, prototype builds, pilot production, and new product introductions.
• Familiarity with ERP systems and their role in material planning and production readiness.
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, and quality management practices.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• Works onsite Monday-Friday in office and manufacturing environments in West Palm Beach, Florida.
• May travel to other Company locations, including Vermont, and to supplier or vendor facilities.
• May occasionally work outside normal business hours to support pilot builds, product launches, or critical project deadlines.
• Requires regular computer use and periods of sitting, standing, walking, and occasional bending.
• May occasionally handle prototypes, components, or project materials, using assistance or appropriate equipment as needed.
• When accessing manufacturing, warehouse, or range environments, must follow applicable Company safety and firearms handling procedures and wear required personal protective equipment.
• Essential functions may be performed with reasonable accommodation.

Disclaimers

• This job description should not be interpreted as a complete list of all the duties and responsibilities performed by the jobholder. To maintain organizational flexibility, management has the discretion to add, drop or change at any time the duties, responsibilities and expectations of this job.
• This job description does not constitute an offer of employment, continuous employment or an employment contract. We are an at-will employer and either you or the employer may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any legal reason or for no reason.