Project Manager 1

 

SUMMARY OF POSITION

The Project Manager 1 (PM 1) role is the entry level for Project Management at Ascent Aerospace.  As a PM 1 you will be responsible for supporting a portfolio of Tooling and Equipment projects to build the world’s aircraft (airplanes, helicopters, rockets) for major aircraft OEM’s and their sub-tier suppliers. Your role will involve managing the design, build, and installation of Tooling and Equipment that may include mold tooling for fabricating composite parts, assembly jigs & fixtures, work platforms, automation (such as auto drill / rivet machines), up to and including supporting portions of full assembly line design and build for the aircraft. You will work closely with senior project managers to ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget. You will also be responsible for supporting communications with stakeholders, managing project risks, and ensuring that project documentation is up-to-date and accurate.

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

This document in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying the position.

 

Performance, Cost & Schedule Management:

• Your primary responsibility is to manage performance, cost, schedule, and customer satisfaction of your assigned projects throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring adherence to contractual requirements. You will collaborate with internal teams to address customer requests for schedule improvements or technical changes and maintain an Integrated Master Schedule using MS Project.

Customer Relationships:

• You will actively work to cultivate and nurture both external and internal customer relationships. You will support the Sr. Project Manager to proactively establish trust and confidence with customers through effective communication across various levels and channels, providing regular project status updates and confidently addressing any issues that may arise. When representing the Ascent Team, you are expected demonstrate integrity and honesty when managing challenging situations.

Risk and Opportunities:

• You will track, manage, and transparently communicate risks and opportunities within your projects to improve profitability. You will collaborate with and sometimes lead internal and external teams to develop strategies to mitigate risks and leverage opportunities to improve project schedule and profitability. Additionally, you will conduct variance analysis on your assigned projects, with support from the Finance team, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the financial implications associated with identified risks and opportunities.

Change Control:

• You are responsible for understanding customer requirements on your projects and differentiating between contractual requirements and needs / wants. You will support changes in project scope by collaborating with the appropriate team members, which involves recognizing changes, preparing change requests, and ensuring that associated cost and schedule impacts are captured in accordance with the contract. Your overarching objective will be to generate additional profit for Ascent while effectively meeting customer requirements. Key points of control occur during the proposal phase, contract acceptance phase, kick-off, and design phase, during which you will negotiate with the customer to finalize changes and capture value for Ascent. This necessitates thorough attention to detail and adept communication with both the internal project team and the customer to ensure that changes are managed in a way that benefits all stakeholders.
• Here are some additional responsibilities that you may have as a Project Manager 1:
  • Assist senior project managers in coordinating and monitoring project activities.
  • Develop and maintain project schedules, budget, and risk management plans.
  • Prepare reports and presentations for project updates.
  • Ensure timely and accurate delivery of project deliverables.
  • Collaborate with team members to ensure project goals are met.
  • Monitor project progress, identify risks, and mitigate them.

• Additionally, you may be taking on any additional duties or occasional special assignments as reasonably assigned by management.

 

REQUIRED SKILLS, EDUCATION, AND EXPERIENCE

• BS Engineering (Industrial, Manufacturing Technology, Electro-mechanical), Construction Management, or Business with concentration in Project Management.

1 - 3 years min experience in a project management, scheduling or Manufacturing Engineering role.  If coming from a Manufacturing Engineering role, experience in managing internal projects is required.

• Strong verbal & written communication skills with ability to simplify complex issues and convey understanding to facilitate solutions.
• Ability to read blueprints / CAD models and a basic understanding of GD&T principles.
• Ability to understand a P&L statement and principles of cash management applied to a project, and strong Excel spreadsheet skills for analysis.

• Ability to favorably negotiate disputes (financial, contractual, technical) while maintaining positive relationships.

• Proficient with Microsoft Project and other platforms within Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
• Ability to understand the basics of contracts and establishing compliance matrices.
• Exceptionally organized and details oriented.
• Adaptable and capable of thriving in a fast-paced environment with high-impact, dynamic projects.
• This position must meet Export Control Compliance requirements, therefore a "U.S. Person" as defined by 22.C.F.R. is required. For further details as to how a “U.S. Person” is determined, please see SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS below!

 

 

 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• The candidate will be required to obtain and maintain a Department of Defense Secret-level security clearance, and gain Program Access.

Because of the security requirements, this role requires the candidate to be a U.S. Citizen.  Candidates with active security clearance are preferred.  U.S. Persons (green card holders) are not qualified for this role.

 

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

May be required to travel to other local Ascent locations during the workday and would primarily be local during the business day. However, some projects may require overnight stays as well as out-of-the-area travel paid for by Ascent to customer and vendor sites.

 

WORKING CONDITIONS

Working conditions described here are representative of those that may be experienced by an employee daily while performing the functions of this job.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary state for extended periods / 50% of the time at a computer workstation.
• Must be able to occasionally move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
• May access and work in the manufacturing plant, and therefore must be able to wear personal protective gear (PPE) when required. Examples include safety shoes, eye protection, and hearing protection.
• While performing the duties of this job, employee may be exposed to moving mechanical parts, fumes, airborne particles, caustic chemicals, vibration, and moderate noise level.
• May be required to work overtime or weekends to meet department and business demands.

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

• Must be able to frequently walk and stand for short periods of time.
• Must be able to lift and move up to 10lbs, occasionally lift and move objects up to 35lbs.
• Must be able to see, talk, hear, touch, feel and reach with hands and arms.

 

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Employment is contingent upon successfully passing an employee reference check, criminal background check, and drug screening after an offer has been made.

 

ABOUT US

Ascent Aerospace is a world-renowned, single-source provider of production and automated assembly systems for the aerospace, defense, and space industries. As the largest tooling group, Ascent produces a full suite of both mold and assembly tooling required for the aerospace manufacturing market, including the largest invar molds ever made for aerospace. As an automation provider and production system integrator, Ascent works with customers to develop their projects and sees them through from process engineering to build and installation, ensuring efficient and cost-effective solutions.

 

Because our business operates as a federal contractor, we are subject to obligations and regulations under U.S. law that ensure nondiscriminatory employment practices. Therefore, Ascent Aerospace is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and invites any applicant or employee to access the Department of Labor’s Equal Employment Opportunity Posters. If you would like to view a copy of the company’s affirmative action plan or policy statement, please refer to the contact information listed below for the Human Resources Department. Furthermore, all qualified applicants and employees will receive inclusive and fair consideration for employment without regard to any protected classes under U.S. law. Protected classes under U.S. law include race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, age, genetic information, pregnancy, military or protected veteran status, spouse or family member relationship or association with a military or protected veteran, marital status, political affiliation, arrest or conviction record, and citizenship or immigration status. If you believe you need to request a reasonable accommodation at any point due to associated characteristics pertaining to any of the previously listed protected classes, please refer to the contact information listed below for the Human Resources Department.

 

To Contact Ascent Aerospace’s Human Resources Department, email hr@ascentaerospace.com or call toll-free at (+1) (586)726-0500.