Project Engineer - Defense - Craftsmen Industries

About Craftsmen Industries

Craftsmen Industries custom manufactures unique specialty trailers and vehicles and large format printed elements for experiential marketing and industrial solutions for brands across the industry spectrum including Boeing, PepsiCo, and Anheuser-Busch. We pride ourselves on creating our products fully in-house from initial design and engineering to fabrication and the finishing touches of graphics and paint.

Our Craftsmen team includes one subsidiary, Schantz Manufacturing. Schantz focuses on custom manufacturing of concession trailers for the fair and festival industry.

Guided by our values, we BUILD by helping bring ideas to life in a dynamic and collaborative environment and we're looking for talented individuals to grow with us!

What Do We Offer?

• Competitive compensation.
• Career development opportunities.
• Benefits including but not limited to Medical, Dental and Vision.
• 401(k) Match and Much More!

Position Title: Project Engineer - Defense

Location: St. Charles, MO

Position Summary: The Project Engineer - Defense serves as the main point of contact in the planning, execution, and oversight of various initiatives throughout project duration. Responsible for coordinating diverse stakeholders, managing resources, and ensuring compliance with regulations, they drive projects to successful completion while meeting budgetary and timeline constraints.

Job Responsibilities:

• Define project scope, objectives, and deliverables in collaboration with stakeholders and company representatives. Develop comprehensive project plans encompassing timelines, budgets, and resource allocation.
• Lead Engineering and Production teams in executing plans, monitoring progress, and mitigating risks to meet established timelines. Implement project management methodologies to maintain quality standards and address deviations effectively.
• Track project changes and verify against contract requirements, protecting against uncontrolled scope growth.
• Prepare budget and other analytical data/reports for multi-stakeholder review.
• Generate technical documentation to satisfy project requirements.
• Serve as the primary liaison between government agencies, company representatives, and project teams. Communicate project updates, address concerns, foster positive relationships and surmount impasses.
• Ensure adherence to relevant laws, regulations, and policies governing government projects. Obtain necessary permits, licenses, and approvals while managing compliance throughout the project lifecycle.
• Develop and manage project budgets, tracking expenditures, and identifying cost-saving opportunities.
• Track all scope changes and notify Sales and Estimating of any decrease and/or increase in pricing.
• Establish quality control processes and identify potential risks that may impact project outcomes. Develop mitigation strategies to address risks and ensure project success.
• Coordinate project closure activities, including documentation and handover of deliverables. Conduct post-project evaluations to assess outcomes and identify areas for improvement.
• Notify leadership team when schedule or budget is in jeopardy and/or offer suggestions on the required corrections.
• Ability to multitask with multiple projects, at once.

Required Skills:

• Bachelor's degree and minimum 7+ years of project engineering or project management experience in a construction or manufacturing industry.
• Experience with scheduling software to establish baseline and critical path management.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite.
• Able to understand, interpret and implement contractual language.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills.
• Strong work ethic with a positive can-do and will-do attitude.
• Detail oriented with skills around product design specifications and drawings.
• Must possess highly effective interpersonal skills and the ability to interact amongst internal departments and with clients and/or suppliers.
• Ability to work and effectively communicate with colleagues of varied professional skills.
• Ability to lead difficult conversations both internally and externally, while balancing company and customer needs.
• Capability to be resourceful and resilient when working through and around project obstacles.
• Independent thinker and self-starter with strong planning and sequencing orientation.
• Ability to manage multiple projects in parallel and keep multiple projects advancing simultaneously.

Preferred Skills:

• 10+ years' experience in project management experience with government or defense contracts.
• Project Management Professional Certification.
• Prior experience with Quality Management Systems.
• Familiarity of Standards for Technical Review and Audits of Defense Programs (IEEE) standards.

Physical Requirements:

• Sitting, standing, and walking in office, warehouse, and manufacturing environments.
• Ability to climb in and out of trailers, scaffolding and up ladders.
• Ability to bend, lift, and position self to move about the office, as needed.
• Required use of fingers and hands to operate a computer.
• Vision abilities required by this job include close and/or color vision, and ability to adjust focus.

Craftsmen Industries (and its subsidiaries) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This means that we consider all applicants for employment and employees eligible for employment without regard to race, marital status or civil union status, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or any other characteristic protected by law. We also provide reasonable accommodations to our applicants and employees with disabilities in order to assist them in the performance of their essential job functions.

To learn more visit www.craftsmenind.com and www.schantzmfg.com.