Project/Production Lead

Job Description

Job DescriptionThe primary purpose of the Project/Production Lead is to serve as the primary point of contact between customers, sales, operations, vendors/suppliers, and the value-add assembly team. This role manages the end-to-end project lifecycle, including planning, quality, and compliance while ensuring alignment with customer timelines, requirements, and internal processes. The Project Lead drives cross-functional coordination, leads meetings, resolves engineering and delivery issues, and provides transparent communication throughout the project. The incumbent in this position will maintain collaborative relationships with all members of Neff and customers to ensure that the highest degree of service is maintained at all times.1. Directly reports to Operations Manager.2. This position is non-supervisory.3. Work and communicate professionally with all staff, customers, and vendors.Duties and ResponsibilitiesTo perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.Essential Functions

• Main Contact: Serve as the key liaison between the customer, sales, operations, vendors/suppliers and the value-add assembly team to ensure clear communication and successful project execution.
• Production and Process Setup: Establish and document production and process setups to ensure repeatable, scalable, and volume-based manufacturing. Develop standardized work instructions, process flows, and tooling design to enable consistent quality and efficient ramp-up of new projects or product lines.
• Project Planning: Develop detailed project plans, including timelines for Bills of Materials (BOMs), work instructions, quality audits, and engineering change orders (ECOs).
• Quality Requirements: Understand and interpret customer quality requirements, standards, and specifications. Coordinate with internal quality and vendor quality resources where appropriate.
• PPAP & Compliance: Perform Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) submissions, manage dimensional compliance tasks, and complete all required quality documentation.
• Timeline Management: Collaborate with vendors, inside sales, procurement, quality, and value-add teams to ensure realistic and achievable timelines, addressing any potential issues proactively.
• Customer Communication: Own direct communication with the customer regarding engineering, design, quality, or delivery issues. Provide updates, solutions, and recommendations as needed.
• Portal Updates: Update the customer and portal(s) with project progress, status, documentation, and compliance results.
• Meeting Leadership: Lead customer and internal meetings to review project status, discuss issues, and plan for project success.
• Test Fixture Development: Design and develop test fixtures needed for assembly verification and process improvement, engaging with vendor/customer engineering where appropriate.
• Training: Train the Value Add assembly team on the use of test fixtures and new assembly or quality processes.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify and implement best practices for process improvement within value-add assembly.

Working Conditions

While performing the duties of this job, the employee will operate in an office or warehouse setting. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines. This position requires occasional travel to customer locations, so the incumbent must possess a valid driver’s license. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is primarily in climate-controlled settings but may be exposed to wet and/or humid hot and/or cold conditions, moving mechanical parts, fumes or airborne particles, and outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate, and ear protection is provided when needed.Education and Experience

• Strong Fluid Power and Automation Background: Demonstrated expertise with pneumatic systems, vacuum, extruded t-slot aluminum, and robotics.
• Mechanical Aptitude: Ability to understand, troubleshoot, and improve mechanical assemblies and systems.
• Electrical and Wiring Knowledge: Solid understanding of electrical principles, wiring, controls, and integration in assembly projects.
• Large-scale Project and Production Leadership: Prior experience as the primary contact or lead on large manufacturing projects or programs. Demonstrated ability to provide engineered solutions to customers’ challenges by designing and integrating the necessary components into successful value-add assemblies, providing customer satisfaction, and managing budgets to provide targeted Neff profitability.
• Quality and Compliance: Familiarity with PPAP processes, dimensional inspections, and fulfilling customer quality requirements.
• Project Management: Ability to develop detailed project plans and manage technical documentation and timelines.
• Communication & Coordination: Outstanding interpersonal and organizational skills, with proven ability to coordinate among cross-functional teams and multiple stakeholders.
• Problem Solving: Analytical and proactive approach to resolving issues and driving efficient project delivery.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, industrial technology, or equivalent experience strongly preferred.
• Software Proficiency: Skilled in project management software and Microsoft Office Suite.

Language Skills

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret technical procedures and product information in English.
• Ability to write reports and business correspondence.

Reasoning Ability

• Analytical ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Mechanical aptitude and technical ability to engineer solutions and design systems to meet customer needs.

Other Skills and Abilities

• Project management and leadership
• Automation, fluid power and mechanical systems expertise
• Electrical and wiring principles
• Quality and compliance management
• Cross-functional coordination
• Customer relationship and portal management
• Effective communication
• Process improvement and training

Physical Demands

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; talk or hear. The employee is required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to sit and stoop, kneel, or crouch. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust focus.