Project Manager - Sustainability Solutions

First Mode draws on the exceptional talent and creativity of its multidisciplinary team to solve the toughest problems on and off the planet. We help companies, governments, and individuals from the earliest stages of problem definition to prototype creation and demonstration. A continual desire to discover and invent has led our team to drill into the unknown surface of Mars, electrify large industrial equipment, and apply remote sensing technologies to water conservation.  

While each project is unique, we typically meld together robotics, automation, systems engineering, modeling and simulation, and advanced fabrication to create a new future across many industries. If you have exceptional talent and a vision for the future, we want to talk. 

First Mode is seeking an experienced Project Manager (PM) who is keen to make an impact and establish First Mode as a global leader in sustainability solutions. This PM position will operate as a member of the project management team within the company’s largest sustainability project, leading a particular subsystem or product domain team, working cross-functionally to execute, integrate, and deliver our heavy-industry zero-emission solutions. While adhering to a common project framework for scheduling, finances, and planning, this role also features the flexibility to influence those frameworks and utilize their expertise to optimize team outputs and enhance overall program outcomes and can expertly maneuver within complex constraints.  

The ideal candidate can masterfully inject project management principles into the engineering practice of concurrent product development. The candidate should be comfortable within nuanced technical discussions as well as have the discretion to tactfully message that information to clients, project, and executive leadership. A solid foundation in the project management discipline as well as the curiosity and creativity to adapt traditional practices into a novel and expeditious application will enable success in this role.  

Position Responsibilities 

• Leads the planning and day-to-day execution of the subsystem domain together with the Technical Lead to deliver program work packages and products
• Applies project management principles and best practices to complex technical problems as an integral contributor to small project teams
• Forecasts, manages, and statuses milestones and activities related to the respective subsystem domain within the project integrated master schedule
• Closely identifies, monitors, and reports financial data, workload capacity, performance to plan, risks, cost, and other key metrics for program execution
• Tracks action items, burn down lists, co-leading and scheduling team meetings, as well as communicates priorities and status to leadership and team members
  
• Occasionally communicate with customers, team members, and vendors via videoconference in UK and AUS time zones
  

Basic Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in project management, business administration, engineering, related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience 
• Experience in planning, implementing, and updating project plans, including budgets and schedules, risks, and tracking performance to plan
  

Preferred Qualifications 

• Ability to write and speak clearly about technical and programmatic subject matter to communicate effectively with customers, company executives, and technical subject matter experts 
• Commitment to meeting deadlines, sustaining high-quality outputs, marshaling broad expertise towards common outcomes, and employing a meticulous approach to project documentation and standards 
• Experience managing projects through a complete project lifecycle (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, and closeout) 
  
• Ability to review contractual language and technical requirements, and understand the impacts to project requirements and execution 
• Accountability and ownership traits with strong teamwork and interpersonal skills 
• A knack for thinking about how the parts of a system and project work together 
• Flexibility and responsiveness in a fast-paced, dynamic, small team environment 
• Experience in automotive, sustainability, or natural resources industries 
• PMP Certification

Additional Requirements

• Must be willing to travel within the United States and internationally to represent First Mode to its customers, vendors, and partners (COVID-19 permitting). 

Location

• This position will be located at First Mode’s headquarters in Seattle, WA and will be required to work in office >60% of working hours
  

Eligibility

• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

First Mode is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with First Mode is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Notice to First Mode job applicants: First Mode will never ask you to pay money or provide sensitive personal data to process a job application. If someone representing themselves as being associated with First Mode asks for any personal information as part of an application process, please report this immediately to IT.Sec@firstmode.com