Project Engineer CPS

Join Our Team as a Project Engineer - Customer Production Success!

The CPS Project Engineer is responsible for providing project management in all phases of the project's lifecycle, from presales to fulfillment. They work within the Customer Production Success Team, serving as a liaison between Sales, Quality, Engineering, and many other functional teams to organize, plan, and execute high value and high complexity customer projects within the operations structure. This role is accountable for identifying and resolving gaps in our existing quoting and manufacturing systems for these key projects to ensure success.

The CPS Project Engineer will collaborate directly with our customers to solve their most ambitious challenges and scale additive manufacturing to production. The role is invested in the growth of Protolabs's 3DP production business both in terms of revenue and operational maturity.

What you will do

• Provide consultative design for additive manufacturing services to customers with an emphasis on long-term scalability
• Seek project outcomes which satisfy customers' needs in a cost-effective way for both the customer and Protolabs
• Support the development of long-term programs with our customers that produce sustainable growth and revenue
• Assist Sales, Marketing, and Product Management in communicating Protolabs's production capabilities to our customers
• Synthesize patterns in customer needs to determine potential paths towards standardized offer expansions
• Analyze and communicate manufacturing design feasibility and scalability directly to customers via email, phone call, video call, etc.
• Assess customer and industry specifications, drawings, procedures, purchasing documents, etc.
• Utilize project management tools to define resources required, solutioning process steps, and documentation of project plans within specified project timelines
• Prepare custom documentation for customers and internal teams outlining our scope of work to be performed
• Perform holistic manufacturing costing to determine appropriate pricing for individual projects or programs
• Advocate for customer project requirements, evaluate corresponding manufacturing capabilities, and seek productive compromises
• Determine and set up manufacturing execution plans for high complexity projects
• Develop custom tools and workflows to support projects as needed
• Maintain real-time project status for active projects, understanding any risks, issues, dependencies or barriers to delivery as committed
• Manage and evaluate test builds, dial-ins, or other internal exploratory projects necessary to achieve customer requirements
• Work with Protolabs vendors to communicate downstream requirements, risks, and delivery schedules
• Support the organization and the customer in resolving post-sales disputes on production projects
• Fulfill other tasks in order execution not covered by other standard job roles as appropriate
• Partner with Applications Engineering, Technical Operations, and Customer Service to determine the optimal customer experience with Protolabs as an organization for individual projects
• Work with all internal manufacturing departments to determine capacity and requirement commitments that achieve customer outcomes while not disrupting overall business
• Communicate with Quality to navigate requirements based on Quality Policies, Work Instructions, and Industry Standards, and Protolabs's potential corresponding commitments to customers within these frameworks
• Support Engineering in scope development of projects which require additional research and development
• Work with Logistics and Scheduling to manage customer delivery schedules for long-term projects
• Maintain records of potential and ongoing opportunities for management review
• Collaborate with fellow team members to share perspectives and experiences from past work and projects

What it takes

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, business administration, project management, or related field –OR– any bachelor's degree with 5+ years' experience in 3DP printing or technically similar professions
• 2+ years' experience managing cross-functional projects with focus on positive customer outcomes
• A proactive and customer-focused mindset, with a solution-oriented approach to improving customer satisfaction and business outcomes
• Strong technical knowledge of 3D printing operations and end-use production solutions
• Excellent project management skills with experience in coordinating complex projects
• Superior communication and collaboration skills, capable of interfacing effectively across multiple departments to drive impactful positive outcomes
• High attention to detail
• Negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• Ability to develop professional relationships with internal and external customers
• Must demonstrate a thorough knowledge of 3DP technologies, materials, and DfAM
• Confident handling of 3D CAD data
• Experience using professional additive manufacturing CAD software such as Materialise Magics, Netfabb, etc.
• Ability to read and understand technical…