Senior Technical Project Manager

Company Overview:

Second Order Effects (SOE) is an engineering consultancy that transforms uncertainty into fully functional hardware and software. We work on projects at various stages of development and scope; we perform analysis, build prototypes, and take products to market. Our cross-disciplinary team solves critical problems across numerous industries, including automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, industrial automation, biomedical, green energy, and marine. Our designs control rocket engines, manage satellite communications, generate safety-overrides for self-driving cars, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world.

Founded in 2016, Second Order Effects has 90+ employees (and counting!) in offices in El Segundo, California and Redmond, Washington. We've worked with 90+ clients on 250+ projects as a partner, on a retainer, or on demand, all of which have no involvement with weapons.

How do we do this? We prioritize others, build the right thing, welcome difficulty, and play the long game. Learn more at soeffects.com!

Team Overview:

SOE Seattle is Second Order Effects' first expansion office. Established in January 2022, SOE Seattle's goals are to build an office with skills in mixed signal electrical design, signal processing firmware, and sensor systems. As an early member of the team, you will be pivotal in the success of this office and future expansions.

The Programs team is responsible for ensuring project success across the range of projects that SOE encounters. We work to improve project outcomes, maximize learning opportunities, identify new ways to support our clients, and drive efficiency of project execution. At the frontlines of every client engagement, we collect data on the efficacy of the SOE services engine to inform the development of seamless processes and to inform how groups like Engineering, Business Development, and Operations should spend their time across project execution, personal growth, and infrastructure development.

Job Overview:

As a Senior Technical Project Manager, you will work with our growing list of clients across a multitude of industries by bridging communication between engineers, customers, and other project stakeholders, both internally and beyond. At SOE, you will be put into new projects in unfamiliar fields where team success hinges on your ability to learn quickly and communicate complex subjects. Ideally, you are an empathetic manager with excellent analytical abilities, capable of building strong relationships and generating consensus.

What You Will Do:

• Lead core project teams in the execution of complex solutions to difficult problems
• Facilitate gathering the right people together to answer key technical questions
• Drive client and internal communication, including difficult conversations on scope, timeline and budget
• Manage team morale, stress and time in order to maintain a healthy project culture and client relationship
• Prepare reports and other documentation
• Perform customer service role for projects, and work with the Business Development Team to manage client relationships 
• Mange and track project budget, resourcing, and schedule across multiple teams and projects
• Drive the creation of project budgets, work breakdowns, rough-order estimates, task prioritization, and integration plans
• Assist in screening of candidates and contractors 
• Participates in the development of internal PM tools, policies and best practices 

What You Will Need:

• Bachelor's degree (Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Math, Management, Business, or related fields)
• 5-7+ years experience working as a project manager in a related field 
• Familiarity with the labor breakdown and execution of engineering projects and project planning
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills on technical topics
• Ability to recognize project risk, scope creep, and missing critical requirements
• High level of organization and responsiveness
• Ability to implement low-overhead systems to track work and effort
• Familiarity with project management tools, such as Microsoft Project, Mavenlink, Jira, Confluence, etc.

What Would Be Useful:

• Direct experience in technical electrical engineering project management
• Demonstrated project leadership experience in a team setting
• Experience developing and deploying infrastructure and process improvements
• Familiarity with formal project accounting and reporting
• Experience with electrical engineering design work and solid knowledge of embedded systems, firmware, power elec