Field Support Project Manager – Automation & Customer Operations
AeroSpec, Inc. | Phoenix, AZ
Are you a technical leader who thrives in customer-facing environments and naturally takes ownership of complex field operations?
Do you enjoy leading teams through high-pressure technical challenges while balancing customer expectations, schedules, budgets, and long-term business relationships?
At AeroSpec, our Field Support Project Managers don’t simply coordinate service activities, they own customer success after systems leave our factory.
This role blends technical project management, field operations leadership, customer engagement, and automation system expertise into a highly visible leadership position supporting advanced manufacturing customers across the country.
If you are energized by solving real-world automation problems, leading technical teams, and driving execution in fast-moving environments, this role offers an opportunity to lead some of AeroSpec’s most critical customer programs.
Position Overview
As a Field Support Project Manager, you will lead the execution and coordination of post-build customer support activities for custom automation systems and manufacturing equipment. You will oversee field support engineers, customer installations, startup activities, troubleshooting efforts, FAT/SAT execution, and long-term customer operational success.
This role serves as the bridge between AeroSpec’s engineering teams, manufacturing operations, and customer production environments.
You will assume ownership of field execution activities after internal machine integration and guide projects through deployment, installation, startup, production stabilization, customer support, and closeout.
The ideal candidate combines:
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Strong project management capability
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Technical automation knowledge
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Leadership under pressure
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Customer-facing professionalism
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Operational decision-making
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Risk management and scheduling discipline
Key Responsibilities
Field Operations & Project Ownership
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Own execution of customer deployment activities from post-build integration through SAT completion and production handoff
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Lead installation planning, startup coordination, customer training, and field execution activities
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Manage field service schedules, resource allocation, travel coordination, and customer readiness
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Ensure projects meet customer expectations for schedule, quality, uptime, and responsiveness
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Monitor project budgets, labor utilization, service costs, and change requests
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Coordinate emergency support responses and escalation management
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Drive closure of customer issues through structured troubleshooting and accountability
Team Leadership & Technical Coordination
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Lead and mentor Field Support Engineers and cross-functional support personnel
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Coordinate activities between controls engineering, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and field teams
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Prioritize customer issues and assign technical resources effectively
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Support daily standups, deployment reviews, and customer readiness meetings
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Facilitate communication between field teams and factory engineering during troubleshooting efforts
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Ensure accurate documentation of field issues, corrective actions, and lessons learned
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Develop department processes, standards, and continuous improvement initiatives
Customer Relationship Management
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Serve as primary escalation point for customer support and field operations
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Build long-term customer relationships through professionalism, responsiveness, and technical leadership
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Conduct regular customer status meetings and communicate project risks proactively
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Aligning customer expectations with AeroSpec execution capabilities
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Identify opportunities for future business, upgrades, and service growth
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Support proposal development and customer presentations for field service and support programs
Technical & Operational Leadership
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Oversee FAT, SAT, ATP, commissioning, and production startup activities
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Support troubleshooting of automation systems including:
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PLC systems
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Robotics
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Motion control
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Vision systems
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Electrical and mechanical integration
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Assist teams in diagnosing complex equipment and production issues
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Collaborate with engineering to implement corrective actions and system improvements
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Support Agile-style execution and bug tracking workflows during deployment and stabilization phases
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Ensure compliance with AeroSpec safety and quality standards in all field activities
Qualifications
Required
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Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Project Management, or related technical field
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5+ years’ experience in automation, manufacturing, field service, or technical project leadership
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Experience leading customer-facing technical teams
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Strong understanding of industrial automation systems and manufacturing environments
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Ability to interpret mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, and technical documentation
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Excellent organizational, communication, and leadership skills
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Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and technical escalations simultaneously
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Willingness to travel as needed to support customer operations
Preferred
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Experience with custom machinery, robotics, or capital equipment deployment
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Prior field service management or customer operations leadership experience
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Experience with Allen Bradley PLCs, Fanuc robotics, or industrial automation troubleshooting
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Agile, Scrum, or hybrid project management experience
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PMP or Scrum certification
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Familiarity with FAT/SAT execution and commissioning processes
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Experience managing service budgets, billability, and resource planning
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Knowledge of ERP, DevOps, or service ticketing systems
What Success Looks Like
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Customer issues resolved quickly and professionally
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Successful onsite installations and production startups
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High customer satisfaction and repeat business
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Strong coordination between field teams and engineering
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Reduced downtime and improved first-time fix rates
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Effective management of field schedules, labor, and support costs
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Consistent execution of FAT/SAT milestones
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Strong team accountability and communication
Benefits
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Excellent growth and leadership advancement opportunities
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Competitive salary based on experience
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Medical, dental, vision, and voluntary benefits
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401(k) with company match
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Technical and leadership training opportunities
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Opportunity to work with advanced automation technologies and industry-leading customers
About AeroSpec
AeroSpec is a leader in design-engineer-build manufacturing solutions. We develop custom automation and production equipment for advanced technology industries. Our team integrates engineering, machining, controls, and manufacturing expertise to solve complex production challenges for companies building the next generation of connected products.
Learn more at www.aerospecinc.com
Source material incorporated from existing AeroSpec Field Support Engineer role documentation.
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