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Engineering Project Manager

Generac · Waukesha, WI · Full time

Posted Jul 28, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Walk me through a new product development project you led from concept to launch. What was your role and what was the outcome?

What they are checking: whether the candidate has actually owned the full NPI lifecycle versus a partial piece of it

Tell me about a time a cross-functional project was falling behind schedule. What did you do to get it back on track?

What they are checking: practical recovery skills and whether they take ownership under pressure rather than just reporting status

Describe a situation where you had to influence a decision, like a make-versus-buy call or supplier selection, when you didn't have authority over the people involved.

What they are checking: ability to lead without formal authority across functions like sourcing and supply chain

What's your approach to identifying project risks early, and can you give an example of a risk you caught before it became a real problem?

What they are checking: proactive risk management versus reactive firefighting

Tell me about a time you worked with an international project team. What made coordination hard, and how did you deal with it?

What they are checking: real experience managing time zones, cultural differences, and remote alignment on global teams

Tell me about a project that didn't go well. What went wrong and what did you change afterward?

What they are checking: honesty and whether they actually extract and apply lessons learned

What's an example of a continuous improvement change you pushed into a product development or NPI process, and how did you get others to adopt it?

What they are checking: whether they can drive process change and get buy-in, not just identify problems

What would you do

If Manufacturing tells you a design change will hit your cost target but Quality flags it as a reliability risk right before launch, how do you handle it?

What they are checking: how they balance competing functional priorities and make trade-off calls under time pressure

How do you keep multiple concurrent projects moving without letting one starve the others of attention or resources?

What they are checking: prioritization and resource management skills across a portfolio, not just single-project execution

How would you explain a technical design trade-off to someone in Finance or Marketing who doesn't have an engineering background?

What they are checking: communication skills across disciplines, which the posting calls out explicitly

About the work

How do you structure a project plan when requirements are still being finalized by Product Management and Engineering at the same time?

What they are checking: understanding of how to sequence work in ambiguous, concurrent development environments

How have you approached cost optimization on a product, and what levers did you actually pull to get there?

What they are checking: concrete knowledge of cost-out mechanisms like sourcing, design changes, or logistics, not just budget tracking

What project management tools or frameworks do you rely on for stage-gate or NPI processes, and how do you adapt them when the standard process doesn't fit a project?

What they are checking: whether they have real process fluency versus just naming tools they've heard of

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The full job description

As published by Generac.

We believe power is a promise - a shared commitment to be there for others when it matters most. For more than 65 years, we've turned big ideas into solutions that help protect homes, strengthen businesses and build a more resilient, efficient, sustainable energy future. Ready to Power a Smarter World with us? The Engineering Project Manager leads cross-functional product development projects from concept to launch, driving new product introductions, technology integration, cost optimization, and ongoing product improvements. In this role, you'll partner with teams across Engineering, Product Management, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Service, IT, Finance, and Marketing to deliver innovative, high-quality products that meet customer needs. Success requires strong project leadership, collaboration, and the ability to keep complex initiatives moving forward from planning through execution. Major Responsibilities: • Lead cross-functional new product development projects from concept through launch. • Drive project execution to achieve schedule, cost, quality, and scope objectives. • Partner with Engineering and Product Management to deliver innovative products and solutions. • Identify, assess, and mitigate project risks while leading contingency planning efforts. • Optimize product and lifecycle costs through strategic decision-making and collaboration. • Influence key business decisions, including sourcing, make-vs.-buy strategies, logistics, and supplier selection. • Champion continuous improvement initiatives within Generac’s product development and NPI processes. • Capture and share lessons learned and best practices to strengthen future project success. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: • Bachelor’s degree OR equivalent work experience • 5 years of progressive work experience in engineering, project engineering, brand/product management, or new product development related roles. • 3 years of project management experience leading cross-functional, international project teams. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES: • Demonstrated ability to deliver results while working simultaneously on multiple projects; balancing resources, timing and quality of outcomes • Lead and participate in the transformation from product requirements into a product design and realization plan to meet or exceed the product and business goals • Ability to influence people and teams who are not all direct reports • Demonstrated team building and leadership skills • Solid understanding of engineering technical issues/needs, manufacturing, supply chain, service, customer service, financial, sales, and marketing as related to product design and development • Demonstrated communication skills • Self-driven, highly motivated, flexible and high capacity to learn Physical Demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear; and use hands to manipulate objects or controls. The employee is regularly required to stand and walk. On occasion the incumbent may be required to stoop, bend or reach above the shoulders. The employee must occasionally lift up to 25 - 50 pounds. Specific conditions of this job are typical of frequent and continuous computer-based work requiring periods of sitting, close vision and ability to adjust focus. “We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.”

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