The Role
Leads global network partner initiatives from planning through delivery, managing scope, schedules, budgets, risks, governance, and cross-functional dependencies. Coordinates supply chain, sourcing, quality, operations, technology, sales, engineering, pricing, and logistics stakeholders. Drives partner performance, lead-time improvements, pricing competitiveness, and profitable growth while ensuring project adherence to enterprise standards. The role also advances continuous improvement across partner operations, supply chain workflows, and ePMO practices.
Summary Generated by Built In
Be yourself at Protolabs
Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building a diverse team that feels they are valued in the workplace. So do you feel you do not meet every single requirement but still intrigued? We encourage you to still apply! You can help make our company even better. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, mental or physical ability, or any way you represent yourself. We strongly believe diversity makes for more successful teams.
Why Protolabs?
We are the leaders in digital manufacturing. We hire doers, makers, and creative thinkers who tackle our roles with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our culture is centered around meaningful work that brings new and innovative products to market at unprecedented speeds. We are a diverse team that comes from all walks of life and take pride in our team who is smart, genuine, humble, and passionate about what we do. It’s our people who fuel our creativity and make our culture feel like home.
We are accepting applications from candidates based in the Netherlands, and this is a hybrid role requiring weekly onsite presence.
The Network Pillar Project Manager plays a pivotal role in shaping and growing Protolabs' global network of third-party manufacturing partners. This position leads high-impact initiatives that strengthen partner performance, accelerate lead times, enhance pricing competitiveness, and drive profitable business growth. Working across supply chain, sourcing, quality, partner operations, and technology teams, the Project Manager turns strategy into action, delivering innovative solutions and measurable results that expand the reach and capabilities of the Network Pillar program.
What You Will Do:
- Define project scope, goals, success metrics, and deliverables.
- Develop and maintain detailed project plans, schedules, and roadmaps for assigned workstreams.
- Manage project timelines, budgets, resource requirements, and deliverables; hold task owners accountable to commitments.
- Track expenditures and ensure costs align with forecasts; communicate deviations and manage variances proactively. Cross-Functional Coordination
- Lead cross-functional project teams spanning supply chain, sourcing, quality, partner operations, sales, engineering, GTS, pricing, and logistics. Accountable for bringing the project team along and driving alignment across workstreams.
- Support the project sponsor — who is accountable for the business case and evangelizing the need across the organization — by coordinating stakeholder engagement alongside a change leader.
- Facilitate effective communication, decision-making, and alignment across diverse stakeholder groups including manufacturing staff, engineers, and executives.
- Balance competing priorities and dependencies across parallel workstreams within the Network Pillar program. Governance, Reporting & Risk Management
- Establish and maintain project governance structures consistent with ePMO standards and methodologies.
- Monitor and report on project progress, milestones, risks, and financials to program leadership and executive stakeholders.
- Identify risks, dependencies, and change impacts; develop and execute mitigation strategies.
- Drive adherence to enterprise project management standards, tools, and best practices. Continuous Improvement
- Evaluate project outcomes and identify opportunities for process improvement in partner operations, supply chain workflows, and delivery methodologies.
- Contribute to the maturation of ePMO practices, templates, and governance frameworks.
- Other duties as assigned.
Project Planning & Execution
What You Bring:
- Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, operations, manufacturing, engineering, business, or a related field — or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 10 or more years of direct project management experience, with at least 5 years in manufacturing, supply chain, or operations environments.
- Demonstrated experience managing projects involving 3rd party vendors, contract manufacturers, or outsourced service providers.
- Experience managing multiple concurrent projects with cross-functional dependencies in a matrixed organization.
- Proven track record of delivering projects on time, within budget, and to defined quality standards.
- Experience with standard project management tools and dashboards (e.g., Asana, AzDO, Jira, or equivalent).
- Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, supply chain processes, and vendor/partner management principles.
- Innate sense of accountability and ownership for successful project delivery.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities; skilled in engaging individuals from manufacturing floor staff to executive leadership.
- Strong influence, critical thinking, and analytical skills; ability to translate data into actionable decisions.
- Financial acumen with experience managing project budgets and tracking cost performance.
- Ability to navigate organizational complexity and drive cross-functional collaboration in a matrixed environment.
- Effective and adaptable style aligned with the Protolabs culture: collaboration, flexibility, innovation, and results orientation.
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trusted relationships across internal teams and external partners.
- Experience with project delivery frameworks (Agile, hybrid, waterfall, or Strategy Deployment).
- Formal project management training.
What Sets You Apart:
- PMP or PgMP certification (PMI).
- Experience in digital manufacturing, CNC machining, injection molding, 3D printing, or related manufacturing processes.
- Experience with marketplace or platform business models involving supplier networks.
- Understanding of pricing models, quoting systems, or commercial operations in a manufacturing context.
- Experience with ERP, MES, or supply chain management systems.
What's In It For You:
- Part of our incredible journey is clearly down to our amazing team, and we strongly believe in giving people a space to truly, authentically be themselves. We also believe that treating our employees well and sprinkling a great place to work with some nice perks can make work a little sweeter.
- Annual company bonus. We celebrate success together! Employees are not only rewarded for their achievements but also for contributing to the overall success of the business.
- Wellness and well-being with access to OpenUp psychologists, practice mindfulness with Headspace and tons more.
- Doggo-friendly office. We are big pet lovers and fully encourage hanging out with your (and your colleagues’) furry friends in the office
- Daily Lunch and snacks are provided in the office; it's a moment for our teams to connect and recharge. Shared meals strengthen our bonds and fuel collaboration.
- We offer learning and development days to be used for training or on volunteering, money to spend on learning courses, events, trainings, Access to our in-house LEARN platform with diverse courses, training, and workshops, In-house 3D Printing and much more!
- Follow us on Instagram to see what Life at Protolabs is all about!
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, operations, manufacturing, engineering, business, or a related field, or equivalent education and experience
- 10 or more years of direct project management experience
- At least 5 years of experience in manufacturing, supply chain, or operations environments
- Experience managing projects involving third-party vendors, contract manufacturers, or outsourced service providers
- Experience managing multiple concurrent projects with cross-functional dependencies in a matrixed organization
- Proven record of delivering projects on time, within budget, and to defined quality standards
- Experience with project management tools and dashboards such as Asana, Azure DevOps, Jira, or equivalent
- Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, supply chain processes, and vendor or partner management
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities
- Strong influence, critical thinking, and analytical skills
- Financial acumen, including project budget management and cost-performance tracking
- Ability to navigate organizational complexity and drive cross-functional collaboration
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with internal teams and external partners
- Experience with Agile, hybrid, waterfall, or Strategy Deployment project delivery frameworks
- Formal project management training
- PMP or PgMP certification
- Experience in digital manufacturing, CNC machining, injection molding, 3D printing, or related processes
- Experience with marketplace or platform business models involving supplier networks
- Understanding of pricing models, quoting systems, or commercial operations in manufacturing
- Experience with ERP, MES, or supply chain management systems
Protolabs Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Protolabs and has not been reviewed or approved by Protolabs.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision options are broadly available and described as good to excellent. Additional protections like short- and long-term disability and life insurance bolster the overall package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — A starting PTO allotment plus paid holidays, along with added wellness and volunteer time, is emphasized, with some roles noting PTO growth over tenure. Paid caregiver leave appears in postings and supports flexibility for life events.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with company match and immediate vesting is offered, supporting long-term savings. This foundation is frequently cited alongside core financial benefits as a strong element of total rewards.
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The Company
What We Do
Protolabs is the world's fastest digital manufacturing source for rapid prototyping and on-demand production. The technology-enabled company produces custom parts and assemblies in as fast as 1 day with automated 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, and injection molding processes. Our digital approach to manufacturing enables accelerated time to market, reduces development and production costs, and minimizes risk throughout the product life cycle. 3D Printing Our 3D printing service offers a wide selection of materials and technologies to create prototypes and end-use parts with complex geometries and detailed features. With tight process controls, careful design reviews, and extensive quality monitoring, we ensure precise and repeatable 3D-printed parts, every time. CNC Machining We use 3- and 5-axis milling along with turning to machine parts from commercial-grade plastics and metals. Our online quoting system and automated manufacturing process enable us to ship parts within 24 hours, helping customers accelerate development and reduce time to market. Sheet Metal Fabrication Protolabs is an industry leader in quick-turn sheet metal parts for both prototyping and low-volume production. Our digital approach to manufacturing enables us to fabricate sheet metal parts in as fast as 5 days. Additionally, we can support our customers’ development efforts with component assemblies, several finish options, and screen printing. Injection Molding Our injection molding service offers two options—prototyping and on-demand manufacturing—which provide customers a tooling solution that aligns with their project’s requirements. It’s used for quick-turn prototyping, bridge tooling, and low-volume production of up to 10,000+ parts in 15 days or less.
