Project Manager Job Description
A complete project manager job description template, the ATS keywords behind it, and how the role splits between certified delivery and informal coordination.
"Project Manager" hides one of the widest splits in this list. At one end is a certified delivery role: a PMP holder running a formal budget, a detailed schedule, a documented risk log, and status reports up to an executive steering committee. At the other end is informal coordination — someone, often without "project manager" as their only job title, chasing down deadlines, running a weekly check-in, and keeping a shared spreadsheet honest. Both get called project manager, and a posting rarely tells you which one it means before you're three sections in.
The signal is in the requirements list, not the summary. A posting requiring PMP certification, formal budget authority, or a named methodology (Waterfall, Agile, PRINCE2) is describing the formal end. A posting that lists "strong organizational skills" and "comfortable following up" as the top qualifications, without mentioning certification or a specific framework, is describing the coordination end — a real and common job, just a far less structured one than the title implies.
This posting sits closer to the formal end: a company running enough parallel initiatives that it needs someone with real schedule, budget and stakeholder-management authority, not just a tracker of tasks. If you're comparing it to another project manager posting that reads very differently, that's not a mismatch in either posting — it's the title doing what it always does.
Marrowfen · Remote (US)
Full-time · Remote
$78,000 – $108,000
About the role
Marrowfen is hiring a remote Project Manager to lead cross-functional initiatives across our logistics network — distribution center launches, system rollouts (WMS and TMS implementations), and process-improvement projects that touch multiple departments at once. You'll own each project's plan and budget from kickoff through close-out.
You won't have formal authority over most of the people on your projects — they report to operations, IT or procurement, not to you — so the job depends on running a tight enough process, and clear enough communication, that people choose to stay on schedule. We run a small internal PMO and expect you to use its templates and reporting cadence rather than invent your own each time.
What you'll do
- Own the full lifecycle of assigned projects — scope, plan, budget, schedule, execution and close-out.
- Build and maintain project schedules, and report status in the format and cadence stakeholders at every level actually read.
- Run weekly status meetings, track action items to closure, and escalate blockers before they become missed deadlines.
- Maintain a risk and issue log, and drive mitigation plans rather than just recording that something is at risk.
- Coordinate across operations, IT and outside vendors to align resources, dependencies and timelines.
- Track project budgets against plan and flag variances as soon as they appear, not at the next scheduled review.
- Manage change requests, documenting their impact to scope, schedule and budget before they're approved.
What we're looking for
- 3+ years managing cross-functional projects, ideally in logistics, supply chain or operations.
- Comfort running both structured (Waterfall or stage-gate) and iterative (Agile or Kanban) projects — most companies use a mix, whatever the org chart says.
- Hands-on proficiency with a project-management tool such as Asana, Smartsheet or Microsoft Project.
- Strong written and verbal communication — you'll translate between frontline operations staff and executive sponsors in the same week.
- Demonstrated ability to own a project budget and report variance without being asked.
- Ability to keep a project moving and a room aligned without formal authority over most of the people in it.
Nice to have
- PMP certification, or actively working toward one.
- Experience with Agile/Scrum in a hybrid delivery environment; CSM or similar a plus.
- Experience managing a WMS, TMS or ERP implementation specifically.
- Six Sigma or other process-improvement background.
- Experience running projects with a distributed team across multiple time zones and physical sites.
Benefits
- Fully remote role, open to candidates anywhere in the US.
- Medical, dental and vision coverage, with employee premiums covered in full.
- 401(k) with a 4% company match, vested immediately.
- Flexible PTO, with no set accrual cap.
- Annual certification budget that covers PMP exam and renewal fees.
Salary range
As posted for this sample role. Real pay varies by employer, location and experience.
$78,000–$108,000/ yr
ATS keywords for this role
The applicant tracking system (ATS) — the recruiting software a hiring team searches and filters applicants with — will screen for these. Weight shows how central each one is to this specific posting.
Required and central (3)
Important (6)
Mentioned in passing (9)
Frequently asked questions
Do I need PMP certification to get hired as a project manager?
It depends heavily on the company. Larger organizations with a formal PMO often require or strongly prefer it; smaller companies, or ones where 'project manager' means informal coordination, rarely ask for it at all. If a posting doesn't mention certification anywhere, that's usually a signal about which kind of role it is.
What's the difference between a project manager and a program manager?
A project has a defined scope and end date; a program is a portfolio of related projects managed together, usually by someone more senior. In practice, smaller companies use the two titles almost interchangeably, so the responsibilities section is a better guide than the title.
Can I move into project management without prior PM experience?
Yes — it's a common transition from coordinator, analyst or team-lead roles in the function you already know. Employers weigh a track record of shipping cross-functional work more heavily than the job title on your last role, especially for less formal PM positions.
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