CAPEX Project Manager
Date: Nov 3, 2026
Location: Garden Grove, CA, US
Company: GKN Aerospace Careers
Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.
GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.6bn in 2025. There are no limits to where you can take your career.
Job Summary
The CAPEX Project Manager is responsible for leading and executing large, complex capital investment projects for the Garden Grove site. This role manages projects from initial concept and business-case development through design, procurement, construction, equipment installation, commissioning, startup, and closeout. The position partners with site leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to deliver projects safely, on schedule, within approved scope and budget, and in alignment with operational and business objectives.
Job Responsibilities
- Lead large-scale capital projects involving manufacturing equipment, facility infrastructure, site improvements, production capacity, and process modernization.
- Define project scope, objectives, deliverables, schedules, resource requirements, budgets, assumptions, and success criteria. Present business cases, capital appropriation requests, cost estimates, cash-flow forecasts, and project expenditure tracking.
- Manage the complete project lifecycle, including feasibility, design, permitting, procurement, construction, installation, validation, commissioning, startup, and closeout.
- Create and maintain integrated project plans, milestone schedules, risk registers, action logs, change controls, and status reports.
- Coordinate cross-functional teams that may include Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, EH&S, Quality, Finance, Supply Chain, IT, Security, and Human Resources.
- Select and manage engineering firms, contractors, construction partners, equipment suppliers, and other external resources.
- Monitor project performance against scope, cost, schedule, safety, and quality requirements; identify variances and implement corrective actions.
- Ensure project work complies with company standards, safety expectations, environmental requirements, applicable codes, permits, and regulatory obligations.
- Lead design reviews, constructability reviews, equipment acceptance activities, installation readiness, and operational handoff.
- Communicate project status, key decisions, risks, financial performance, and escalation needs to site and business leadership.
- Manage project changes through disciplined review, documentation, approval, and impact assessment.
- Ensure complete turnover documentation, training, spare-parts planning, preventive-maintenance requirements, drawings, manuals, and lessons learned.
- Support continuous improvement and standardization of capital project governance, tools, templates, and reporting.
Job Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Business, or a related technical field.
- Five or more years of progressively responsible experience managing capital projects in a manufacturing, aerospace, industrial, engineering, or similarly complex environment.
- Demonstrated experience leading capital projects from concept through startup and closeout.
- Strong project management skills, including scope, schedule, cost, risk, change, stakeholder, vendor, and contract management.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects while maintaining attention to safety, quality, schedule, and financial controls.
- Strong analytical, planning, problem-solving, negotiation, presentation, and written and verbal communication skills.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and project scheduling or project-management software.
Preferred Qualifcations
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent formal project-management training.
- Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing, Industrial, Civil, or Construction Engineering.
- Experience in aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, or another regulated industry.
- Experience with facility utilities, electrical distribution, HVAC, compressed air, manufacturing equipment, production-line installation, and construction activities.
- Working knowledge of AutoCAD, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or continuous-improvement methods.
- Experience managing multimillion-dollar capital budgets and executive-level project reporting.
Compensation Data
Salary Range: $118,533.00 - $148,166.00
We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?
A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working
Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.
We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.
We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.

Nearest Major Market: Orange County
Nearest Secondary Market: Los Angeles