Project Management Lead Visa Sponsorship Jobs in South Carolina
Project management lead roles in South Carolina are concentrated in manufacturing, aerospace, and defense sectors, with employers like BMW Manufacturing, Boeing, and Michelin operating major facilities in the Upstate and Lowcountry regions. Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston are the primary hiring markets, and international candidates regularly secure H-1B visa sponsorship for these positions.
Find Project Management Lead JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 82+ Project Management Lead Jobs in South Carolina with Visa Sponsorship
See all 82+ Project Management Lead Jobs in South Carolina with Visa Sponsorship
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Project Management Lead Jobs in South Carolina with Visa Sponsorship.
Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
EnerSys is a global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications. We have over thirty manufacturing and assembly plants worldwide servicing over 10,000 customers in more than 100 countries. Worldwide headquarters are located in Reading, PA, USA with regional headquarters in Europe and Asia. We complement our extensive line of Motive Power and Energy Systems with a full range of integrated services and systems. With sales and service locations throughout the world, and over 100 years of battery experience, EnerSys is the power/full solution for stored DC power products.
Job Purpose
The Program Manager, IT/OT & Digitalization will lead the strategic planning, implementation, and management of digital manufacturing initiatives for a new Lithium Gigafactory. This role is the primary business and technology leader for the operational technology (OT) and digital manufacturing stack — from the PLC and control layer on the shop floor, through SCADA, historians, and MES, up to enterprise platforms — driving Industry 4.0 transformation and OT/IT convergence across the plant.
The successful candidate will partner closely with Automation & Controls Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance & Reliability, Supply Chain, Enterprise IT, IT Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity teams to deliver a secure, scalable, world-class smart factory ecosystem built on modern industrial architectures — unified namespace, edge computing, and Industrial IoT.
This role focuses on the integration and optimization of OT and manufacturing platforms — including PLCs, SCADA/HMI, industrial historians, MES/MOM, CMMS/EAM, and advanced analytics — to support safe, efficient, and scalable production operations.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Program Leadership: Lead the IT/OT & Digitalization program for the Lithium Gigafactory from concept through commissioning and production ramp-up, ensuring alignment with business objectives, operational requirements, and project timelines.
- OT & Digital Manufacturing Strategy: Develop and execute the factory’s OT and digital manufacturing roadmap aligned with Industry 4.0 principles, leveraging Industrial IoT, edge computing, digital twins, AI/ML, and automation.
- Control Systems & PLC Enablement: Partner with Automation and Controls Engineering to standardize PLC and DCS architectures (e.g., Rockwell / Allen-Bradley, Siemens), programming and I/O standards, and data-acquisition design so production assets are delivered connectivity-ready and aligned to enterprise OT standards.
- OT Platform Integration: Lead deployment and integration across the OT platform stack — PLC/DCS control layer, SCADA/HMI (e.g., Ignition, FactoryTalk, AVEVA), industrial historians, and MES/MOM — ensuring reliable, contextualized information flow from equipment to enterprise systems.
- Shop-Floor Connectivity & OT/IT Convergence: Establish modern connectivity standards (OPC UA, MQTT) and a unified namespace to break down data silos and enable a connected, event-driven factory from sensor to boardroom.
- Manufacturing Data & Intelligence: Govern the manufacturing data strategy — time-series historization, contextualization, operational dashboards, OEE/KPIs, condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, and enterprise data-platform integration — to enable data-driven operational excellence.
- IT Infrastructure Collaboration: Partner with IT Infrastructure, Network, and Platform teams to define industrial networking, edge/compute, and storage requirements, and ensure segmentation and resilience appropriate to the OT environment.
- Cybersecurity (Secure-by-Design): Work with Cybersecurity and Information Security to align manufacturing solutions with corporate and industry security standards, enforcing secure-by-design principles, network segmentation, and least-privilege access for OT assets and data flows.
- Vendor & System Integrator Management: Evaluate, select, and manage automation vendors, OT platform providers, and system integrators, ensuring deliverables meet operational requirements, technology standards, budget, and schedule.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Serve as the connective tissue across Manufacturing Operations, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance & Reliability, Supply Chain, Enterprise IT, Automation & Controls, IT Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and external technology partners.
- Risk, Budget & Schedule Management: Own program budgets, plans, resources, risks, and dependencies to deliver digital manufacturing initiatives on scope, schedule, and budget.
- Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Track emerging OT and Industry 4.0 technologies and continuously identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, throughput, sustainability, and overall operational performance.
Qualifications
Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or Engineering (Electrical, Controls, Industrial, or Mechanical), or a related field.
Experience:
- 7–10 years in IT/OT program management, with a focus on digital manufacturing, automation, and factory operations in a high-tech or process/discrete manufacturing environment.
- Proven delivery of large-scale OT and manufacturing systems: PLC/SCADA rollouts, historian and MES/MOM implementations, and smart-factory or greenfield plant programs.
- Working knowledge of OT/IT convergence patterns and modern connectivity approaches (unified namespace, OPC UA, edge computing).
- Industry 4.0 concepts such as IIoT, digital twins, and AI/ML for manufacturing.
Technical Skills:
- Hands-on familiarity with PLC platforms (Rockwell / Allen-Bradley, Siemens), SCADA/HMI, and industrial historians.
- Understanding of OT platforms (e.g., Ignition, AVEVA, FactoryTalk), MES/MOM, and CMMS/EAM solutions.
- Industrial networking, cybersecurity, cloud/edge data platforms, and data analytics.
Soft Skills:
- Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder-management skills across both OT and IT audiences.
- Strong problem-solving abilities with a track record of innovation and change management.
- Ability to perform under pressure in a fast-paced, dynamic greenfield environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience commissioning greenfield or gigafactory-scale manufacturing facilities.
- Experience in battery, electronics, or other high-tech manufacturing.
- Familiarity with lithium / battery-cell manufacturing processes and associated OT.
- PMP, ITIL, or a relevant OT/industrial cybersecurity certification.
- Experience with agile and hybrid project-management methodologies.
EnerSys provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
Know Your Rights
Know Your Rights (Spanish)
INTRODUCTION
EnerSys is a global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications. We have over thirty manufacturing and assembly plants worldwide servicing over 10,000 customers in more than 100 countries. Worldwide headquarters are located in Reading, PA, USA with regional headquarters in Europe and Asia. We complement our extensive line of Motive Power and Energy Systems with a full range of integrated services and systems. With sales and service locations throughout the world, and over 100 years of battery experience, EnerSys is the power/full solution for stored DC power products.
Job Purpose
The Program Manager, IT/OT & Digitalization will lead the strategic planning, implementation, and management of digital manufacturing initiatives for a new Lithium Gigafactory. This role is the primary business and technology leader for the operational technology (OT) and digital manufacturing stack — from the PLC and control layer on the shop floor, through SCADA, historians, and MES, up to enterprise platforms — driving Industry 4.0 transformation and OT/IT convergence across the plant.
The successful candidate will partner closely with Automation & Controls Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance & Reliability, Supply Chain, Enterprise IT, IT Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity teams to deliver a secure, scalable, world-class smart factory ecosystem built on modern industrial architectures — unified namespace, edge computing, and Industrial IoT.
This role focuses on the integration and optimization of OT and manufacturing platforms — including PLCs, SCADA/HMI, industrial historians, MES/MOM, CMMS/EAM, and advanced analytics — to support safe, efficient, and scalable production operations.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Program Leadership: Lead the IT/OT & Digitalization program for the Lithium Gigafactory from concept through commissioning and production ramp-up, ensuring alignment with business objectives, operational requirements, and project timelines.
- OT & Digital Manufacturing Strategy: Develop and execute the factory’s OT and digital manufacturing roadmap aligned with Industry 4.0 principles, leveraging Industrial IoT, edge computing, digital twins, AI/ML, and automation.
- Control Systems & PLC Enablement: Partner with Automation and Controls Engineering to standardize PLC and DCS architectures (e.g., Rockwell / Allen-Bradley, Siemens), programming and I/O standards, and data-acquisition design so production assets are delivered connectivity-ready and aligned to enterprise OT standards.
- OT Platform Integration: Lead deployment and integration across the OT platform stack — PLC/DCS control layer, SCADA/HMI (e.g., Ignition, FactoryTalk, AVEVA), industrial historians, and MES/MOM — ensuring reliable, contextualized information flow from equipment to enterprise systems.
- Shop-Floor Connectivity & OT/IT Convergence: Establish modern connectivity standards (OPC UA, MQTT) and a unified namespace to break down data silos and enable a connected, event-driven factory from sensor to boardroom.
- Manufacturing Data & Intelligence: Govern the manufacturing data strategy — time-series historization, contextualization, operational dashboards, OEE/KPIs, condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, and enterprise data-platform integration — to enable data-driven operational excellence.
- IT Infrastructure Collaboration: Partner with IT Infrastructure, Network, and Platform teams to define industrial networking, edge/compute, and storage requirements, and ensure segmentation and resilience appropriate to the OT environment.
- Cybersecurity (Secure-by-Design): Work with Cybersecurity and Information Security to align manufacturing solutions with corporate and industry security standards, enforcing secure-by-design principles, network segmentation, and least-privilege access for OT assets and data flows.
- Vendor & System Integrator Management: Evaluate, select, and manage automation vendors, OT platform providers, and system integrators, ensuring deliverables meet operational requirements, technology standards, budget, and schedule.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Serve as the connective tissue across Manufacturing Operations, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance & Reliability, Supply Chain, Enterprise IT, Automation & Controls, IT Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and external technology partners.
- Risk, Budget & Schedule Management: Own program budgets, plans, resources, risks, and dependencies to deliver digital manufacturing initiatives on scope, schedule, and budget.
- Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Track emerging OT and Industry 4.0 technologies and continuously identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, throughput, sustainability, and overall operational performance.
Qualifications
Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or Engineering (Electrical, Controls, Industrial, or Mechanical), or a related field.
Experience:
- 7–10 years in IT/OT program management, with a focus on digital manufacturing, automation, and factory operations in a high-tech or process/discrete manufacturing environment.
- Proven delivery of large-scale OT and manufacturing systems: PLC/SCADA rollouts, historian and MES/MOM implementations, and smart-factory or greenfield plant programs.
- Working knowledge of OT/IT convergence patterns and modern connectivity approaches (unified namespace, OPC UA, edge computing).
- Industry 4.0 concepts such as IIoT, digital twins, and AI/ML for manufacturing.
Technical Skills:
- Hands-on familiarity with PLC platforms (Rockwell / Allen-Bradley, Siemens), SCADA/HMI, and industrial historians.
- Understanding of OT platforms (e.g., Ignition, AVEVA, FactoryTalk), MES/MOM, and CMMS/EAM solutions.
- Industrial networking, cybersecurity, cloud/edge data platforms, and data analytics.
Soft Skills:
- Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder-management skills across both OT and IT audiences.
- Strong problem-solving abilities with a track record of innovation and change management.
- Ability to perform under pressure in a fast-paced, dynamic greenfield environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience commissioning greenfield or gigafactory-scale manufacturing facilities.
- Experience in battery, electronics, or other high-tech manufacturing.
- Familiarity with lithium / battery-cell manufacturing processes and associated OT.
- PMP, ITIL, or a relevant OT/industrial cybersecurity certification.
- Experience with agile and hybrid project-management methodologies.
EnerSys provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
Know Your Rights
Know Your Rights (Spanish)
Project Management Lead Job Roles in South Carolina
See all 82+ Project Management Lead Jobs in South Carolina
Sign up for free to filter by visa type, set job alerts, and find employers with verified sponsorship history.
Search Project Management Lead Jobs in South CarolinaProject Management Lead Jobs in South Carolina: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies sponsor visas for project management leads in South Carolina?
BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg, Boeing in North Charleston, Michelin North America in Greenville, and Nephros and other life sciences firms in the Columbia area have histories of sponsoring H-1B workers in project management roles. Large healthcare systems like Prisma Health and MUSC also sponsor project management leads for technology and operations positions, particularly when candidates hold specialized credentials like a PMP.
Which visa types are most common for project management lead roles in South Carolina?
The H-1B is the most common visa category for project management leads in South Carolina, as the role typically requires a bachelor's degree in engineering, business, or a related field, satisfying the specialty occupation standard. Some candidates with Canadian or Mexican citizenship qualify under the TN visa category if their degree aligns with an eligible TN profession. Intracompany transfers via the L-1A are also used at multinational manufacturers operating in the state.
Which cities in South Carolina have the most project management lead sponsorship jobs?
Greenville and Spartanburg in the Upstate region see the highest concentration of project management lead openings, driven by automotive and advanced manufacturing employers. Charleston is a strong secondary market due to Boeing and a growing technology sector in its port and logistics industries. Columbia, as the state capital and home to several large hospital networks and government contractors, also generates consistent demand for sponsored project management professionals.
How to find project management lead visa sponsorship jobs in South Carolina?
Migrate Mate filters job listings specifically for roles offering visa sponsorship, making it straightforward to browse project management lead positions in South Carolina without sorting through employers who do not sponsor. You can filter by location to target Greenville, Charleston, or Columbia specifically. Migrate Mate also surfaces employers with documented H-1B sponsorship activity, which is particularly useful for project management leads evaluating which South Carolina companies are realistic options.
Are there any state-specific considerations for project management leads seeking visa sponsorship in South Carolina?
South Carolina's manufacturing-heavy economy means many project management lead roles are tied to production environments where PMP certification or an engineering background strengthens both the job application and the H-1B specialty occupation case. The state's Clemson University and University of South Carolina supply local talent pipelines, but international candidates with specialized industry experience in automotive, aerospace, or advanced manufacturing remain competitive. Prevailing wage requirements still apply, and employers must file a Labor Condition Application with the Department of Labor before sponsoring any H-1B worker.
What is the prevailing wage for sponsored project management lead jobs in South Carolina?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.