Project managers, in my opinion, ensure the completion of a project or a product. They are the ones who are in charge of organizing the schedule and the logistics of a given project. Although, he/she may not be directly working on the project, he/she must be able to contribute to its development.
With that, I believe that to be a successful project manager, you must be well-versed in the field at which the project will be focused on. He/she must know the little tips, nuances, and details that pertain to the development of a project in order to ensure its complete success. In the case of the development of a medical device, a medical device project manager has to be versed in different legal, financial, and medical requirements in the development of any medical device. I believe that this is important because in order to create a solid schedule and a bill of essential components, he/she must be able to factor in every single detail so that each milestone accounts for successful completion of the project. If the project manager or the team fails to include an essential component of the project, then that may cause problems and in terms of big businesses, problems in the form of millions of dollars.
Of course, knowledge could be built through experience. Prior experience from one field to another can be transferred and may contribute to the success of a project in a different field. Overall, the project manager is responsible for the organization of the project. The leader must be able to unite all the different groups that are within the project and increase their overall efficiency. Transferring from one field to another may be difficult, however, I believe that projects can be accomplished by any project engineer.