NPI Lead

II-VI Aerospace & Defense

$100K — $130K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or similar field.
  • 7+ years of relevant experience with a Bachelor's; 5 years with a Master's; or 3 years with a PhD; or equivalent.
  • Strong technical expertise in product development and manufacturing engineering.
  • Proven leadership in cross-functional project management with diverse teams.
  • Familiarity with NPI, product lifecycle management, and qualification processes.

Responsibilities

  • Lead NPI programs through the complete phase-gate process.
  • Develop and manage program plans, milestone trackers, and status updates.
  • Coordinate transitions of new products into production with full operational support.
  • Organize phase-gate and technical reviews to assess project readiness.
  • Identify risks across multiple functions and drive mitigation actions.
  • Support development activities including experiment planning and troubleshooting.
  • Partner with engineering to enhance manufacturing processes and production preparedness.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health and wellness programs.
  • Opportunities for professional development and career growth.
  • Flexible work arrangements and work-life balance initiatives.
  • Participation in ISO compliance and quality improvement practices.
Full Job Description
Job Description

Key Responsibilities
  • Lead NPI programs through the full phase-gate process; Serve as the central coordination point between PLM, R&D, Engineering, Quality, Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, and Supply Chain to align priorities, actions, and timelines.
  • Develop and maintain program plans, milestone trackers, action registers, risk assessments, and status updates to ensure visibility and accountability.
  • Coordinate the transition of new products, processes, or technical capabilities from development into production, ensuring readiness for manufacturing, quality, documentation, and operational support.
  • Organize and lead phase-gate reviews, readiness reviews, technical reviews, and post-launch lessons learned.
  • Identify technical, manufacturing, quality, and schedule risks early; drive mitigation plans with the appropriate functional owners.
  • Support development and technical activities where needed, including experiment planning, data review and technical troubleshooting
  • Partner with Engineering and Operations to improve manufacturability, repeatability, yield, process capability, cycle time, and overall production readiness.
  • Ensure required documentation is created, reviewed, and released, including specifications, process documentation, test requirements, control plans, technical drawings or equivalent documentation, and qualification records.
  • Track launch and readiness metrics, communicate program status to stakeholders and leadership, and escalate barriers when needed.


Experience and Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or related technical discipline.
  • Typically requires a minimum of 7 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 5 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD with 3 years experience; or equivalent experience.
  • Strong technical background with experience in product development, process development, manufacturing engineering, NPI, or technical program management.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional projects across R&D, PLM, Engineering, Quality, Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and customer-facing teams.
  • Experience with phase-gate, product lifecycle, qualification, manufacturing readiness, or design transfer processes.

Strong communication, organization, risk management, data analysis, and independent execution skills, with the ability to support technical troubleshooting and continuous improvement

Safety Requirements

All employees are required to follow the site EHS procedures and Coherent Corp. Corporate EHS standards.

Quality and Environmental Responsibilities

Depending on location, this position may be responsible for the execution and maintenance of the ISO 9000, 9001, 14001 and/or other applicable standards that may apply to the relevant roles and responsibilities within the Quality Management System and Environmental Management System.

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