Duties & Responsibilities:

New Product Introduction (Ops NPI) Project Manager

Summary
The Ops NPI Project Manager will lead cross-functional Operations teams in the planning and execution of new product introductions - with an initial focus on Tips and Adaptors (T&A), the fiber optic interface accessories that connect diverse cable and connector types to VIAVI test instruments - ensuring a smooth and successful transition from design engineering to full-scale production at either a VIAVI owned factory or the factory of a contract manufacturing (CM) partner.

This role serves as the central Operations point of contact for all product launch activities, managing timelines, budgets, and risks to meet strategic business objectives focusing on schedule, quality, delivery, and cost. This role requires close collaboration across four R&D teams in the United States (Bothell, WA and Indianapolis, IN), Canada (Ottawa), and France (St. Etienne), as well as T&A contract manufacturers in China and Thailand.

Essential duties and responsibilities

Project management: Lead the Operations elements of the NPI process from project initiation through production launch, first customer shipment, and into volume production.

• Represent Operations on the cross functional NPI project team
• Drive integrated project planning to establish work commitments and dependencies between Operations and other functions
• Lead the Operations team to execute to the requirements of the Product Development Process (PDP), including functional deliverables to support project goals
• Drive Operations execution to plan including:
  • Alignment and documentation of project goals and metrics
  • Project resourcing
  • Management of work commitments across the Operations team, ensuring required deliverables are completed on time
  • Project expense (capital and operational) forecasting and performance to plan
  • Capacity planning and production ramp planning

Cross-functional collaboration: Coordinate and manage a diverse operations team, including test engineering, manufacturing engineering, and supply chain; coordinate requirements and deliverables across four geographically dispersed R&D teams (Bothell, Indianapolis, Ottawa, St. Etienne), the extended internal team (product line management, service, finance, etc.), and external T&A manufacturing partners in China and Thailand.

Process and tool alignment: Evaluate and drive convergence of NPI tracking and requirements management across all four R&D sites - currently split between Jira (Bothell) and VIAVI's standard Product Development Process (Indianapolis, Ottawa, St. Etienne) - to a single unified tool, a standardized PDP instance, or an agreed hybrid solution.

Manufacturing launch and production ramp: Ensure manufacturing requirements for production launch and ramp, at either a VIAVI or a CM factory, are met during the NPI process.

• DFx and Supply Chain reviews are executed at appropriate phase of the NPI process
• Drive Supply Chain and manufacturing process development concurrently with product development
• Manufacturing process development is complete and validated prior to pilot build

Risk management: Proactively identify project risks, develop mitigation strategies, and resolve issues that arise during the NPI process to keep projects on track.

Stakeholder communication: Provide clear and regular communication to stakeholders and senior leadership on project status, progress against milestones, and resource utilization.

Continuous improvement: Conduct post-mortem analysis of completed projects to identify lessons learned and drive continuous improvement in NPI processes and tools.

Technical knowledge: Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, engineering design, and product lifecycle management.

Methodology proficiency: Experience with project management tools and methodologies (e.g., Phase-Gate, Lean, Agile).

Pre-Requisites / Skills / Experience Requirements:

Experience:

• 5 years of project management leading teams to achieve aggressive cost, quality, and schedule targets
• 5 years of NPI project management experience in a cross functional environment (R&D, Operations, PLM, Service, etc.)
• Experience managing teams across multiple countries and continents, including coordination across North American and European time zones and cultures
• Strong understanding of the CM environment through direct experience managing CM operations or through successful transfer of products into a CM
• Working knowledge of Jira and phase-gate product development processes; experience evaluating, selecting, or harmonizing project management tools across distributed teams

Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field.

Preferred qualifications

PMP or other project management certification.

Professional qualification in Risk Management, Six Sigma, Lean, CPI

Familiarity with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.

Experience in fiber optics, test and measurement, or a related photonics field.

If you have what it takes to push boundaries and seize opportunities, apply to join our team today.

Job Posting Pay Range:
103,600
to
192,400

Exceptional qualifications, experience and location may impact salary. VIAVI offers a competitive benefits package that includes paid time off, health, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and a bonus program.