Koch Industries

Project Manager - New Product Introduction

Koch Industries$110K — $130K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Project Management, or a related technical discipline.
  • 10+ years of experience managing complex engineering, manufacturing, or product development projects.
  • Experience leading cross-functional teams in a regulated manufacturing environment.
  • Demonstrated success managing project schedules, budgets, risks, and stakeholder communications.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and project management tools.
  • Ability to travel up to 10% as required.

Responsibilities

  • Lead New Product Introduction (NPI) programs from concept through production launch.
  • Drive cross-functional collaboration to achieve project objectives and timelines.
  • Serve as the primary contact for stakeholders, ensuring project visibility.
  • Establish project governance and risk management plans for successful delivery.
  • Partner with various teams to identify and resolve project risks.
  • Facilitate reviews and ensure production readiness milestones are met.
  • Support proposal development and business capture activities for aerospace and defense.

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • Flexible spending and health savings accounts
  • Life and disability insurance
  • Retirement plan options
  • Paid vacation and time off
  • Educational assistance and professional development
  • Infertility assistance, paid parental leave, and adoption assistance.
Full Job Description
Your Job

Smiths Interconnect is seeking a Project Manager - Interposer Backplane to lead complex New Product Introduction (NPI) programs supporting mission-critical aerospace and defense applications. In this role, you will drive cross-functional teams through the full product development lifecycle, ensuring innovative products are delivered on time, within budget, and in compliance with customer and regulatory requirements. You will serve as the central leader responsible for aligning technical, operational, quality, supply chain, and commercial stakeholders to achieve program success.

What You Will Do
  • Lead New Product Introduction (NPI) programs from concept development through qualification, industrialization, and production launch.
  • Drive cross-functional collaboration to ensure project objectives, schedules, budgets, and customer commitments are achieved.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, providing clear communication and project visibility.
  • Establish project governance, execution strategies, and risk management plans that support successful product delivery.
  • Partner with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain teams to proactively identify and resolve risks and barriers.
  • Facilitate project reviews, design reviews, stage-gate reviews, and production readiness milestones.
  • Support proposal development, customer quotations, and business capture activities for aerospace and defense opportunities.
  • Coordinate prototype development, testing, qualification activities, and pre-production builds to support successful product launches.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance project execution, predictability, and time-to-market performance.
  • Ensure compliance with customer requirements, quality standards, export regulations, and aerospace industry best practices.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Project Management, or a related technical discipline.
  • 10+ years of experience managing complex engineering, manufacturing, or product development projects.
  • Experience leading cross-functional teams in a regulated manufacturing environment.
  • Demonstrated success managing project schedules, budgets, risks, and stakeholder communications.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Project, Excel, PowerPoint, and related project management tools.
  • Ability to travel up to 10% as required for customer, supplier, or business-related activities.

What Will Put You Ahead
  • Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI, Agile, or similar project management certification.
  • Experience within the aerospace, defense, high-reliability electronics, connector, cable assembly, interconnect, or electromechanical industries.
  • Knowledge of AS9100, AS9102, ITAR, EAR, MIL-STD-810, and MIL-STD-461 requirements.
  • Experience applying phase-gate product development methodologies and governance frameworks.
  • Familiarity with Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), and First Article Inspection (FAI) processes.
  • Experience supporting government contracts and export-controlled programs.
  • Strong understanding of configuration management, change control, and production readiness practices.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead geographically dispersed teams and manage multiple concurrent NPI programs.


At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here .

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.

About Koch Industries

Koch Industries, Inc. is an American privately-held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas. Its subsidiaries are involved in the manufacturing, refining, and distribution of petroleum, chemicals, energy, fiber, intermediates and polymers, minerals, fertilizers, pulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, ranching, finance, commodities trading, and investing. Koch owns Infor, Invista, Georgia-Pacific, Molex, Flint Hills Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals, Matador Cattle Company, i360, and Guardian Industries. The firm employs 120,000 people in 60 countries, with about half of its business in the United States. The company is the largest non-Canadian landowner in the Athabasca oil sands. With annual revenues of $110 billion by 2014, the company is the largest privately held company in the United States. In 2007, it was ranked as the largest privately held company. If Koch Industries had been a public company in 2013, it would have ranked 17th in the Fortune 500. The company was founded by its namesake, Fred C. Koch, in 1940 after he developed an innovative crude oil refining process. Fred C. Koch died in 1967 and his majority interest in the company was split amongst his four sons. In June 1983, after a bitter legal and boardroom battle, the stakes of Frederick R. Koch and William "Bill" Koch were bought out for $1.1 billion and Charles Koch and David Koch became majority owners in the company. Charles owns 42% of the company; trusts for the benefit of Elaine Tettemer Marshall and Elaine's children, Preston Marshall and E. Pierce Marshall Jr., own 16% of the company. The heirs of David Koch, who died on August 23, 2019, own the balance, 42%, of the corporation.
Learn more about Koch Industries
Industry
Founded
1940

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