Opportunity

GridTran is transitioning its medium-voltage power conversion platform from technology development into productization, and this role owns the New Product Introduction (NPI) process to take it there. You will drive the build of the first fully functional demonstration, pilot, and certification units, stand up and run GridTran's internal NPI line, and lead the contract manufacturer (CM) engagement end to end - translating the technology into mass-manufacturable processes, fabrication methods, and production flows, coordinating supply chain against those flows, and acting as the technical translator between internal NPI and the CM's production lines. You will also lead the NPI team, spanning certification, reliability, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) integration, manufacturing engineering, and NPI/CM testing.

The ideal candidate has a proven track record of taking complex, high-power power conversion products in fast-moving resource-constrained environments from engineering prototypes through validation builds and into sustained production, both in-house and at a contract manufacturer. The candidate understands how to mitigate schedule, quality, and resourcing risk, while staying accountable to the overall program goals, and wears multiple hats - leader, player-coach and individual contributor. Working in a collaborative team, you will partner with engineering (electrical, mechanical, etc.) as well as CMs and component suppliers to convert engineering designs into repeatable, high-yield manufacturing processes. Working with an agile, highly focused team, this role suits someone who is comfortable with that level of ownership and pace.

This role is part of the support team that services the entire our Endeavour ecosystem and contributes to the overall health and success of the organization.
Key Responsibilities

Include but are not limited to:

• NPI Program Ownership: Own development and execution of detailed NPI project plans spanning phase-gate reviews, Engineering/Design/Production Validation Test (EVT/DVT/PVT) builds, and production ramp readiness. Report progress, schedule risk, and mitigation strategies to engineering and executive leadership throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Build Readiness & Master Schedule: Manage the build schedule and maintain build readiness plans that track part availability, tooling and fixture readiness, and open engineering changes ahead of each build. Run readiness reviews and drive open items to closure.
• Internal NPI Line Stand-Up & Sustained Production: Design, equip, and manage GridTran's internal production area-assembly tooling, equipment, test fixtures, and inventory systems-then run it at a repeatable build cadence, meeting delivery schedules while documenting builds.
• NPI Team Leadership & Hands-On Execution: Lead and develop the NPI team across builds, certification, reliability, PLM integration, manufacturing engineering, and test, while personally executing individual-contributor work as the team ramps and as throughput demands.
• CM Engagement & Technology Transfer: Own the contract manufacturer relationship as the lead manufacturing interface - translating designs into mass-manufacturable processes, fabrication methods, and production flows; aligning fixtures and tooling for copy-exact transfer; qualifying suppliers and synchronizing long-lead components; and leading first on-site builds, troubleshooting assembly bottlenecks and quality in real time as the CM ramps.
• Design for Excellence (DFX), Yield & Cost Feedback Loop: Drive Design for Manufacturability, Assembly, and Testability (DFM, DFA, DFT) initiatives across all development stages, feeding build data back into engineering to improve manufacturability, yield, and cost ahead of volume production.
• Documentation, BOM & Change Control: Ensure timely delivery of complete manufacturing documentation packages in the PLM system and drive disciplined Engineering Change Order (ECO) based change management across internal and CM builds, including change cutover planning with configuration and serial-number effectivity tracking.
• KPI Definition & Build Health Reporting: Create the reporting structure and dashboards that monitor and improve NPI metrics - Time to Market, first-pass yield, build cycle time, cost variance to target, on-time delivery, launch readiness, and open risk.
• Travel to CM and supplier sites, domestic and international.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Engineering, or a related field
• 5+ years of engineering experience, including a minimum of 2 years directly managing multi-disciplinary NPI or manufacturing engineering teams spanning disciplines such as certification, reliability, PLM, manufacturing engineering, and test.
• Proven track record of working with power conversion hardware product launches - power converters, motor drives, energy storage systems, or comparable industrial power equipment - in a high-tech or hardware manufacturing environment
• Experience running a build line, including takt planning, DFM/DFA/DFT principles, work instruction authoring, fixture and tooling selection, and hands-on troubleshooting of build and test failures.
• Experience working in fast-paced high-technology-risk environments, and ability to work with uncertainty and flexibility.
• Experience with manufacturing BOM structures and ECO-driven change control in a PLM environment, including cutover and effectivity management, and the corresponding material planning discipline in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
• Experience leading a contract manufacturer relationship including technical interface, and transfer of designs and processes into the CM's production environment and coordinating supply chain against CM build plans.

Nice-to-Haves

• Master's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or equivalent formal program management certification.
• Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma knowledge or certification.
• Experience with Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), or similar supplier and industrialization qualification frameworks.
• Experience with cost-down or Value Analysis / Value Engineering (VAVE) initiatives in a hardware manufacturing environment.
• Experience setting up ISO-compliant manufacturing environments from scratch.
• Experience with medium-voltage product manufacturing (34.5 kV class).
• Experience supporting UL, IEC, or IEEE certification builds and the associated documentation and sample management.
• Familiarity with specific ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite), PLM tools (e.g., Arena, 3DEXPERIENCE), and CAD software.
• Proficiency with Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence) or similar platforms for program tracking.

Position Overview

Position: Senior Manager, NPI Manufacturing

Full-Time or Part-Time: Full-Time

Reports to: CTO and Founder of GridTran

Location: Atlanta, GA

Contact:

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