Director NPI

Johnson Controls•Edmonton, AB

1d•$163,000 - $245,000

About The Position

The Director NPI leads manufacturing readiness and operational launch for new products within AHU (Air Handling Unit) and Silent Aire. As the manufacturing leader on core product development teams, this role ensures products can be produced safely and reliably at required quality, rate, cost, and lead time. The Director leads a dedicated NPI team and directs extended manufacturing teams supporting product development and launch. The role collaborates with Product Management, Engineering, Procurement, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance, and plant leadership to define manufacturing requirements early, secure launch capabilities and resources, and address risks before they affect customers or operations. Its purpose is to enable faster, more predictable launches, stable production ramps, and manufacturing capability that supports sustained growth. The role defines and delivers manufacturing plans for new products; sets manufacturing requirements for RCLP gates; assesses readiness and makes or escalates go/no-go recommendations; and ensures supplier, material, plant, and workforce readiness. It oversees first production, ramp performance, issue resolution, and handoff to normal operations. It also builds a repeatable NPI operating system using visual management, standard work, tiered accountability, Gemba-based problem solving, root-cause countermeasures, and lessons learned. The Director develops the capacity, capability, and culture of extended teams through resource planning, role and goal clarity, high standards, coaching, development, feedback, and recognition.

Requirements

Demonstrated ownership of manufacturing readiness and launch outcomes for multiple new products or comparable complex industrial programs.
Deep knowledge of manufacturing planning, including process capability, equipment, capacity, quality controls, standard work, cost, and production ramp.
Experience making evidence-based manufacturing readiness decisions within a structured stage-gate, product development, or equivalent launch process.
Proven ability to align Engineering, Manufacturing, Procurement, Quality, Supply Chain, and plant teams around launch commitments without relying on direct authority.
Experience identifying and resolving supplier, material, capacity, or continuity risks that could prevent a successful launch or ramp.
Demonstrated use of Lean or an equivalent business system to improve execution, solve systemic problems, and sustain results.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated success improving launch speed, predictability, or ramp performance across a portfolio of new product introductions.
Experience launching complex engineered products across multiple plants, regions, suppliers, or manufacturing models.
Experience establishing or significantly improving a repeatable NPI operating system across manufacturing and cross-functional teams.
Experience building the capacity and capability of extended NPI teams through resource planning, role clarity, coaching, development, and performance leadership.

Responsibilities

Define and deliver the manufacturing plan for each new product, including processes, equipment, capacity, investment, and make-or-buy decisions.
Define manufacturing requirements for each RCLP gate; confirm gaps are closed or covered by approved recovery plans; and make or escalate manufacturing go/no-go recommendations.
Ensure suppliers and materials can support prototype, validation, launch, and ramp requirements; escalate sourcing, qualification, lead-time, capacity, and continuity risks.
Ensure receiving plants are ready to produce new products, including readiness of processes, equipment, materials, systems, standard work, staffing, and NPI-specific training.
Deliver first production, ramp, and stable operating performance against agreed safety, quality, delivery, cost, and capacity expectations; resolve launch issues and hand off to normal operations when performance expectations are met.
Build a disciplined, repeatable NPI operating system using visual management, standard work, tiered accountability, Gemba-based problem solving, root-cause countermeasures, and reuse of lessons learned.
Build the capacity, capability, and culture of extended teams through resource planning, role and goal clarity, coaching, development, feedback, and recognition.