Director of NPDI Quality

Panelmatic • Houston, TX

3d

About The Position

The Director of NPDI Quality leads the Quality function within Panelmatic's New Product Development and Introduction (NPDI) process. The role owns quality planning, independent phase/gate quality governance, product and reliability risk assurance, verification/validation evidence review, manufacturing-quality readiness, and quality handoff through launch. This position does not own product development, product design, engineering decisions, program management, sourcing, or manufacturing process ownership; those responsibilities remain with Engineering, Product/Program Management, Procurement/Supply Chain, Manufacturing Engineering, and Operations.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of progressive quality experience in engineered-product or manufacturing environments, including significant NPDI/NPI/new-product quality leadership responsibility.
• Strong working knowledge of product-quality and reliability planning, DFMEA/PFMEA, control plans, DVP&R or verification/validation, FAI, MSA, process capability, and structured problem solving.
• Strong understanding of ISO 9001, QMS requirements, design/change controls, corrective action, and risk-based decision making.
• Proficiency interpreting engineering drawings, specifications, BOMs, customer requirements, test requirements, and quality documentation.
• Strong communication, technical influencing, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration skills, including the ability to challenge technical teams while respecting engineering design authority.
• Ability to make independent risk-based quality decisions and manage high-severity launch issues in a fast-paced engineered-to-order manufacturing environment.

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated experience leading phase/gate quality governance from concept through pilot, launch, and handoff to sustaining/manufacturing quality.
• Experience using ERP, PLM, eQMS, quality-data systems, and analytical tools to manage new-product quality readiness and risk.
• Master's degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, Quality, Reliability, Operations, or a related technical field.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt; ASQ CQE, CRE, CQM/OE, or similar quality/reliability certification.
• Experience with engineered electrical/electromechanical products such as industrial control panels, switchgear, power distribution equipment, relay/control panels, or engineered enclosures.
• Experience with reliability engineering, accelerated testing, failure analysis, design verification, and early-life/launch quality management.
• Experience standardizing NPDI/NPI quality processes across multiple sites, product families, or acquired businesses

Responsibilities

• Establish NPDI quality plans, required quality deliverables, gate exit criteria, and standard quality checklists across product families.
• Provide an independent Quality assessment at each gate; recommend go, conditional go, or hold based on objective evidence, open risks, and approved exceptions.
• Ensure customer, regulatory, reliability, critical-to-quality, and special-characteristic requirements are traceable and addressed in the NPDI process.
• Facilitate or review DFMEA, product-risk assessments, and lessons learned while Engineering retains ownership of the technical design and design decisions.
• Review DVP&R/test plans and results for requirement coverage, acceptance criteria, traceability, failure closure, and evidence completeness.
• Partner with Engineering, R&D, and Test; those functions retain ownership of test development, technical execution, analysis, and engineering conclusions.
• Ensure PFMEA, control plans, inspection/test criteria, FAI/process validation, MSA/capability, training, and quality documentation are ready before launch.
• Lead Quality readiness for prototype, pilot, first-build, and launch, then complete a disciplined handoff to Manufacturing Quality after stable production.
• Integrate supplier/component quality deliverables into NPDI gates with Supplier Quality, including PPAP/FAI, qualification evidence, and critical-component readiness.
• Ensure engineering changes and MOC activities include quality-impact assessment and any required revalidation or requalification before release.
• Feed launch, manufacturing, warranty, field, and customer lessons learned into future NPDI quality requirements while Engineering retains technical change authority.
• Lead and develop NPDI Quality Engineers and establish common competencies, methods, and expectations for new-product quality execution.
• Partner with Engineering, Product/Program Management, Test, Operations, Manufacturing Quality, Supplier Quality, QMS/Compliance, and Customer Care; report readiness and major risks to the VP Quality.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, HSA, term life, AD&D, STD, LTD
• 100% medical premium paid for by Panelmatic for the employee-only level medical coverage
• 80% paid for by Panelmatic and 20% paid for by the employee on all other level medical coverage (i.e. employee plus child, employee plus spouse, family)
• 401(k) contributions matched 100% up to 4%
• Scholarships, educational reimbursement, paid volunteerism, and paid personal and professional development provided
• PTO and paid holidays provided
• Career advancement opportunities
• Competitive wages

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director