New Product Development Manager

Justrite Safety Group•Brooksville, FL

1d•$105,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

AccuformNMC is investing in a new generation of workplace-safety products and building a small, focused team to turn customer problems into commercially successful products. We are looking for a New Product Development Manager who is energized by ownership, speed, problem-solving and the challenge of making something real. This is not a traditional product-management role. You will work directly with the General Manager and a small cross-functional development team to move new products from customer need and validation through development, prototype, testing, commercialization and launch. You will have significant autonomy to make detailed decisions, manage outside development partners, continuously improve the development approach and keep projects moving - while remaining accountable for the commercial outcome. This is an opportunity to help build a significant new growth platform inside an established company with customers, manufacturing capabilities, commercial infrastructure and the backing of a much larger organization.

Requirements

5-7+ years of highly relevant experience, but demonstrated accomplishment matters more than years on a resume.
You have personally helped take multiple physical products from customer need or concept through development and commercial launch.
New product development, product commercialization or physical product management experience.
Customer discovery and Voice of Customer experience.
Cross-functional program leadership and detailed execution ownership.
Experience managing external engineering, prototype or development partners.
Experience building product financial models or business cases.
Ability to work credibly with engineers and technical partners.
Demonstrated ability to move quickly with incomplete information.
Experience in an entrepreneurial, resource-constrained, consulting, startup, smaller-company or highly autonomous environment.

Nice To Haves

Masters Degree.
Soft skills

Responsibilities

Own the day-to-day execution of multiple new product development initiatives from customer need through commercial launch.
Build and maintain clear project plans, milestones, dependencies, risks, decisions and critical paths.
Create urgency around the work and aggressively remove obstacles that threaten progress.
Coordinate internal functions and external partners to keep development moving.
Lead projects through AccuformNMC's development and toll-gate process while balancing speed, rigor and commercial practicality.
Make changes to product details, requirements, sequencing and development approach as needed to achieve the agreed strategic outcome.
Personally engage customers, end users and relevant stakeholders to understand problems, workflows, unmet needs and buying behavior.
Build VOC plans and translate customer learning into practical product requirements.
Use prototypes, pilots, customer testing and market feedback to validate assumptions and drive iterations.
Know the difference between useful customer evidence and opinions that should not drive product decisions.
Identify, evaluate, select and manage external engineering, product-development, prototype, testing and technical partners.
Define deliverables, timelines, economics and success criteria.
Hold partners accountable for commitments and intervene quickly when projects are off track.
Build productive relationships with high-value development resources while continuously evaluating whether the current partner is right for the next stage.
Operate within approved project budgets and established spending authorities, escalating larger commitments appropriately.
Build and maintain financial models and business cases for new products.
Understand the relationship between customer need, price, cost, volume, margin and commercial adoption.
Update assumptions as VOC, technical development and market evidence evolve.
Provide clear recommendations to senior leadership and obtain approval for material changes to approved business cases.
Work closely with Commercialization, Product, Operations, Sales, Marketing and IT to prepare products for launch.
Ensure product requirements, customer needs, economics, documentation, operational readiness and launch plans are aligned.
Partner with the Commercialization team through launch and early market performance.
Once a product is successfully launched and stabilized, transition ongoing product ownership to the appropriate Product Manager and move on to the next development opportunity.
Establish a practical operating cadence that creates visibility without unnecessary bureaucracy.
Maintain clear project status, next actions, risks, decisions and accountability.
Prepare projects for toll-gate and steering reviews.
Surface bad news early, bring options with problems, and keep senior leadership focused on the decisions that require their involvement.