Product & NPI Lead, Strapping Systems

Samuel, Son & Co. • Vaughan, ON

1d • CA$108,960 - CA$136,200

About The Position

As the Product & NPI Lead, you will play a critical role in transforming early product concepts into commercialized automation solutions. Acting as the bridge between customers, engineering, and commercial teams, you will define product requirements, lead New Product Introduction (NPI) processes, and ensure product developments meet technical, regulatory, and business objectives. This role is central to improving product maturity, execution discipline, and time-to-market for new strapping machines produced by Samuel Automation Inc. and sold by Samuel Packaging Systems Group (PSG).

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, or related discipline).
• 7+ years of experience in automation, product development, or systems engineering roles.
• Experience working with customer-facing requirements and cross-functional product teams
• Ability and willingness to travel occasionally to customer sites and internal facilities.
• Comfort working across engineering, manufacturing, and commercial environments.
• Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic, evolving product and project landscape.
• Strong experience defining and managing product requirements in an engineering-driven organization.
• Working knowledge of New Product Introduction (NPI) and product lifecycle management practices.
• Ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Solid understanding of industrial automation systems and engineered machinery.
• Demonstrated project management, prioritization, and risk-management skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to interface with customers and senior stakeholders.
• Analytical, structured problem-solving mindset with attention to detail.
• Familiarity with industry standards, safety regulations, and certification processes is considered a strong asset.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the PSG product manager, establish and own Product Requirements Documents for new product developments, formally sanctioned by the Packaging Systems Group.
• Translate customer, market, and business needs into clear, actionable functional and non-functional requirements.
• Maintain traceability from customer requirements through design, validation, and release.
• Define and plan NPI roadmaps for each product using established NPI and product lifecycle best practices.
• Manage the end-to-end NPI process, from concept approval through development, validation, release, and handoff to production.
• Ensure appropriate technical reviews, risk assessments, validation activities, and release criteria are met at each NPI stage.
• Periodically serve as Project Manager for select R&D and product development initiatives.
• Act as a key stakeholder in design reviews, providing input on requirements compliance, risk, manufacturability, validation strategy, and lifecycle considerations.
• Monitor progress, risks, and dependencies across cross-functional teams to ensure objectives are met.
• Act as a liaison between R&D, Business Development, and Sales, supporting forecast confidence, opportunity qualification, technical positioning, and roadmap alignment.
• Support business development efforts by clearly communicating product capabilities, limitations, and development timelines.
• Prepare and present R&D funding requests and business cases for new product initiatives.
• Function as the automation group’s in-house expert on industry-specific certification and compliance requirements (e.g., safety, regulatory, and customer-mandated standards).

Benefits

• Countless opportunities for our team members to develop and grow in their careers
• Empowerment to make decisions on the job
• Supportive and welcoming workplace

What This Job Offers

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