Project Manager- New Product Development (51356)

Gradian Thermal Solutions•Maple Grove, MN

1d•$90,000 - $120,000•Onsite

About The Position

As a Project Manager, you will play a critical role in planning, coordinating, and executing technical engineering projects from concept through completion. This position bridges engineering design and project management, ensuring projects meet quality standards, timelines, and budget requirements. The role involves technical oversight, cross-functional collaboration, and leadership of engineering teams to deliver innovative and reliable solutions, with a focus on thermal cooling systems and data center applications.

Requirements

2–5 years of project management experience in new product development, engineered-product, or engineer-to-order manufacturing (e.g., HVAC, thermal systems, mechanical systems, industrial equipment, data center liquid cooling).
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent engineering projects and hold cross-functional teams to schedule commitments.
Excellent written and verbal communication, organizational, and stakeholder-management skills.
Working knowledge of project management methodology to include scope definition, scheduling, risk assessment, and change control.
Ability to learn Gradian’s engineered products, workflow sequences, and PMO processes quickly.
Excellent communication, organizational, and leadership skills.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth industry with evolving customer needs.
Experience with stage-gate or phase-gate new product development processes.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or related Engineering discipline.
Familiarity with manufacturing environments, engineering drawing review, and formal document control.
Familiarity with liquid cooling equipment and terminology, such as Coolant Distribution Units (CDUs), cold plates, RDHx, Technology Cooling System (TCS) loops, and related commissioning activities (flushing, fill/drain, leak testing).
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or ability to obtain within 12 months (company-supported).
Experience with RFI/Submittal workflows or disciplined project documentation.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, and budgets for NPD programs, ensuring alignment with the product roadmap and business objectives.
Define project scope, technical requirements, deliverables, and resource needs in partnership with leadership.
Own scope, schedule, cost, risk, and quality from concept through design release, pilot build, and launch.
Monitor progress, surface risks early, and implement corrective actions.
Prepare for and support internal and external gate reviews, design reviews, and milestone events.
Coordinate cross-functional development teams including Design Engineering, Production Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Quality.
Coordinate prototype builds, design verification testing, and pilot production runs, including thermal performance validation for liquid cooling systems.
Partner with Supply Chain and Quality on new component sourcing, supplier qualification, and first-article inspection.
Drive design-for-manufacturability review between Engineering and Operations.
Manage the transition from pilot to production release, ensuring documentation, tooling, and process readiness are complete at handoff.
Execute project communication using standard PMO tools: weekly status updates, milestone notices, schedule reports, and risk and issue summaries.
Maintain PMO digital artifacts in Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, including the Decisions Log, Risk and Issue Log, action item register, and approvals.
Manage change orders (COs) with routing, impact assessment, cross-functional approval, and release.
Ensure documents remain current and version-controlled.
Maintain consistent, predictable communication with all project stakeholders.
Track project budgets and development spend, protecting margin through proactive risk mitigation and formal change control.
Capture lessons learned and recommend improvements to PMO processes, templates, and tools.
Support the rollout of new standards, stage-gate practices, and KPIs as Gradian scales its program management framework.