Project Manager- New Product Development - Air Cooling
About The Position
The NPD Project Manager – Air Cooling leads new product development projects within the Product Development team, focusing on innovative air-cooling solutions. The role owns the project lifecycle from concept initiation through design validation and product launch, ensuring delivery on time and within budget while maintaining alignment with Gradian’s engineering standards and strategic objectives. The Project Manager leads cross-functional teams and coordinates Engineering, Industrial Design, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Marketing, external suppliers, and other stakeholders. The position develops project plans and budgets, tracks progress and risks, maintains project documentation, facilitates stage-gate reviews, and communicates status to stakeholders and Advanced Development leadership. It also partners with the PMO to apply consistent project-management practices and supports ongoing improvement of Gradian’s NPD processes.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
- PMP certification, equivalent formal project-management education, or equivalent relevant experience.
- At least 5 years of progressive project-management experience, including at least 3 years leading NPD or product-development projects in a manufacturing or engineering environment.
- Proficiency with project scheduling tools such as Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, or equivalent.
- Strong understanding of stage-gate product-development processes.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder-management skills.
- Ability to engage meaningfully with engineering teams on product design, testing, and performance trade-offs.
- Strong sense of ownership and bias toward action and on-time delivery.
- Ability to manage complexity, prioritize competing demands, and organize projects amid ambiguity.
- Ability to lead cross-functional teams without direct authority.
- Clear, concise written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messages to technical and executive audiences.
- Commitment to continuously improving processes, tools, and team effectiveness.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in HVAC, thermal management, or related mechanical-systems industries.
- Familiarity with air-side heat-transfer principles and equipment such as AHUs, fan coils, air handlers, and heat exchangers.
- Experience working within or alongside a PMO structure.
- Background in design-for-manufacturability or design-for-quality methodologies.
- Proficiency with PLM or ERP systems.
- Six Sigma or Lean certification.
Responsibilities
- Lead cross-functional new product development projects for air-cooling technology from concept through commercialization, using a structured stage-gate or agile process.
- Develop project plans covering scope, schedules, resources, risks, and budget forecasts.
- Coordinate project activities across Engineering, Industrial Design, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, and Marketing.
- Monitor performance against project plans, identify risks, develop mitigation strategies, and escalate blockers as appropriate.
- Conduct project status reviews and present updates to Advanced Development leadership.
- Partner with the PMO to maintain consistent project-management practices, templates, and reporting standards across NPD efforts.
- Maintain accurate project documentation throughout the project lifecycle.
- Facilitate stage-gate reviews and confirm deliverables meet criteria before projects advance.
- Support continuous improvement of the NPD process using lessons learned and industry best practices.
- Serve as the primary contact and communication hub for assigned NPD projects.
- Build working relationships with R&D engineers, product managers, manufacturing engineers, and external suppliers or partners.
- Coordinate with Supply Chain and Operations to address design-for-manufacturability considerations early in development.
- Collaborate with Quality to ensure products meet applicable performance, safety, and regulatory requirements.
- Manage project budgets, track expenditures, provide financial forecasts, and explain variances.
- Coordinate resource allocation, identify conflicts, and work with functional managers to resolve them.
Benefits
- Medical, vision, and dental plans.
- Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
- Group term life insurance coverage.
- HSA, FSA, and Dependent Care plans available.
- Eight paid holidays, four floating holidays, and a generous PTO policy.
- 401(k) matching.
- Annual safety shoe allowance.
- Education assistance program.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
