Project Tollgate Manager (New Product Development & Innovation)

International Wire Group•Stamford, CT

About The Position

The Project Tollgate Manager will lead critical design review preparation, Stage-Gate/Tollgate project management, and execution for active and potential R&D projects. This role serves as a key liaison between the business units, Pantheon Corporate, and the R&D function to drive cross-functional engineering and product development initiatives from concept through commercialization. The Project Tollgate Manager is a key contributor in evaluating potential projects, developing detailed budgets and project plans, and coordinating with business stakeholders to ensure successful project execution and on-time delivery.

Requirements

3+ years of experience in Engineering, Manufacturing, Product Development, Program Management, or Project Management
Bachelor's degree in engineering (Materials Science, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial, or related field)
Experience leading Stage-Gate/Tollgate processes, product development projects, and cross-functional engineering initiatives
Experience working on large-scale project initiatives with strong executive-level communication skills
Familiarity with profit and loss statements
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including advanced project planning and reporting tools
Strong relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills
Proven ability to manage competing priorities, drive process improvements, and deliver results across multiple projects and stakeholders.
Self-motivated with strong attention to detail
Strong written and verbal communication skills

Responsibilities

Lead creation of project GANTT charts and detailed project plans to align target completion dates and parallel work streams to monitor progress and measure on time execution
Lead Stage-Gate/Tollgate product development projects and coordinate cross-functional teams including Engineering, R&D, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and Commercial stakeholders to ensure successful project execution.
Establish operating rhythms to regularly interface with project team(s) on status, roadblocks and next steps
Manage and update project trackers and supporting files in preparation for project tollgate reviews
Work with project teams to identify and mitigate major project disruptions to propose resolution plans to re-align project completion targets
Execute where needed on project streams (engineering, process mapping, technical reviews) to provide hands-on support
Prepare and present project tollgate reviews for senior leadership
Work with Chief Engineer on preparation of TG proposals for funding
Collaborate with project teams, finance and R&D manager to establish baseline project budgets and implement cost segmentation for tracking
Regularly update budget trackers to monitor actual versus planned spend and any unexpected overruns to assess overall financial performance
Interface with finance to determine cash funding modes (alignment of cost and cash pools) across the enterprise to establish funding pool.
Manage identified innovation (internal/external) pipeline to define and prioritize projects
Support Tollgate 0 assessment of opportunities using available resources (academia articles, market research, etc.) to assist in evaluation of potential impact
Support Tollgate 2 detailed project cost and benefit analysis working with defined project team, business stakeholder and R&D group
Additional responsibilities as required