Sr. Project Leader – New Product Development (NPD)

RYOBI•Anderson, SC

About The Position

The Senior Project Leader is accountable for delivering high-complexity, high-priority new product development programs for outdoor power equipment. The role sets project direction, aligns senior cross-functional stakeholders, and drives execution through ambiguity while owning product performance, cost, quality, schedule, and risk. It anticipates organizational and technical barriers, creates decision-ready paths forward, and coaches others in disciplined project leadership. The position leads programs with broad technical scope, significant investment, aggressive timing, or elevated business risk. It owns scope convergence and maintains alignment among product strategy, user needs, critical-to-quality requirements, the business case, and the execution plan. It influences senior stakeholders to resolve trade-offs and secure timely decisions, resources, and priorities, while considering impacts on adjacent products, platforms, suppliers, operations, and future business needs. The Senior Project Leader establishes an operating rhythm for resources, functions, and global teams; anticipates and mitigates risks; and leads teams through uncertainty and changing priorities. It owns closure of gaps to product cost, tooling, capital, margin, performance, quality, compliance, supplier readiness, and launch targets. The role guides investment and risk decisions, ensures manufacturing and supplier strategies can meet quality and volume requirements, sponsors recovery and corrective-action efforts, and builds organizational leadership capability through coaching and improved project processes.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science in an engineering discipline or a closely related technical field.
At least 8 years of relevant experience in engineering, product development, manufacturing, or technical project leadership; 10 years is preferred.
Demonstrated success leading high-complexity or high-priority products through global development and launch.
Advanced ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence senior leaders, resolve complex trade-offs, and maintain accountability.
Strong business acumen, including product cost, investment, margin, risk, and portfolio implications.
Strong technical judgment across design, validation, manufacturing, quality, compliance, and supplier development.

Nice To Haves

Experience with outdoor power equipment, power tools, consumer products, battery systems, or complex electromechanical platforms.
Experience leading multi-product platforms, major supplier transitions, or programs with significant tooling and capital investment.
Formal project management, systems engineering, Six Sigma, or related training.
Demonstrated experience developing project leadership capability in others.
Willingness and ability to travel up to 15% domestically and internationally.

Responsibilities

Lead high-complexity NPD programs with broad technical scope, significant investment, aggressive timing, or elevated business risk.
Own project scope convergence and keep product strategy, user needs, critical-to-quality requirements, business case, and execution plan aligned.
Influence senior stakeholders to resolve complex trade-offs and secure timely decisions, resources, and priorities.
Anticipate the effects of project decisions on adjacent products, platforms, suppliers, operations, and future business needs.
Establish an operating rhythm that aligns resources, functions, and global teams around critical outcomes.
Anticipate risks and drive mitigation, contingency, and recovery plans before risks affect the critical path.
Lead teams through uncertainty and changing priorities while sustaining momentum and accountability.
Escalate issues with clear facts, business impact, options, recommendations, and required decisions.
Drive milestone and metric success across multiple projects or a major strategic program.
Own closure of gaps to product cost, tooling, capital, margin, performance, quality, compliance, supplier readiness, and launch targets.
Guide investment and risk decisions using technical evidence, user impact, financial analysis, and schedule implications.
Ensure manufacturing and supplier strategies are capable, scalable, and aligned to quality and volume requirements.
Sponsor complex root-cause, recovery, and corrective-action efforts when major issues threaten a program.
Build senior-level alignment across business units, functions, and global organizations.
Communicate complex technical and business topics to executive audiences without hiding risk or overstating confidence.
Coach Project Engineers and Project Leaders in scope convergence, planning, risk, escalation, and executive communication.
Strengthen project leadership processes, standards, tools, and organizational learning.