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Rite-Hite · 1 day ago

New Product Development Project Manager

Milwaukee, WI

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level

5+ years exp

Rite-Hite is the global leader in the manufacture and distribution of industrial loading dock and door equipment. The Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) Program Manager for New Product Development (NPD) provides strategic leadership and hands-on orchestration of complex, cross-functional engineering programs from concept through commercialization, ensuring innovative solutions that meet safety, quality, and customer value standards.

Home ImprovementIndustrialIndustrial ManufacturingManufacturingProfessional ServicesService IndustryWarehousing

Responsibilities

Partner with the business unit leadership team to execute prioritized complex, multi-disciplinary New Product Development programs to deliver target safety, quality, cost, customer value and overall business impact

Ensure alignment on requirements (VOC), product/feature scope and acceptance criteria

Apply systems engineering management principles to ensure integration across mechanical, controls, electrical, and software disciplines

Facilitate business and technical trade-offs to protect customer value; escalate issues with data, options and recommendations

Act as a connector between strategy and execution, aligning engineering, product, and business roadmaps

Provide thought leadership on program management best practices and emerging trends and supporting technologies in the field

Support business unit annual capacity planning to help determine next fiscal year roadmaps and strategic plans

Aligned with the business unit strategy and roadmap, build and maintain integrated program plans across Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, Quality, Distribution, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Applications, Service, IT, HR, Legal/IP and Finance

Own the integrated program plan with explicit dependencies, resource loading and a continuously maintained critical path

Establish and manage scope/schedule/cost baselines with formal change control

Maintain a living schedule risk analysis with scenario planning; create what-if plans and recovery paths

Adhere to enterprise-wide project management methodologies, frameworks and processes

Ensure consistent application of governance policies, risk management, and quality assurance across all projects and programs

Operate within Rite-Hite’s New Product Development process; scale the process as appropriate for the scope of each program; prepare and run program reviews (core team, stakeholder updates, stage gates with clear entry/exit criteria), documented decisions and follow-ups

Champion and continuously improve Rite-Hite’s New Product Development stage gate process across all functions with ongoing training, standard tools/templates, and best practice sharing

Blend Waterfall/Agile/Hybrid appropriately across hardware and embedded/software components; ensure traceability from requirements to test/validation

Identify and eliminate systemic bottlenecks that limit innovation or cross-functional efficiency

Lead resource planning and allocation across projects and programs to ensure optimal utilization

Identify and resolve labor, asset, plant, vendor, etc. conflicts and ensure adequate staffing for high-priority projects

Proactively surface cross-program dependencies and resolve conflicts

Link to established business unit KPIs (e.g., on-time stage gates) and establish program-specific leading indicator KPIs (e.g., critical path health) to monitor program health

Track program budgets, capital/tooling and unit economics; partner with product management and finance on business case gating and post-launch performance

Use data-driven insights to inform decisions and identify opportunities for continuous improvement

Leads without direct authority; fosters a culture of accountability, transparency and continuous improvement

Qualification

New Product DevelopmentProject ManagementCross-functional LeadershipRisk ManagementPMP CertificationAgile MethodologiesStakeholder ManagementManufacturing ExperienceJiraConfluenceCommunication Skills

Required

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field from an accredited 4-year university

5–10 years' experience leading complex new product development and system-level programs for industrial/electro-mechanical products or integrated controls-software offerings from concept through launch, with expertise in critical path, dependency mapping and integrated cross-functional planning

3–5 years' experience in a senior role within an EPMO or similar role with oversight of strategic direction or project management across an organization

Demonstrated success in managing cross-functional hardware, software and service programs with manufacturing and supply chain integration in a matrix-based organization

Experience operating within a stage-gate or milestone NPD process; familiarity with DFM, FMEA, V&V, pilot builds and commercialization

Proven track record delivering on schedule and business case with rigorous risk management and change control

Exceptional communication, facilitation and stakeholder alignment skills

Strong experience in managing relationships, facilitating discussions and resolving conflicts with senior leadership, business leaders and other key stakeholders, with the ability to influence decision-making and drive alignment across an organization

Project Management Professional (PMP) certification