NPI Engineering Manager

Job DescriptionJob Description

Cadence, Inc.'s facility in Rhode Island is looking for an experienced NPI Engineering Manager. The right candidate for this position will be well versed in coaching, mentoring, and managing a small team of engineers and project management employees. This position is part of the Pre-Production team at Cadence and plays a key strategic leadership role in directing business program and project management (PMO) activities, ensuring execution is in line with overall strategic goals.

Why do you want to work for Cadence?

• You’ll make a positive impact – At Cadence “do the right thing” is more than just a corporate motto; it’s our guiding principle and way of life. You can be proud of the fact that what you do every day improves product performance.
• You’ll love the work environment – You’ll spend your days in a clean, air-conditioned manufacturing space. The open office environment allows for easy collaboration and engagement with subordinates and colleagues.
• You'll play a key role in the site's success - The NPI Engineering Manager is a critical leadership role that plays a huge part in our success by ensuring our ability to execute on new opportunities. In collaboration with cross-functional team members, you’ll work to win new customers and projects that further the growth of the Rhode Island site. You’ll feel the satisfaction of being part of a smaller team where you are able to work across many business functions and clearly see the contributions you make each day.

Responsibilities Include:

Management of Engineering and Project Management Activities:

• Implement, maintain, and improve New Product Introduction (NPI) governance processes.
• Develop and implement strategic objectives for practice that are aligned with the Company's strategic initiatives.
• Review status reports of Project Managers and Project Engineers and address issues as appropriate.
• Develop technical and operational assumptions in the creation of cost models. Use of cost models to assist in the development of project recommendations and team decision-making
• Responsible for Site PP Budget, including achieving the revenue budget with NRE and NPI revenue . Manages the Capital Appropriation process, ensuring capital expense and timing commitments are controlled within established project objectives.
• Manage the strategic aspects of large Programs and mitigate any risk.

Management, Coaching, and Mentoring of Pre-Production site resources and cross-functional teams:

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 5-6 Pre-Production team members.
• Lend expertise to internal teams and task forces. Coordinate with Sales and Technical resources.
• Collaborate with Operations and Engineering personnel to develop Technical Response and Preliminary Manufacturing strategies in response to the project objective

Active Management of Projects

• Creation and communication of a comprehensive Project Plan with key activities and deliverables.
• Ensure all task dependencies are identified, highlighting any gaps or issues for resolution.
• Maintain a list of activities and deliverables with responsible personnel
• Collaborate with Team members’ functional management to ensure deliverables are properly supported
• Structure discussions and decision-making processes so the team can work effectively

What are we seeking in the ideal candidate?

We are seeking a candidate with superior leadership and managerial skills, as well as the ability to instill teamwork, delegate effectively, and build collaborative relationships. In addition, the ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:

• Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in an engineering-related discipline
• Minimum 7-10 years of experience successfully leading product development projects/programs in the contract manufacturing space.
• Experience in the Medical Device/Life Science industry is strongly .
• Demonstrated competence forming, organizing, and leading product development teams from concept through commercial launch.
• Commitment to living by Cadence's core values, which start with "Do the Right Thing"
• Willingness/Ability to work on-site the majority of the time (occasional remote work an option)
• Experience working with cross-functional teams across multiple geographic locations
• Adept at conflict resolution
• Ability to relate well and establish credibility with customers and senior leadership
• Strong decision-making skills
• Ability/Willingness to travel as required
• Cadence is not sponsoring work visas at this time; a relocation package may be offered for well-qualified candidates.

Physical Demands: Fine motor skills are utilized when typing and using various office machines. Must be able to tolerate sitting or staying in one location for extended periods of time. Requires clear verbal communication or reasonable alternative. Requires hearing ability or reasonable alternative. Must be able to safely and effectively move throughout our facility and interact with employees regarding customer information. Must have a clear vision, depth perception, ability to work with computers for extended periods of time, and ability to adjust/focus vision. The facility itself is divided between a “shop” or production environment and an “administrative” or standard office environment. Candidates should be able to function in both environments. The majority of time will be spent in the office environment.