Ops NPI Project Manager

Viavi Solutions; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

VIAVI Solutions in Ottawa is seeking an Ops NPI Project Manager to lead the Operations elements of the PLT NPI process from initiation through production launch and volume production. You will represent Operations on cross-functional teams with R&D and Product Line Management, driving integrated planning, capital requests, and capacity planning to meet aggressive timelines and quality targets.

This role requires deep understanding of photonic test instruments and tight coordination across

Responsibilities

• Lead the Operations elements of the PLT NPI process for an assigned portfolio of projects - from project initiation through production launch, first customer shipment, and into volume production.
• Represent Operations on the cross-functional NPI project team; maintain readiness requirements while collaborating with R&D and Product Line Management.
• Drive integrated project planning that makes work commitments, dependencies, and critical path visible across Operations and the extended team.
• Lead the Operations team to execute to the Product Development Process (PDP) and deliver all functional items for project phase gates.
• Own project expense forecasting - capital and operational - and defend capital requests for test systems, tooling, and lab infrastructure.
• Drive capacity and ramp planning with emphasis on optical assembly and calibration processes.

Job description

Summary

VIAVI (NASDAQ: VIAV) is a global provider of network test, monitoring and assurance solutions for telecommunications, cloud, enterprises, first responders, military, aerospace, and railway. VIAVI is also a leader in light management technologies for 3D sensing, anti-counterfeiting, consumer electronics, industrial, automotive, government and aerospace applications.

We are the people behind the products that help keep the world connected at home, school, work, at play, and everywhere in between. VIAVI employees are passionate about supporting customer success and we welcome people who bring their best every day to the company - to question, to collaborate and to push for solutions that will delight our customers.

Duties & Responsibilities

Summary

VIAVI's Production & Lab Testing (PLT) division in Ottawa designs and manufactures precision optical test and measurement instruments - the systems that R&D engineers and production lines worldwide rely on to develop, qualify, and manufacture optical components, passive devices, transceivers, and high-speed optical interconnects. The PLT portfolio spans modular optical test platforms, application-specific integrated test solutions, benchtop inspection systems, and a growing ecosystem of plug-in modules and accessories, all serving a market undergoing some of the most rapid technology evolution in the history of fiber optics.

The demand driving that evolution - AI infrastructure buildout, coherent optics at 400G, 800G, and beyond, the proliferation of new wavelength bands, hollow core fiber, and next-generation passive devices and ROADMs - is translating directly into an expanding and accelerating NPI pipeline for PLT. New product introductions are increasing. Product variants - new wavelength configurations, updated module generations, form factor adaptations - are multiplying. And component end-of-life events and critical supply shortages are forcing reactive redesign projects that compete for the same Operations resources as scheduled NPI. The team and the process are established and capable; the problem is that the volume of concurrent projects is ratcheting up faster than the current headcount can absorb.

We are adding an Ops NPI Project Manager to carry the additional load. This role is the central Operations point of contact for an assigned set of PLT NPI projects - managing the planning, execution, and cross-functional coordination needed to bring new and updated optical test instruments from R&D into volume production on schedule, on budget, and at the quality the market demands.

Scope and Context

Optical test instruments for today's market are precision photonic systems with demanding manufacturing requirements: optical alignment and coupling tolerances measured in microns, contamination sensitivity that can compromise measurement accuracy, calibration procedures traceable to national standards, and software-hardware integration that must be validated as a system before any instrument ships. These are not products where manufacturing process development is a straightforward exercise, and they are not products where a schedule slip in test system development goes unnoticed.

At the same time, the pace of fiber technology evolution means that product generations are shortening, variant counts are growing, and the line between a new product and a meaningful update to an existing one is increasingly blurred. Managing this pipeline requires a PM who can hold the rigor of a structured NPI process while staying agile enough to handle the volume and variety of projects that the market is generating.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

NPI Project Management

Lead the Operations elements of the PLT NPI process for an assigned portfolio of projects - from project initiation through production launch, first customer shipment, and into volume production.

Represent Operations on the cross-functional NPI project team; hold the line on Operations readiness requirements while maintaining productive working relationships with R&D and Product Line Management.

Drive integrated project planning that makes work commitments, dependencies, and critical path visible across Operations and the extended team. In a high-volume NPI environment, the interdependencies across concurrent projects are themselves a risk that must be actively managed.

Lead the Operations team to execute to the requirements of the Product Development Process (PDP), including all functional deliverables required to support project phase gates.

Own project expense forecasting - capital and operational - and performance to plan; build and defend capital requests for test systems, tooling, and lab infrastructure.

Drive capacity planning and production ramp planning, with attention to the optical assembly and calibration processes that are typically the throughput-limiting steps in PLT manufacturing.

Managing Scale: Variants, EOL, and a Growing Pipeline