Program Manager, Manufacturing & NPI

North Vector Dynamics Inc.; Calgary; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

North Vector Dynamics Inc. in Calgary, AB is seeking a Program Manager, Manufacturing & NPI to own the plan from released design to delivered hardware on time and at cost.

You will lead integrated schedules across engineering, supply chain, and production, drive stage-gate NPI, and manage readiness reviews and cost tracking. You’ll deploy MES/ERP/PLM rollouts, coordinate AS9100 milestones, and partner with Supply Chain to protect the build schedule.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or equivalent technical discipline.
• 5+ years in hardware manufacturing PM with NPI/production ramp ownership.
• Proven ability to build and run integrated, multi-domain schedules.
• Experience with stage-gate NPI, readiness reviews, and design-freeze discipline.
• Knowledge of engineering change control, bills of materials, and configuration management.
• Strong planning-tool proficiency (MS Project/Smartsheet/monday.com) and data-driven reporting.
• Experience with budgets and cost tracking for programs or capital projects.
• Ability to read engineering drawings and BOMs and challenge plans with technical teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to escalate options early with leadership.

Responsibilities

• Own the integrated manufacturing schedule for current and future products, including build cycles, material readiness, and government deliverables.
• Translate commitments into build plans with gates, owners, and dates; update priorities as needed.
• Manage risk, issue, and hard-stop registers and drive closure weekly.
• Track costs (unit cost, BOM costing, budget vs actuals) for manufacturing projects and capital.
• Set manufacturing cadence: weekly reviews, risk reporting, and clear status on track/risk/blocked.
• Build and own the stage-gate NPI process from prototype through rate production with entry/exit criteria at each gate.
• Lead readiness reviews against Manufacturing Readiness Levels; ensure tooling, fixtures, and training are ready.
• Drive DFM and design-for-test inputs; coordinate design freezes and baselines for controlled production.
• Coordinate design changes from engineering to floor with impact assessment on schedule and cost.
• Plan first article inspections and pilot builds; capture lessons for next products' NPI plan.
• Support production transfer and expansion planning with allied partners (incl. future EU manufacturing).
• Project-manage stand-up of new manufacturing facility: fit-out, equipment moves, commissioning, re-validation.

Skills

Integrated scheduling across orgs

NPI program management

Clear communication

Budget & cost tracking

Stage-gate / phase-gate processes

Security clearance (Canada)

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or equivalent

Tools

MS Project

Smartsheet

monday.com

Excel

Power BI

Job description

Who We Are

North Vector Dynamics is a Canadian-owned and controlled defence technology company specializing in precision interception, autonomy, and advanced propulsion. NVD is building a full-spectrum missile capability, from counter-UAS solutions to hypersonics, designed to serve and defend NATO member states and their allies and partners.

About the Role

North Vector Dynamics is building next-generation defence systems, and the CM70 is moving from prototype builds to a controlled, repeatable production line in a new Calgary manufacturing facility. We’re looking for a Program Manager, Manufacturing & NPI to own the plan that gets our products from released design to delivered hardware, on time, at cost, and ready for rate.

What You’ll Do

Program & Schedule Management

• Own the integrated manufacturing schedule for the CM70 and future products: build cycles, material readiness, test and demo articles, kinetic test units, and customer and government deliverables.
• Translate customer commitments and engineering milestones into build plans with clear gates, owners, and dates, and keep them current as priorities shift.
• Run the risk, issue, and hard-stops registers for manufacturing: surface the gating constraints across method, machine, material, and manpower early, and drive closure plans weekly.
• Track program cost: unit build cost, bill-of-materials costing, budget versus actuals for manufacturing projects and capital, and the cost impact of design and supplier changes.
• Set and run the manufacturing operating cadence: weekly build reviews, schedule and risk reporting to senior leadership, and clear status on what is on track, at risk, or blocked.

New Product Introduction (NPI)

• Build and own a stage-gate NPI process that carries each product from prototype through pilot builds, low-rate initial production, and rate production, with defined entry and exit criteria at every gate.
• Lead manufacturing readiness reviews against Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRL), ensuring tooling, fixtures, work instructions, supply, quality plans, and training are ready before each gate.
• Drive design-for-manufacturability (DFM) and design-for-test input into engineering reviews, and coordinate design freezes and baselines so production builds to a controlled configuration.
• Coordinate engineering changes from design to the floor: impact assessment on schedule, cost, inventory, tooling, and work instructions, and orderly cut-in through the change control board.
• Plan first article inspections and pilot builds with Quality and Manufacturing Engineering, and capture lessons learned into the next product’s NPI plan.
• Support the planning for production transfer and expansion with allied partners, including future manufacturing in the EU.

Manufacturing Projects & Systems Deployments

• Project-manage the stand-up of our new manufacturing facility: fit-out, equipment moves, commissioning, and the re-validation needed to restart production with minimal downtime.
• Lead the project plan for our MES (Eyelit), ERP, and PLM/PDM rollouts with the Head of Manufacturing and IT: scope, vendor coordination, integration milestones, data migration, training, and go-live.
• Coordinate the manufacturing workstreams of our AS9100 certification plan with the Quality lead, so compliance milestones are scheduled alongside production rather than competing with it.
• Partner with Supply Chain on long-lead and critical parts, rolling purchase orders, second-source qualification, and shortage recovery plans that protect the build schedule.
• Own manufacturing capital and equipment projects from business case through installation, including printer, automation, and test equipment decisions.

Stakeholders & Tools

• Serve as the single point of coordination between Manufacturing, Systems Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Security, and the company-wide Project Manager, and keep everyone working from one plan.
• Own our manufacturing planning and tracking tools, today in monday.com and evolving into the ERP and MES, and build dashboards that make status obvious at a glance.
• Prepare program updates and briefing material for senior leadership, customers, and government stakeholders.
• Step into whatever the mission demands: this is a startup, no two weeks will look the same!

What You Bring

Required

• A bachelor’s degree (minimum) in engineering (manufacturing, mechanical, industrial, aerospace, or similar), or an equivalent technical discipline from an accredited program and institution.
• 5+ years of program or project management in a hardware manufacturing environment, with direct ownership of NPI, production ramps, or production programs from plan to delivery.
• A track record building and running integrated schedules with real dependencies across engineering, supply chain, and production, and getting hardware out the door on time.
• Experience running stage-gate or phase-gate product development or NPI processes, including readiness reviews and design-freeze discipline.
• Working knowledge of engineering change control, bills of materials, and configuration management, and how changes ripple through cost, inventory, and the shop floor.
• Strong command of planning tools (MS Project, Smartsheet, monday.com, or similar) and of data: building and presenting schedule, cost, and risk metrics in Excel, Power BI, or similar tools to make an ambiguous problem clear.
• Experience managing budgets and cost tracking for programs or capital projects.
• Ability to read engineering drawings and bills of materials, and enough technical depth to challenge a plan with engineers and technicians.
• Clear, direct communication with technicians, engineers, executives, suppliers, and customers, and the judgment to escalte early with options, not just problems.
• Eligibility for a Government of Canada security clearance and registration under the Controlled Goods Program; active clearance is a significant asset.
• A builder’s mindset: you take ownership of the outcome, not just the schedule, and you’re as comfortable on the floor with a technician as you are in a leadership review.

Preferred

• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent program management certification.
• Experience in a UAS, aerospace, munitions, or defence manufacturing environment, ideally at a startup or scale-up moving from prototype to rate production.
• Familiarity with Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRL), APQP (AS9145), and AS9100 requirements for production planning, first article inspection, and configuration management.
• Experience leading an ERP, MES, or PLM implementation, or a facility stand-up, relocation, or production line transfer.
• Exposure to earned value management (EVM) and government or defence contract deliverables, including DND or allied program reporting.
• Lean manufacturing or Six Sigma experience (Green Belt or higher), applied to production flow and line balancing.
• Exposure to electromechanical assembly, additive manufacturing, PCBA, or energetics production.
• P.Eng. or EIT designation, or eligibility for registration in Alberta or conversion from an eligible province.

Why North Vector Dynamics

• Real ownership from day one: the systems and processes you help build will be foundational to how this company operates for years to come.
• We’re working on technology that matters at a national and global level, and every person on the team feels that weight and that purpose.
• A tight-knit, high-calibre team that moves fast, holds each other to a high standard, and doesn’t waste time on bureaucracy for its own sake.
• Competitive compensation and meaningful upside from joining an early-stage company at the forefront of the defence technology sector.
• On-site in Calgary, AB, a growing hub for tech and defence, with a culture built around resilience and getting things done.