NPI Engineer

Latitude Recruitment; Park Gate; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Latitude Recruitment is assisting Fareham-area engineering clients in finding an NPI Engineer to drive the introduction of new products into production. You will validate mechanical, electronic and support aspects, develop work instructions, build prototypes and assess design for manufacturability with cross‑functional teams.

The role requires hands-on experience with prototype, NPI and production activities, plus the ability to document and standardise manufacturing methods for new products and

Qualifications

• Knowledge in electro-mechanical assembly and product build environments.
• Experience supporting prototype, NPI, and production activities.
• Ability to build, test, and debug products per customer and quality requirements.
• Experience producing documentation and work instructions.
• Exposure to Design for manufacture (DFM).

Responsibilities

• Manage introduction of new products into production with manufacturability focus.
• Prepare NPI build plans for pilot builds with roles, responsibilities, schedule and resources.
• Develop detailed work instructions and standardise manufacturing methods.
• Design tooling, fixtures, and process FMEAs.
• Participate in design reviews to improve manufacturability and reduce cost.
• Build and test prototypes per customer specs and document results.
• Train manufacturing operators where required.
• Analyse build/test failures and implement corrective actions.
• Highlight risks to the project team and propose modifications based on results.
• Support root cause investigations feeding back into design and production processes.

Skills

Electro-mechanical assembly

Prototype development

NPI support

Documentation

DFM exposure

Job description

Our engineering clients based close to Fareham have an exciting opportunity for a NPI Engineer to join their growing team.

The NPI Engineer will be responsible for the mechanical, electronic and support aspects of validating and introducing new product developments into manufacturing and the supply chain. This includes creating and maintaining accurate work instructions for the production line to ensure consistency of product, developing, building and testing prototype units and evaluating and debugging the design. The role is of a technical nature but can't be completed without cross-functional support so maintaining excellent relationships with these teams is essential.

NPI Development:

• Manage the introduction of new products into production, ensuring manufacturability issues are identified and resolved before full-rate production begins, and reducing risk from design oversights.
• Support the development of non-recurring engineering (NRE) estimates, including participation in pre-sales design activities to agree the NPI approach and estimate effort, tooling, test equipment and other project costs.
• Prepare NPI build plans for OIB / pilot builds, including agreed roles, responsibilities, schedule and required resources.
• Develop detailed work instructions, using build photos and build learning from initial assemblies, to standardise manufacturing methods for new products and engineering changes.
• Design and develop tooling, fixtures, process FMEAs and supporting documentation in line with project requirements.
• Participate in design reviews and make practical recommendations to improve manufacturability, simplify assembly and reduce overall cost.

Prototyping & Assessment

• Build new products and prototypes with minimal or no prior instruction, in line with customer specifications and quality standards.
• Work collaboratively with design and production teams to document, build and verify prototype parts, and train manufacturing operators where required.
• Analyse build and test failures, recommend corrective actions, and assess associated cost, timing and technical risks.
• Track, record and report bugs, nonconformances and issues identified during prototype, test and NPI builds.
• Highlight NPI and product risks to the Project Manager and Project Engineers in a timely and structured way.
• Recommend design or process modifications based on prototype build and test results.
• Support root cause investigation and feedback of issues into design, quality and production control processes.

Required Skills & Responsibilities:

• Knowledge in electro-mechanical assembly and product build environments.
• Technically minded, with practical experience supporting prototype, NPI, and production activities.
• Able to build, test, and debug products in line with customer and quality requirements.
• Experience producing documentation and work instructions
• Exposure to Design for manufacture

Working hours: 37.5 hours - Monday - Friday