Senior Operations & NPI Project Lead

Waters Corporation; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company seeks a dynamic Senior Manager to drive NPI projects. This role involves cross-functional leadership, executing strategies, and enhancing processes to ensure successful product introductions. Key qualifications include a strong educational background in engineering or management, with relevant certifications preferred.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

25 days annual leave

Attractive employer pension contribution

Life assurance & income protection

Private medical coverage

Qualifications

• Extensive cross-functional experience in New Product Introduction.
• Proven track record in delivering complex projects.
• Strong technical acumen linking strategy to execution.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional teams to optimize product introduction.
• Develop integrated project timelines and manage dependencies.
• Enhance NPI frameworks in partnership with R&D and Quality.

Skills

Negotiation

Stakeholder Management

Decision-Making

Project Management

Continuous Improvement Mindset

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or management

PMP Certification

Tools

MS Project

Jira

Job description

Overview

Are you a seasoned project leader with a proven track record in New Product Introduction (NPI)? Do you thrive at the intersection of R&D and Operations, ensuring seamless collaboration across functions? We are seeking a dynamic and strategic Senior Manager to drive the execution of NPI projects, ensuring a smooth transition from concept to manufacturing.

In this role, you will be at the heart of innovation, engineering, and operational excellence, leading cross-functional teams to bring new products to life with precision and efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Cross-Functional Leadership – Spearhead collaboration between R&D, Operations, and Business teams, ensuring alignment in engineering, planning, procurement, and production to optimize product introduction.
• NPI Execution & Strategy – Lead a team of professionals, overseeing product realization plans, sourcing strategies, costing models, BOM structures, and engineering change processes.
• Process Enhancement – Partner with R&D and Quality teams to refine NPI frameworks, improving planning, stage-gate management, and execution efficiency.
• Project Management Excellence – Develop integrated project timelines, track milestones, manage dependencies, and ensure critical-path activities are addressed proactively.
• Decision-Making & Stakeholder Engagement – Facilitate discussions, drive scenario planning, and ensure teams operate with clarity, alignment, and urgency.

Qualifications

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering, management, or equivalent experience. A higher-level degree and PMP certification are preferred.

Experience & Expertise

• Extensive cross-functional experience in NPI, collaborating across R&D, Operations, and Business to drive successful product introductions.
• Proven track record in delivering complex, multi-geography projects within a matrix organization.
• Expertise in product lifecycle management, risk assessment, and project governance.
• Strong working knowledge of MS Project, Jira, and other planning tools.
• Experience with Agile & Lean methodologies, ideally in a regulated manufacturing environment.

Key Competencies

• Highly adept at negotiation, stakeholder management, and decision-making in complex environments.
• Operates with clarity, confidence, and a continuous improvement mindset.
• Able to influence senior leadership and foster a collaborative, high-performance culture.
• Strong technical acumen with an ability to connect strategy to execution.

What We Offer

In addition to a competitive salary, we provide:

• Flexible working arrangements
• 25 days of annual leave
• Attractive employer pension contribution
• Life assurance & income protection
• Private medical coverage

At Waters, we empower leaders to drive innovation, build strong cross-functional relationships, and deliver exceptional results. If you're ready to take your NPI expertise to the next level, we'd love to hear from you!

Company Description

Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT), the world's leading specialty measurement company, has pioneered chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials, and food sciences for over 60 years. With approximately 8,000 employees worldwide, Waters operates directly in 35 countries, including 15 manufacturing facilities, with products available in more than 100 countries. Our team focuses on creating business advantages for laboratory-dependent organizations to enable significant advancement in healthcare delivery, environmental management, food safety, and water quality.

Working at Waters enables our employees to unlock the potential of their careers. Our global team is driven by purpose. We strive to be better, learn and improve every day in everything we do. We’re the problem solvers and innovators that aren’t afraid to take risks to transform the world of human health and well-being. We’re all in it together delivering benefit as one to provide the insights needed today in order to solve the challenges of tomorrow.

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It is our responsibility to actively implement programs and practices to drive inclusive behavior and increase diversity across the organization. We are united by diversity and thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or protected Veteran status.