NPD Program Manager — Lead Cross-Functional Product Launch

Polaris Industries; Elkhart (IN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Bennington Marine is seeking a Product Development Process (PDP) Program Manager to lead the PDP across its portfolio of new product initiatives. This role acts as the central coordinator for cross-functional product development from opportunity identification through production launch and post-launch review.

The ideal candidate drives project execution, governance, risk mitigation, and schedule adherence in a matrixed organization, aligning Product Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply

Responsibilities

• Own and facilitate the execution of the PDP for all assigned product development programs.
• Ensure successful completion of PDP deliverables, gate reviews, approvals, and launch milestones.
• Lead development and maintenance of integrated project timelines, critical paths, resource plans
• Monitor project progress against approved business objectives, budgets, schedules, and resources
• Drive timely decision-making and resolution of issues that impact project scope, timing, cost, or quality.
• Coordinate the efforts of Product Management, Engineering, Industrial Design, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Procurement, Marketing, Finance, and Quality throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Establish clear accountability for deliverables, milestones, and action items across functional teams.
• Facilitate regular project core team meetings and drive follow-up actions to closure.
• Communicate project status, risks, opportunities, and resource constraints to leadership.
• Lead the scheduling, preparation, and administration of Product Council meetings and PDP gate reviews.
• Develop executive-ready presentations and the supporting documentation for project approvals and major business decisions.
• Ensure product scope, business cases, technical requirements, and readiness criteria are appropriately defined for each PDP phase.
• Track and document project decisions, risks, assumptions, and mitigation plans.
• Partner with Product Management and Finance to develop and maintain product business cases.
• Evaluate product opportunities based on strategic fit, customer demand, competitive position, margin potential, investment requirements, and organizational capacity.
• Support prioritization decisions within the product development portfolio.
• Monitor project financial performance, including development costs, tooling investments, capital expenditures, and launch assumptions.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Operations teams to assess design feasibility, technical readiness, manufacturability, supplier readiness, and launch risks.
• Coordinate launch readiness reviews to ensure all product, commercial, operational, and marketing deliverables are completed prior to production release.
• Support validation activities including prototype evaluation, design validation, production validation, certification requirements, and production ramp-up activities.
• Ensure successful transfer of products from development into production and commercialization.
• Maintain awareness of emerging market trends, customer needs, competitive products, and technology developments within the marine industry and adjacent industries.
• Facilitate incorporation of competitive intelligence and innovation opportunities into development roadmaps
• Partner with Product Management to identify opportunities for differentiation and value creation.
• Lead project post-mortem and lessons-learned reviews following product launches.
• Recommend improvements to PDP processes, project management practices, governance, reporting tools, and resource planning methodologies.
• Drive increased organization-wide project visibility and execution discipline.

Job description

Bennington Marine is seeking a Product Development Process (PDP) Program Manager to lead the PDP across its portfolio of new product initiatives. This role acts as the central coordinator for cross-functional product development from opportunity identification through production launch and post-launch review.

The ideal candidate drives project execution, governance, risk mitigation, and schedule adherence in a matrixed organization, aligning Product Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply