NPI Manager

Parker Hannifin; Erie (Erie County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Parker Hannifin is seeking a New Product Introduction Manager to lead the production integration of new aerospace products and manufacturing processes. You will drive schedules, oversee cost-efficient transitions to full-scale production, and align customer expectations with technical requirements.

The role requires building high-performing teams, removing barriers, and sustaining a Lean mindset to deliver robust product processes and on-time delivery in a regulated environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or related discipline with strong product and/or process knowledge.
• Minimum of 4 years of experience leading teams and/or complex projects.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, and develop high-performance teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational and planning skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, and stakeholders.
• SAP experience should be familiar.
• General knowledge of Parker Lord manufacturing processes such as elastomer, bonding, assembly.

Responsibilities

• Lead the New Product Introduction department with clear objectives and accountability.
• Promote a safety-first culture and close safety improvements.
• Partner with operations, technology, product development, sourcing, and manufacturing teams.
• Establish and execute production schedules to meet customer expectations.
• Manage development and manufacture of new aerospace products and processes.
• Monitor capacity and capability through capacity planning.
• Identify risks, constraints, and improvement opportunities.
• Resolve manufacturing barriers and prioritize resources across programs.
• Develop and transition documented, validated products to production.
• Ensure compliance with NPD processes, deliverables, and readiness.
• Support cost reduction initiatives to improve quality and performance.
• Track milestones, KPIs, risks, and obstacles with dashboards.

Skills

Team leadership

Strategic planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Project management

English fluency

Risk & issue management

Lean/continuous improvement

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

SAP

Job description

About the Role

The New Product Introduction Manager is responsible for leading the production integration of new aerospace products and associated manufacturing processes. This role manages the development, manufacture, and delivery of new products while helping create robust, cost-effective processes for transition into full-scale production.

You will lead the NPI department, support a high-performance team, establish production schedules, remove manufacturing barriers, and ensure alignment between customer expectations, technical requirements, and operational execution.

This position currently supports the development and manufacture of approximately $12 million in annual sales.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the New Product Introduction department with clear objectives, expectations, accountability, and team empowerment
• Promote a Safety-First culture by encouraging identification and closure of safety improvement opportunities
• Partner closely with operations, technology, product development, sourcing, RPM, Tool Room, and manufacturing teams
• Establish and execute new product production schedules to meet or exceed customer expectations
• Manage the development and manufacture of new aerospace products and associated production processes
• Monitor NPI department capacity and capability through effective capacity planning
• Identify operational risks, resource constraints, and opportunities for improvement
• Resolve manufacturing barriers and establish resource prioritization across competing programs
• Develop and transition fully documented, validated, cost-efficient products and processes to full-scale production
• Ensure compliance with new product development processes, deliverables, and production readiness requirements
• Support cost reduction initiatives that improve quality, process performance, and Design-to-Cost targets
• Maintain awareness of NPI milestones, KPIs, risks, and obstacles through performance dashboards, improvement boards, and regular operating cadence
• Build and sustain an environment where team members can develop cross-functional skills and expertise
• Drive team performance across key metrics including safety, quality, delivery, cost, engagement, and empowerment
• Maintain a continuous improvement and Lean mindset focused on product and process robustness
• Support Zero Defects through disciplined execution, risk management, and process improvement
• Establish the required flow of purchased and plant materials to support agreed customer delivery schedules
• Work with NPI sourcing, RPM, Tool Room, and other teams to improve on-time delivery performance

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for a leader who can balance strategy and execution — someone who can communicate across functions, manage complexity, develop people, and drive results in a technical manufacturing environment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related discipline with strong product and/or process knowledge
• Minimum of 4 years of experience leading teams and/or complex projects
• Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, and develop high-performance teams
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organizational and planning skills
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, and stakeholders
• SAP experience
• General knowledge of Parker Lord manufacturing processes, such as elastomer processes, bonding processes, assembly, or similar manufacturing processes
• Fluency in English

Preferred Qualifications

• Product design knowledge or product development experience
• Knowledge of general cost accounting practices
• Master’s degree in Engineering, MBA, or similar advanced degree
• Experience supporting aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, or regulated product environments
• Experience transitioning new products from development into production
• Lean manufacturing or continuous improvement experience

Important Eligibility Requirement

This position is ITAR restricted. Candidates must be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident, or Green Card Holder to be eligible for consideration.

Lead What Comes Next

At Parker Lord, the NPI team helps determine how new aerospace products become reliable, repeatable, production-ready solutions. This is a leadership role for someone who enjoys solving complex manufacturing challenges, developing people, and delivering results that matter to customers.

Conditions of Employment

This position is subject to meeting U.S. export compliance and/or U.S. Government contracting citizenship eligibility requirements.

Parker Hannifin

Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. For more than a century, we’ve enabled engineering breakthroughs that make energy cleaner, transportation safer, medical treatments more effective, and manufacturing more efficient.

With empowered team members in more than 40 countries, Parker serves customers across aerospace & defense, energy, HVAC & refrigeration, in-plant & industrial equipment, off-highway and transportation.

Our scale is global, but our purpose is personal. We enable breakthroughs that improve lives, strengthen communities and create a brighter future.

Our Purpose — Enabling Engineering Breakthroughs that Lead to a Better Tomorrow — comes to life through our people-first culture where teamwork drives performance, inclusion fuels innovation and growth is encouraged. This environment fosters collaboration and empowers team members from engineering and manufacturing to finance, supply chain, human resources, information technology and beyond.

By combining deep expertise with an entrepreneurial spirit, we help customers succeed in markets that demand performance, reliability, and sustainability.

As we look to the future, Parker is advancing initiatives in energy efficiency and sustainability while developing the next generation of talent and leaders to engineer a better tomorrow.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Parker is an Equal Opportunity and Affi… [text continues unchanged]

Drug Tests

Drug-Free Workplace

In accordance with Parker’s policies and applicable state laws, Parker provides for a drug‑free workplace. Therefore, all applicants seeking employment with Parker will be subject to drug testing as a condition of employment.