Project Manager - New Product Introduction

Flint Hills Resources; Kansas City (MO); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental plan

Vision plan

Flexible spending account

Life insurance

Job summary

Smiths Interconnect is seeking a Project Manager – Interposer Backplane to lead complex NPI programs for aerospace and defense. You will drive cross-functional teams through the full product lifecycle, ensuring on-time delivery, budget adherence, and compliance with customer and regulatory requirements.

You will align technical, operational, quality, supply chain, and commercial stakeholders to achieve program success, while facilitating governance and stage-gate reviews and ensuring production

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Project Management, or related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience managing complex engineering, manufacturing, or product development projects.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams in a regulated manufacturing environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Project, Excel, PowerPoint, and related project management tools.
• Ability to travel up to 10% as required for customer, supplier, or business-related activities.

Responsibilities

• Lead New Product Introduction (NPI) programs from concept through qualification, industrialization, and production launch.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration to meet objectives, schedules, and budgets.
• Serve as primary contact for stakeholders, providing clear communication and project visibility.
• Establish project governance, execution strategies, and risk management plans.
• Partner with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain to identify and resolve risks.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Project management

Schedule management

Communication

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Business/PM or related discipline

Tools

Microsoft Project

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Smiths Interconnect is seeking a Project Manager – Interposer Backplane to lead complex New Product Introduction (NPI) programs supporting mission-critical aerospace and defense applications. In this role, you will drive cross-functional teams through the full product development lifecycle, ensuring innovative products are delivered on time, within budget, and in compliance with customer and regulatory requirements. You will serve as the central leader responsible for aligning technical, operational, quality, supply chain, and commercial stakeholders to achieve program success.

Our Team

You will join our Performance Engineering team, a collaborative group focused on developing high-reliability interconnect solutions for aerospace, defense, and other demanding markets. Our team partners closely with engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and commercial functions to bring innovative products from concept to production while maintaining the highest standards of quality and execution.

What You Will Do

• Lead New Product Introduction (NPI) programs from concept development through qualification, industrialization, and production launch.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration to ensure project objectives, schedules, budgets, and customer commitments are achieved.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, providing clear communication and project visibility.
• Establish project governance, execution strategies, and risk management plans that support successful product delivery.
• Partner with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain teams to proactively identify and resolve risks and barriers.
• Facilitate project reviews, design reviews, stage-gate reviews, and production readiness milestones.
• Support proposal development, customer quotations, and business capture activities for aerospace and defense opportunities.
• Coordinate prototype development, testing, qualification activities, and pre-production builds to support successful product launches.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance project execution, predictability, and time-to-market performance.
• Ensure compliance with customer requirements, quality standards, export regulations, and aerospace industry best practices.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Project Management, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience managing complex engineering, manufacturing, or product development projects.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams in a regulated manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success managing project schedules, budgets, risks, and stakeholder communications.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Project, Excel, PowerPoint, and related project management tools.
• Ability to travel up to 10% as required for customer, supplier, or business-related activities.

What Will Put You Ahead

• Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI, Agile, or similar project management certification.
• Experience within the aerospace, defense, high-reliability electronics, connector, cable assembly, interconnect, or electromechanical industries.
• Knowledge of AS9100, AS9102, ITAR, EAR, MIL-STD-810, and MIL-STD-461 requirements.
• Experience applying phase-gate product development methodologies and governance frameworks.
• Familiarity with Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), and First Article Inspection (FAI) processes.
• Experience supporting government contracts and export-controlled programs.
• Strong understanding of configuration management, change control, and production readiness practices.
• Demonstrated ability to lead geographically dispersed teams and manage multiple concurrent NPI programs.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here .

Who We Are

As a Koch company, Molex is a leading supplier of connectors and interconnect components, driving innovation in electronics and supporting industries from automotive to health care and consumer to data communications. The thousands of innovators who work for Molex have made us a global electronics leader. Our experienced people, groundbreaking products and leading-edge technologies help us deliver a wider array of solutions to more markets than ever before.

At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.

Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region.

In order to comply with U.S. export control laws and regulations, this position requires applicants to either provide proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident status or be eligible to receive an export authorization (a license) under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and/or the Export Administration Regulations.

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify.

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