Job Description
Your Impact
As the Product & NPI Lead, you will play a critical role in transforming early product concepts into commercialized automation solutions. Acting as the bridge between customers, engineering, and commercial teams, you will define product requirements, lead New Product Introduction (NPI) processes, and ensure product developments meet technical, regulatory, and business objectives. This role is central to improving product maturity, execution discipline, and time-to-market for new strapping machines produced by Samuel Automation Inc. and sold by Samuel Packaging Systems Group (PSG).
What You’ll Be Doing
Product Definition & Requirements
· Collaborate with the PSG product manager, establish and own Product Requirements Documents for new product developments, formally sanctioned by the Packaging Systems Group.
· Translate customer, market, and business needs into clear, actionable functional and non-functional requirements.
· Maintain traceability from customer requirements through design, validation, and release.
New Product Introduction (NPI) Leadership
· Define and plan NPI roadmaps for each product using established NPI and product lifecycle best practices.
· Manage the end-to-end NPI process, from concept approval through development, validation, release, and handoff to production.
· Ensure appropriate technical reviews, risk assessments, validation activities, and release criteria are met at each NPI stage.
Project & Technical Leadership
· Periodically serve as Project Manager for select R&D and product development initiatives.
· Act as a key stakeholder in design reviews, providing input on requirements compliance, risk, manufacturability, validation strategy, and lifecycle considerations.
· Monitor progress, risks, and dependencies across cross-functional teams to ensure objectives are met.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
· Act as a liaison between R&D, Business Development, and Sales, supporting forecast confidence, opportunity qualification, technical positioning, and roadmap alignment.
· Support business development efforts by clearly communicating product capabilities, limitations, and development timelines.
· Prepare and present R&D funding requests and business cases for new product initiatives.
Standards, Compliance & Industry Expertise
· Function as the automation group’s in-house expert on industry-specific certification and compliance requirements (e.g., safety, regulatory, and customer-mandated standards).
You’ll Be Great At
· Strong experience defining and managing product requirements in an engineering-driven organization.
· Working knowledge of New Product Introduction (NPI) and product lifecycle management practices.
· Ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
· Solid understanding of industrial automation systems and engineered machinery.
· Demonstrated project management, prioritization, and risk-management skills.
· Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to interface with customers and senior stakeholders.
· Analytical, structured problem-solving mindset with attention to detail.
Level of Autonomy and Authority
· Work is performed with a high level of independence within established business and product development objectives.
· Responsible for prioritizing and managing NPI activities, timelines, and deliverables across cross-functional teams.
· Provides direction and influence to stakeholders, project teams, and technical contributors without direct supervisory authority.
· Makes recommendations and decisions related to product requirements, risk mitigation, validation activities, and product release readiness.
· Escalates significant business, technical, or resource-related issues to senior leadership as required.
Key Requirements
· Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, or related discipline).
· 7+ years of experience in automation, product development, or systems engineering roles.
· Experience working with customer-facing requirements and cross-functional product teams
· Ability and willingness to travel occasionally to customer sites and internal facilities.
· Comfort working across engineering, manufacturing, and commercial environments.
· Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic, evolving product and project landscape.
· Familiarity with industry standards, safety regulations, and certification processes is considered a strong asset.
The expected compensation range for this position is $108,960 - $136,200. This range includes base pay and target variable pay. Actual compensation will depend on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, and experience. We also consider internal equity to ensure fair and consistent pay practices. This range reflects the expected full compensation range for the role; most offers will fall within the range and not at the maximum in order to allow for future growth.
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Samuel is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In the United States, we utilize E-Verify.