New Product Introduction (NPI) Manager

Company Overview

Our client is a well-established and rapidly growing food manufacturing enterprise generating around $1 billion annually. Operating multiple facilities across the Southeast and South-Central United States, the company specializes in ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook protein products distributed nationwide through major retail, food service, and restaurant channels. It is a stable, family-oriented organization experiencing consistent expansion.

Job Summary

The New Product Introduction (NPI) Manager will oversee cross-functional initiatives starting from concept development through to commercial product launch, while managing and enhancing procedures that facilitate successful product commercialization. This role ensures collaboration and alignment between departments such as R&D, Quality and Food Safety, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing, and Sales to execute projects effectively and uniformly. Responsibilities also include leading creation of SOPs, process standardization, and continuous improvement efforts to develop a scalable and replicable product launch framework. This position is highly visible and demands a hands-on, organized, and process-oriented individual who excels in a dynamic, high-volume project environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead comprehensive product launch projects from concept approval through plant trials, scale-up, validation, and final introduction.
• Manage several projects concurrently across retail, industrial, and foodservice sectors.
• Create and oversee integrated project plans covering timelines, risk management, budgets, and launch readiness criteria.
• Identify and mitigate risks, bottlenecks, and dependencies throughout project execution.
• Drive stage-gate process compliance ensuring decision readiness at every project milestone.
• Guarantee new products launch with well-documented, repeatable, and capable processes.
• Support evaluation and identification of equipment needs, line changes, or capital improvements for product launches.
• Maintain ownership of SOP development and updates throughout the product launch cycle.
• Promote consistent process adoption across cross-functional teams.
• Act as the primary liaison among R&D, Quality, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing, and Sales for assigned projects.
• Coordinate with Product Development on product formulations, specifications, and customer requirements.
• Collaborate with Operations for production readiness, capacity planning, and scheduling.
• Work with Supply Chain to align raw materials, packaging, and supplier coordination.
• Partner with Quality to ensure compliance regarding food safety, allergen control, labeling, and validation.
• Incorporate continuous improvement methods into launch activities to boost efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness.
• Identify process standardization and optimization opportunities across manufacturing plants.
• Support post-launch assessments to review product performance and drive ongoing improvements.

Work Environment

This position is located in a professional office environment and requires periodic travel (10-15%) to manufacturing sites for plant trials and startups. Plant visits involve exposure to varying temperatures and typical conditions found in food manufacturing facilities.

Benefits

The company offers a competitive base salary with bonus eligibility, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) plan with company matching, paid time off, and opportunities for professional growth and development.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Project Management, Supply Chain, or a related discipline.
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in product management, project management, or product commercialization.
• Preference for candidates with experience within the food manufacturing or consumer packaged goods (CPG) sectors.
• Proven track record leading cross-functional teams and projects.
• Experience in SOP development and process improvement initiatives is advantageous.