Sr NPD Project Manager (New Product Dev)

No Corp-to-corp. No 3 rd party firms
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Position: Sr Project Manager (New product development)
Location: 3-day onsite near Anaheim, CA (Only local candidates will be considered)
Terms: 6+ month contract
Compensation: $80-100 per hour (DOE) W2 only

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Partnered with a client who's seeking a Senior Project Manager to lead two early-stage new product development initiatives involving next-generation electromechanical products. This role will drive projects from initiation through launch readiness, partnering closely with engineering, product management, quality, operations, finance, and external manufacturing partners.
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Ideal Background: Senior NPD Project Managers who have led complete product lifecycles (not components/parts) for electromechanical or technology-enabled physical products, managed supplier and ODM relationships, and successfully delivered products from concept through launch.
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Responsibilities

• Lead two concurrent New Product Development (NPD) programs from project initiation through commercialization.


• Drive project scope definition, requirements alignment, and product definition activities during the early phases of development.


• Develop and maintain integrated project plans using Microsoft Project, ensuring alignment across cross-functional teams and key stakeholders.


• Own project schedules, critical path analysis, risk management, resource planning, and milestone execution.


• Facilitate Phase-Gate reviews and ensure adherence to established NPD processes.


• Manage collaboration with external ODMs, suppliers, and development partners, including occasional off-hours meetings to support global teams.


• Partner closely with Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Design, Product Management, Quality, Operations, and Finance teams.


• Track project budgets and provide regular status updates to leadership.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of Project Management experience leading physical product development programs.


• Proven success managing products that combine hardware, firmware, and software components.


• Experience leading at least two full New Product Development (NPD) lifecycles within a formal Phase-Gate environment.


• Advanced Microsoft Project experience, including schedule development, dependency management, and Critical Path analysis.


• Experience working with ODMs, contract manufacturers, suppliers, and cross-functional engineering teams.


• Strong understanding of project budgeting, risk management, and product commercialization processes.


• Ability to influence stakeholders and drive execution across matrixed organizations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or another technical discipline.


• Experience with electromechanical, commercial, industrial, medical device, instrumentation, test & measurement, or capital equipment products.


• Comfortable operating in fast-paced environments where projects are being established from the ground up.

What Success Looks Like

• Quickly establishes project structure, scope, and execution plans.


• Aligns stakeholders around product requirements and development milestones.


• Drives projects through Phase-Gate reviews while maintaining schedule integrity and launch targets.


• Successfully manages complex supplier and engineering dependencies to support a target launch window of approximately 9-15 months.

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All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, or military or veteran status. We consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, and San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.