New Product Introduction (NPI) Project Manager

Synopsys is the industry leader in providing cutting edge emulation, simulation and prototyping hardware and software solutions.  These solutions are provided to chip manufacturing companies who are engineering next generation chip development from design to silicon.  Hardware comprises primarily of emulation and prototyping systems.  Emulation enables SoC verification and software bring-up and address the exploding verification requirements of SoC end-users, while prototyping enables early embedded software development and high-performance system validation prior to the final SoC. Synopsys provides superior quality along with best-in-class customer service and support.  We are looking for responsive, dedicated individuals to contribute to the Systems Design Group (SD) hardware Operations team.

Job Description:

The NPI Project Manager will work cross-functionally with other team members in a high-tech, highly energized, team-oriented environment. This individual will be accountable for planning, executing, and monitoring new product development and introduction projects primarily focused on operations and contract manufacturers (CMs) Team members the NPI Project Manager will interface with include supply chain, manufacturing engineering, quality, test, production planning and packaging. Meanwhile, CMs provide the complete value stream to plan, source, make and deliver our products. Ultimately, the goal is to develop efficient and capable manufacturing, assembly, and test processes with our contract manufacturers for our new product lines.

The NPI Project Manager will have the ability to charter, scope, plan, execute, control and close projects.  Emphasis will be placed on managing tasks and deliverables within and between hardware operations functions, as well as CM-facing, while also integrating R&D and product management activities/inputs into the project.  The NPI project manager will execute and monitor the projects in Jira, including task management, project dashboards and reporting.

Role & Responsibility:

• Initiates, monitors and executes projects through leading, collaborative problem solving and/or coaching team members to drive action items to closure.
• Follows a product lifecycle process (PLC) framework including monitoring projects within existing PLC phases as well as planning for upcoming phases.  Prepares for and facilitates phase-gate review meetings representing operations.
• Applies critical thinking to identify and close gaps. Leverages problem-solving tools and methodologies to drive issues to completion and/or ensure mutual understanding of the way-forward on projects.  Overall strong bias for action to prioritize activities and keep things moving.
• Ensures that activities are well-defined, tracked and integrated, emphasizing partnering and teamwork with other functions and key stakeholders.
• Uses Jira to track projects at both granular (task/issue level) as well as dashboard and macro-level.
• Creates and releases selected project deliverables as required such as ad-hoc analysis, process maps, work instructions, etc.  Facilitates problem solving and identification of root cause and corrective actions.
• Analyzes projects for resource needs and escalates needs for specific functions.
• Assesses overall CM capability, performance, and ability to execute new product introduction.  As a result, may intervene by partnering with subject matter experts to help close gaps.
• Manages product data, bills-of-material, and information flow from R&D to Operations to CMs, including managing cut-in of engineering changes.
• Presents project status updates for weekly / monthly management reviews.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering and 8-10 years relevant experience in NPI or operational excellence projects.
• Knowledge and experience in product lifecycle (PLC) processes including concurrent execution of the PLC involving various functional groups (R&D, Operations, Product Management and Contract Manufacturers).
• Experienced with project management fundamentals (project planning, work breakdown structures, scheduling, executing, monitoring and closing) within cost, schedule and scope constraints. Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is highly desirable.
• Must have led or co-led a minimum of 5, full-cycle product development or new product introduction projects, preferably with contract manufacturers and complex electronic products.
• Extensive experience managing projects, people and complex products and systems within a complex, global value stream (across multiple sites, organizations and disciplines).
• Experience using Jira for managing projects (waterfall and/or agile/scrum).  Certified Scrum master is a plus.
• Product data, document control, and configuration change management experience (experience with Arena, Teamcenter, or a similar PDM system is a plus).
• Experienced in lean six sigma problem solving tools and methodologies is a plus.  Design for Six Sigma is a plus.
• SAP or similar ERP system experience is a plus
• Knowledge of, or work experience with Lean Manufacturing JIT manufacturing, Total Quality Management, value stream and value stream process improvement