Director of NPI Quality & Launch Readiness

Job Description

Job Description

Panelmatic, Inc. was founded in 1957 in Youngstown, OH to serve manufacturing industries with the design and build of custom electrical, instrument, and pneumatic control panels. Our business has sufficiently grown over the years to support expansion for our clients. We have produced control packages for many of America's top corporations in the chemical, environmental, food, pulp and paper, rubber, petroleum, pharmaceutical, glass, metals, and utilities industries. We also deliver equipment for use worldwide. Our rigorous methodology assures compliance with domestic and international standards. We can meet the needs of our diverse clientele from start to finish through sales, design, fabrication, testing, and delivery.

 

Since 1957, we have been known for our high-quality, custom-built control packages, our comprehensive service, and our technological and manufacturing expertise. This expertise assures you of our ability to handle the largest and most complex packages quickly and efficiently.

 

Job Summary:

The Director of NPDI Quality leads the Quality function within Panelmatic's New Product Development and Introduction (NPDI) process. The role owns quality planning, independent phase/gate quality governance, product and reliability risk assurance, verification/validation evidence review, manufacturing-quality readiness, and quality handoff through launch. This position does not own product development, product design, engineering decisions, program management, sourcing, or manufacturing process ownership; those responsibilities remain with Engineering, Product/Program Management, Procurement/Supply Chain, Manufacturing Engineering, and Operations.

Job Duties:

• Establish NPDI quality plans, required quality deliverables, gate exit criteria, and standard quality checklists across product families.
• Provide an independent Quality assessment at each gate; recommend go, conditional go, or hold based on objective evidence, open risks, and approved exceptions.
• Ensure customer, regulatory, reliability, critical-to-quality, and special-characteristic requirements are traceable and addressed in the NPDI process.
• Facilitate or review DFMEA, product-risk assessments, and lessons learned while Engineering retains ownership of the technical design and design decisions.
• Review DVP&R/test plans and results for requirement coverage, acceptance criteria, traceability, failure closure, and evidence completeness.
• Partner with Engineering, R&D, and Test; those functions retain ownership of test development, technical execution, analysis, and engineering conclusions.
• Ensure PFMEA, control plans, inspection/test criteria, FAI/process validation, MSA/capability, training, and quality documentation are ready before launch.
• Lead Quality readiness for prototype, pilot, first-build, and launch, then complete a disciplined handoff to Manufacturing Quality after stable production.
• Integrate supplier/component quality deliverables into NPDI gates with Supplier Quality, including PPAP/FAI, qualification evidence, and critical-component readiness.
• Supplier Quality retains supplier qualification, audits, SCAR, and ongoing supplier performance ownership; Procurement retains sourcing and commercial ownership.
• Ensure engineering changes and MOC activities include quality-impact assessment and any required revalidation or requalification before release.
• Feed launch, manufacturing, warranty, field, and customer lessons learned into future NPDI quality requirements while Engineering retains technical change authority.
• Lead and develop NPDI Quality Engineers and establish common competencies, methods, and expectations for new-product quality execution.
• Partner with Engineering, Product/Program Management, Test, Operations, Manufacturing Quality, Supplier Quality, QMS/Compliance, and Customer Care; report readiness and major risks to the VP Quality.
• Program schedule, product-development milestones, business decisions, and overall program execution.
• Product concept, architecture, calculations, drawings, BOMs, technical requirements, design decisions, and design authority.
• Test-method development, technical test execution, engineering analysis, and technical disposition/acceptance.
• Process design, tooling, routings/work instructions, production execution, and ongoing manufacturing-process ownership.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of progressive quality experience in engineered-product or manufacturing environments, including significant NPDI/NPI/new-product quality leadership responsibility.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience leading phase/gate quality governance from concept through pilot, launch, and handoff to sustaining/manufacturing quality.
• Strong working knowledge of product-quality and reliability planning, DFMEA/PFMEA, control plans, DVP&R or verification/validation, FAI, MSA, process capability, and structured problem solving.
• Strong understanding of ISO 9001, QMS requirements, design/change controls, corrective action, and risk-based decision making.
• Proficiency interpreting engineering drawings, specifications, BOMs, customer requirements, test requirements, and quality documentation.
• Experience using ERP, PLM, eQMS, quality-data systems, and analytical tools to manage new-product quality readiness and risk.
• Strong communication, technical influencing, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration skills, including the ability to challenge technical teams while respecting engineering design authority.
• Ability to make independent risk-based quality decisions and manage high-severity launch issues in a fast-paced engineered-to-order manufacturing environment.
• Master's degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, Quality, Reliability, Operations, or a related technical field.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt; ASQ CQE, CRE, CQM/OE, or similar quality/reliability certification.
• Experience with engineered electrical/electromechanical products such as industrial control panels, switchgear, power distribution equipment, relay/control panels, or engineered enclosures.
• Experience with reliability engineering, accelerated testing, failure analysis, design verification, and early-life/launch quality management.
• Experience standardizing NPDI/NPI quality processes across multiple sites, product families, or acquired businesses

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, HSA, term life, AD&D, STD, LTD
• 100% medical premium paid for by Panelmatic for the employee-only level medical coverage
• 80% paid for by Panelmatic and 20% paid for by the employee on all other level medical coverage (i.e. employee plus child, employee plus spouse, family)
• 401(k) contributions matched 100% up to 4% 
• Scholarships, educational reimbursement, paid volunteerism, and paid personal and professional development provided
• PTO and paid holidays provided
• Career advancement opportunities
• Competitive wages