VP of NPI (Semiconductor Capital Equipment)

SBT is the exclusive executive recruiting firm for this confidential position. This is a confidential, well-funded company building the precision tools behind a next-generation manufacturing process. After years of proving the technology in R&D, they're standing up a new business unit to take their laser-based tools from working prototypes to repeatable, high-volume production — built through strategic contract‑manufacturing partners and deployed at scale internationally. This is a ground‑up leadership role: you'll own NPI as a company‑wide function, hire and lead the team, and put in place the processes that don't exist yet. Role Own the NPI lifecycle for complex precision tools — R&D prototype through pilot build to volume ramp — and build and lead the supply chain, manufacturing, and NPI engineering team that executes it. Bridge R&D and manufacturing: partner with design engineers to make tools producible, inspectable, serviceable, and repeatable, and translate nimble prototype work into controlled, copy‑exact production. Develop and manage strategic contract manufacturers and suppliers — qualification, performance, engineering change, and the deep engineering‑to‑engineering relationships that custom components demand. Stand up the processes, documentation, and metrics a young manufacturing org needs — calibrated to where the company actually is, not imported wholesale from a large company. Drive build, integration, and test of prototype and pilot tools to functional acceptance, and lead root‑cause problem solving when sourcing, build, or integration issues surface. Qualifications A track record taking complex capital equipment from R&D to repeatable manufacturing — ideally tools involving precision motion control, optical, or precision mechanical alignment. Real depth developing contract manufacturers and strategic suppliers, not just managing ones already in place. Someone who came up close to engineering — enough to earn credibility with an R&D team used to doing things its own way — and made the shift to manufacturing thinking themselves. Comfort operating in a low‑maturity, fast‑moving environment: building structure where there isn't any, without bulldozing the people you need to bring along. A plus: laser systems and laser safety, copy‑exact deployment, and experience scaling production in Asia. #J-18808-Ljbffr SBT