New Product Introduction (NPI) Manager

Company Overview:

• Our client is a well-established, high-growth food manufacturing company with approximately $1 billion in annual revenue and multiple production facilities across the Southeast and South-Central U.S. The company produces ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook protein products distributed nationally through major retail, food service, and restaurant channels. This is a stable, family-oriented organization experiencing strong continued growth.

Job Summary:

• The New Product Introduction (NPI) Manager leads cross-functional projects from concept through commercial launch while owning and improving the processes that enable successful product commercialization.
• This role drives alignment across R&D, Quality/Food Safety, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing, and Sales to ensure projects are executed efficiently and consistently.
• The position also leads SOP development, process standardization, and continuous improvement initiatives to build a scalable, repeatable product launch model.
• This is a high-visibility, hands-on role suited for a highly organized, process-driven individual who thrives in a fast-paced, high-project-volume environment.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Project Management, Supply Chain, or a related field required
• 5+ years of experience in product management, project management, or product commercialization
• Experience in food manufacturing or CPG strongly preferred
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional projects
• Experience with SOP development or process improvement initiatives preferred

Key Responsibilities:

• Project Leadership
  • Lead end-to-end product launch projects from concept approval through plant trials, scale-up, validation, and launch
  • Manage multiple projects simultaneously across retail, industrial, and foodservice channels
  • Develop and maintain integrated project plans, including timelines, risk registers, budgets, and launch readiness criteria
  • Identify and resolve risks, bottlenecks, and dependencies
  • Drive stage-gate execution and ensure decision readiness at each milestone
• Process Development & Manufacturing Readiness
  • Ensure new products are launched with documented, repeatable, and capable processes
  • Support identification of equipment needs, line modifications, or capital improvements required for new product launches
  • Own and maintain SOPs across the product launch lifecycle
  • Drive adoption and consistency of processes across teams
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Serve as the central point of contact across R&D, Quality, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing, and Sales for assigned projects
  • Coordinate with Product Development on formulations, specifications, and customer expectations
  • Coordinate with Operations on production readiness, capacity planning, and scheduling
  • Coordinate with Supply Chain on raw materials, packaging, and supplier alignment
  • Coordinate with Quality to ensure compliance with food safety, allergen control, labeling, and validation requirements
• Continuous Improvement
  • Embed continuous improvement principles into launch activities to enhance efficiency, quality, and cost performance
  • Identify opportunities to standardize and optimize processes across plants
  • Support post-launch reviews to assess performance and drive sustained improvements

Work Environment:

• This role is based in a professional office setting with occasional travel (10-15%) to manufacturing facilities for plant trials and startups. During plant visits, occasional exposure to varying temperatures and typical manufacturing environment conditions should be expected.

Benefits:

• Competitive base salary plus bonus eligibility, medical/dental/vision, 401(k) with company match, paid time off, and career development support.