KEY SUCCESS DELIVERABLES
- Accelerate New Product Development - Lead priority pump NPD/NPI programs from opportunity identification and business case through product development, validation, industrialization, launch, and post-launch review.
- Drive Strategic Growth Initiatives - Lead cross-functional programs focused on new markets, applications, product adjacencies, platform extensions, portfolio expansion, localization, and other strategic growth priorities.
- Deliver Commercial Outcomes - Ensure programs are anchored in clearly defined customer needs, market opportunities, revenue potential, margin objectives, and return on investment.
- Improve Speed to Market - Establish clear milestones, critical paths, decision points, and cross-functional accountability to accelerate development and commercialization.
- Drive Cross-Functional Execution - Create alignment across Product Management, Engineering, Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance around program objectives, priorities, resources, risks, and deliverables.
- Strengthen NPD/NPI Discipline - Drive effective use of CIRCORs stage-gate/NPD process while ensuring the process enables speed, effective decision-making, and commercial outcomes.
- Provide Portfolio Visibility - Establish clear reporting of program status, risks, financial performance, resource requirements, and key decisions to Product Management and business leadership.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
New Product Development & Commercialization
- Lead cross-functional execution of priority pump NPD and NPI programs from concept through commercial launch.
- Partner with Product Management to translate market requirements, voice of customer, competitive insights, and application needs into clear product and program requirements.
- Develop integrated program plans covering product definition, engineering, sourcing, manufacturing readiness, testing, certification, commercial launch, and customer adoption.
- Establish program milestones, critical paths, decision gates, resource requirements, and accountabilities.
- Partner closely with Engineering to manage technical development, design reviews, validation, testing, and product readiness.
- Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to ensure manufacturability, sourcing readiness, capacity, cost, quality, and successful production launch.
- Partner with Sales and Product Management to develop launch plans, identify target customers and applications, support early customer engagement, and drive commercial adoption.
- Establish appropriate post-launch reviews to evaluate revenue, margin, customer adoption, product performance, and achievement of the original business case.
Strategic Growth Initiatives
- Lead high-priority strategic initiatives intended to expand CIRCORs position in existing and new pump markets and applications.
- Support programs involving new applications, market adjacencies, product platform extensions, portfolio gaps, product localization, cost/value engineering, and other organic growth opportunities.
- Translate strategic growth opportunities into structured programs with clear scope, business objectives, financial targets, milestones, resources, and ownership.
- Coordinate customer, market, competitive, technical, and operational inputs required to evaluate and execute growth opportunities.
- Work with Product Management and Sales to validate customer demand and commercial assumptions before significant investment decisions.
- Drive rapid resolution of cross-functional issues that impede program progress or commercialization.
Business Case & Financial Management
- Partner with Product Management and Finance to develop robust business cases for NPD and strategic growth investments.
- Establish clear program-level targets for revenue, gross margin, investment, product cost, payback, and return on investment as appropriate.
- Manage program budgets and forecast cost-to-complete.
- Track program performance against approved investment and business-case assumptions.
- Identify financial risks, cost overruns, scope changes, or changes in commercial assumptions and escalate them early.
- Ensure significant program decisions consider both technical requirements and commercial/financial impact.
Program Management & Governance
- Own integrated program schedules and ensure clear accountability for major deliverables across functions.
- Establish and lead effective cross-functional program operating rhythms.
- Manage multiple strategic programs simultaneously, balancing priorities and resources based on business impact.
- Identify critical dependencies, constraints, and resource conflicts and work with functional leadership to resolve them.
- Develop and maintain program risk registers and mitigation plans covering technical, commercial, operational, supply-chain, financial, and schedule risks.
- Provide concise and transparent reporting to senior leadership on program status, milestones, risks, financial performance, and decisions required.
- Lead stage-gate and executive program reviews and ensure decisions and actions are clearly documented and executed.
- Continuously improve NPD and strategic program-management processes to increase speed, accountability, and effectiveness.
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Serve as the central point of integration across Product Management, Engineering, Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance for assigned programs.
- Lead complex cross-functional teams without relying on direct reporting authority.
- Create clarity around objectives, roles, deliverables, decisions, and accountability.
- Challenge teams constructively when milestones, assumptions, or commitments are at risk.
- Facilitate effective trade-off decisions among product performance, customer requirements, cost, timing, manufacturability, and commercial objectives.
- Build strong relationships across functions and establish credibility as both a program leader and business partner.
SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
The successful candidate will bring a combination of technical understanding, program leadership, commercial orientation, and business acumen. Experience leading complex product development or growth programs within an industrial manufacturing environment is strongly preferred.
- 8+ years of experience in program management, project management, engineering, product management, or related roles within an industrial or engineered-product environment.
- Demonstrated experience leading new product development/NPI programs from concept through commercialization.
- Experience with pumps, flow control, rotating equipment, engineered industrial products, or related technologies strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex cross-functional teams involving Engineering, Product Management, Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, and Finance.
- Strong understanding of structured NPD/NPI or stage-gate processes.
- Experience developing and managing integrated program schedules, critical paths, resource plans, budgets, risks, and executive reporting.
- Strong business and financial acumen, including experience with business cases, product cost, margins, investment requirements, ROI, and financial forecasting.
- Commercially oriented with the ability to connect technical programs to customer needs, market opportunities, and financial outcomes.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously and independently.
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to bring structure and clarity to ambiguous opportunities.
- Ability to influence and drive accountability across functions and organizational levels without direct authority.
- Excellent written, verbal, and executive-level communication skills.
- Strong working knowledge of project-management tools and ERP/business systems.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelors degree in Engineering, Business, or a related technical discipline required; Engineering degree preferred.
- MBA or other advanced business degree beneficial but not required.
- Formal project/program management training or certification such as PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent is beneficial.
- Experience within pumps, flow control, industrial equipment, energy, power generation, oil & gas, chemical processing, or related end markets is beneficial.
CIRCOR is an EEO Employer of Females / Minorities / Veterans / Individuals with Disabilities