Project Manager- New Product Development - Air Cooling (51384) at MAS HVAC in Maple Grove Office - Maple Grove, MN 55369

Job description

• Salary Range
• The NPD Project Manager – Air Cooling Technologies is responsible for leading new product development (NPD) projects within the Product Development team, with a focus on innovative air cooling solutions. This role owns the full project lifecycle from concept initiation through design validation and product launch, ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery while maintaining alignment with Gradian's engineering standards and strategic objectives.
• The position reports directly to the Director of Operations Engineering and maintains a dotted-line relationship with the Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure consistency in project management processes, tools, and governance across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Project Leadership & Execution
• Lead cross-functional NPD projects for new air-cooling technology from concept through commercialization, using a structured stage-gate or agile development process
• Develop comprehensive project plans including scope definition, schedules, resource plans, risk registers, and budget forecasts
• Drive project execution by coordinating activities across Engineering, Industrial Design, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, and Marketing
• Monitor project performance against plan; proactively identify risks, develop mitigation strategies, and escalate blockers as appropriate
• Conduct regular project status reviews with stakeholders and present updates to Advanced Development leadership
• Process & Governance
• Partner with the PMO to adopt and maintain consistent project management practices, templates, and reporting standards across NPD efforts
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date project documentation throughout the project lifecycle
• Facilitate stage-gate reviews, ensuring deliverables meet defined criteria before progressing to the next phase
• Support continuous improvement of Gradian's NPD process based on lessons learned and industry best practices
• Collaboration
• Serve as the primary point of contact and communication hub for assigned NPD projects
• Build strong working relationships with R&D engineers, product managers, manufacturing engineers, and external suppliers or partners
• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Operations to ensure design-for-manufacturability (DFM) considerations are addressed early in the development process
• Collaborate with Quality to ensure new products meet applicable performance, safety, and regulatory requirements
• Resource & Budget Management
• Manage project budgets and track expenditures against approved plans; provide regular financial forecasts and variance explanations
• Coordinate resource allocation across project teams; surface resource conflicts and work with functional managers to resolve them

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline or equal amount of relevant experience
• PMP certification (Project Management Professional) or equivalent formal project management education (e.g., a degree program with a concentration in project/program management) or equal amount of relevant experience
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in project management, with at least 3 years leading NPD or product development projects in a manufacturing or engineering environment
• Demonstrated proficiency with project scheduling tools (e.g., Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, or equivalent)
• Strong understanding of stage-gate product development processes
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills
• Experience in HVAC, thermal management, or related mechanical systems industries
• Familiarity with air-side or fluid-side heat transfer principles (air cooling, AHUs, fan coils, heat exchangers)
• Experience working within or alongside a PMO structure
• Background in design-for-manufacturability (DFM) or design-for-quality (DFQ) methodologies
• Proficiency with PLM or ERP systems
• Six Sigma or Lean certification
• Ability to engage meaningfully with engineering teams on product design, testing, and performance trade-offs
• Strong sense of ownership; bias toward action and on-time delivery
• Ability to manage complexity, prioritize competing demands, and keep projects organized under ambiguity
• Skilled at leading cross-functional teams without direct authority
• Clear and concise communicator, both written and verbal, with the ability to tailor messages to technical and executive audiences alike
• Actively seeks to improve processes, tools, and team effectiveness

Skills

Required

• Project management
• Stage-gate product development processes
• Communication
• Facilitation
• Stakeholder management

Preferred

• HVAC industry experience
• Thermal management
• PMO structure experience
• Design-for-manufacturability (DFM)
• Design-for-quality (DFQ)
• PLM or ERP systems
• Six Sigma or Lean certification

Benefits

• Position Type