NPI Engineer

NPI ENGINEER - LEUVEN (BELGIUM) - PERMANENT POSITION The New Product Introduction (NPI) Engineer is responsible for managing the end-to-end process of bringing new products from design and development into full-scale manufacturing. This role ensures that products are launched on time, meet performance, quality, and cost targets, and comply with all technical, regulatory, and safety requirements. The NPI Engineer acts as a critical bridge between R&D, design teams, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and external suppliers, coordinating activities to ensure smooth transitions from prototype to production. The role involves planning, tracking, and managing project timelines, identifying potential risks, and proactively implementing solutions to mitigate delays or issues. The ideal candidate combines strong project management and organizational skills with a solid understanding of engineering, manufacturing, and quality principles. They facilitate cross-functional collaboration, monitor progress, and provide guidance to internal and external teams to ensure product requirements are fully realized and manufacturable at scale. This role also emphasizes continuous improvement, leveraging lessons learned from previous product introductions to streamline processes, reduce time-to-market, and enhance product reliability and manufacturability. Key Responsibilities Plan, coordinate, and manage all activities for the introduction of new products into manufacturing Develop and maintain detailed NPI project plans, including timelines, milestones, resources, and risk mitigation strategies Track project progress, identify potential risks or roadblocks, and proactively implement corrective actions Ensure products meet design specifications, manufacturability, cost, and quality targets Act as the primary liaison between R&D, design teams, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and external suppliers Facilitate design reviews, handoffs, and process validation to ensure alignment between design and production requirements Communicate technical and project status updates to stakeholders, managing expectations and addressing concerns promptly Evaluate and optimize manufacturing processes to ensure production readiness for new products Support prototype builds, pilot runs, and pre-production testing Identify and address production challenges, bottlenecks, and quality issues early in the introduction process Collaborate with suppliers to ensure timely delivery of components and assemblies Ensure compliance with internal quality standards, industry regulations, and safety certifications Support risk analysis, root cause investigations, and corrective/preventive actions related to new products Maintain accurate technical, process, and project documentation Qualifications & Skills Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Industrial, or Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field Experience in NPI, product introduction, or manufacturing engineering, preferably in electronics, hardware, or industrial products Strong knowledge of design for manufacturability (DFM), process development, and quality systems Excellent project management, organizational, and problem-solving skills Ability to work cross-functionally, managing multiple priorities and stakeholders effectively Proficiency with project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Jira, or equivalent) The Offer: A permanent, full-time employment contract A salary & benefits package commensurate with experience Please send over your CV to tom.walker@vividresourcing.com or call me on +32 (0) 3 318 00 74. As always, we are open to recommendations, so please feel free to pass this on to other suitable candidates.