Manager, New Products Introduction
About the Role
The Manager, New Products Introduction (NPI) leads the Texas NPI team in delivering technical maturity and operational readiness to launch stable, high‑quality products at ZT's Texas manufacturing facility. As ZT expands its manufacturing footprint, this role replicates the operational structure and execution rigor of the established NPI organization within the Texas plant—overseeing planning, execution, and optimization of parallel product launches across ZT's portfolio of hyperscale server, storage, and AI GPU compute solutions. Reporting to NPI leadership, you will build, mentor, and direct the Texas NPI engineering and technical program management team while serving as the key leadership interface between the Texas NPI team and the global NPI organization. You will help establish a unified, global NPI roadmap, continuously adapt and improve global NPI standards, and ensure local factory launch plans reflect operational excellence, reduced time‑to‑market, and uncompromised quality.
Responsibilities
- Translate business problems into structured projects and lead end‑to‑end delivery from hypothesis development to final deliverables.
- Act as a thought partner and subject‑matter expert to refine ideas, generate hypotheses, and analyze data to formulate solutions, applying engineering and operational expertise.
- Lead analytical workstreams—develop strategic, analytical, and financial frameworks to conduct analyses and solve critical business issues with minimal oversight.
- Demonstrate strong leadership and influence management skills, challenging the status quo and managing senior stakeholders across plant management, customer operations, and global engineering.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high‑performance team of NPI technical program managers and engineers in Texas to manage complex projects, technical initiatives, and identify innovative solutions.
- Invest in the professional development of the team through coaching, performance reviews, and long‑term career guidance.
- Establish a local operational structure parallel to the NJ NPI model, driving technical maturity, pre‑production build execution, and factory readiness for mass production.
- Serve as the key technical and managerial interface between the Texas NPI team and the global NPI organization, driving cross‑site alignment, bi‑directional communication, and shared operational accountability.
- Collaborate on a unified global NPI roadmap that plans, schedules, and balances NPI programs across ZT's global manufacturing footprint.
- Adapt, improve, and contribute to global NPI standards, management systems, and best practices, embedding launch frameworks into the Texas facility and recommending tool, CRE cycle, and workflow optimizations.
- Challenge and reduce time‑to‑market lead times by building balanced risks into schedules, identifying waste, line bottlenecks, and opportunities for launch acceleration.
- Design, build, and maintain a centralized site‑level view of launch activity in Texas, providing consolidated milestone reporting by business impact to senior executive leadership.
Requirements
- Leader and facilitator who is dynamic, driven, organized, detail‑oriented, excels in program/project management, communicates easily at all levels, thrives in ambiguity, and resolves conflicts effectively.
- Bachelor’s degree in industrial, mechanical, electrical engineering, or equivalent; MBA or exposure to business, finance, or economics is highly advantageous.
- 10+ years of relevant experience in manufacturing environments, NPI, engineering, or hardware operations.
- 2+ years of experience directly leading technical, engineering, or program‑management teams.
- Proven track record of replicating or scaling engineering/NPI team structures, managing parallel launch workstreams, and driving multi‑site alignment.
- Experience leading manufacturing changes across facility redesigns, technology insertions, NPI phase‑gate transitions, process revalidations, or Kaizen initiatives.
- Deep understanding of server hardware fundamentals, high‑density AI/GPU platforms, assembly workflows, DFT/DFM frameworks, and production test bring‑up.
- Strategic mindset with ability to develop analytical frameworks and translate complex, data‑driven operational topics into clear executive overviews and actionable decisions.
- Fluency with continuous improvement/Lean programs to drive process efficiency and product quality.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools (Outlook, Excel, Word, and MS Project).
About ZT Systems
ZT Systems, a Sanmina Company, offers a collaborative environment where smart, passionate people design, build, and deliver impactful solutions to world‑class customers. The culture emphasizes hard work, fast thinking, continuous learning, and shared success, aiming to build technology infrastructure that connects the world and transforms the future.
Pay
- Competitive base salary
- Performance‑based annual bonus eligibility
- 401(k) retirement savings plan
- Tuition reimbursement for eligible education programs
Benefits
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with leading providers
- Mental health resources and employee wellness support programs
- Company‑paid life and disability insurance
- Paid time off (PTO) and company‑paid holidays
- Parental leave and family care support programs
- Structured training programs and on‑the‑job learning opportunities
- Matching gifts and volunteer programs to support causes you care about