Project Manager- New Product Development - Air Cooling (51384)

About the role

At Gradian, you'll work alongside others who get genuinely fired up by complex problems, see your work go from first sketch to job site in weeks, not years, and know that while we're developing the technologies critical for AI infrastructure to scale, our culture remains people-first by design. It is core to our identity that we operate as one team — driving to win together, energizing others, and building lasting relationships that make the work fun and rewarding.

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