The New Product Introduction (NPI) Procurement Program Manager is responsible for leading end-to-end procurement program execution supporting the successful development and launch of new products. Acting as the primary procurement program interface for Engineering, Program Management, Operations, Quality, Category Management, and Suppliers, this role establishes the procurement plan, aligns cross-functional actions, and ensures supplier readiness, cost competitiveness, component availability, and risk mitigation from concept through production launch.
This role is embedded within cross-functional product development teams and is accountable for procurement program governance, sourcing strategy execution, supplier selection, commercial readiness, launch execution, and transition to sustaining procurement. The NPI Procurement Program Manager drives decisions, milestone discipline, and issue resolution across multiple workstreams to accelerate time-to-market while achieving quality, cost, delivery, working capital, and sustainability objectives.
Key Responsibilities
New Product Program Leadership
- Serve as the lead Procurement representative and single point of accountability on assigned NPI program teams.
- Develop and manage the integrated procurement program plan from concept through production launch and stabilization.
- Own procurement deliverables, decisions, and approvals through all stage-gate milestones.
- Align sourcing, tooling, qualification, capacity, and material-readiness timelines with engineering builds and launch schedules.
- Lead procurement coordination for Engineering Change Notices (ECNs), design revisions, and commercial impacts throughout development.
Strategic Sourcing
- Lead cross-functional supplier identification, evaluation, selection, and nomination for new product components and assemblies.
- Establish and drive RFQ/RFP strategies and timelines for prototype, pilot, and production requirements.
- Lead quotation analysis, cost challenge, and negotiation of commercial terms, capacity commitments, tooling, lead times, and launch support.
- Develop and present sourcing recommendations and decision packages based on total cost, quality, risk, capacity, technology, and program requirements.
- Partner with Category Managers to align NPI decisions with category strategies, preferred supplier plans, and long-term commercial objectives.
Supplier Readiness & Launch Management
- Own the consolidated supplier-readiness assessment, including manufacturing capability, capacity, materials, tooling, quality, and sub-tier risk.
- Coordinate supplier APQP and launch activities with Supplier Development, Supplier Quality, Engineering, Operations, and Planning.
- Maintain the procurement launch plan and milestone tracker for tooling, PPAP, first article inspection, qualification, capacity, and material availability.
- Lead recurring supplier-readiness and procurement program reviews; escalate risks with clear owners, recovery actions, and decision dates.
- Ensure suppliers and sub-tier suppliers can support prototype, pilot, ramp, and full-rate production volumes.
Cost Management
- Establish program cost baselines, target-cost plans, and should-cost analyses in partnership with Category Management, Engineering, and Finance.
- Lead procurement participation in value engineering (VE) and value analysis (VA) initiatives.
- Build and manage the program cost roadmap, identifying design-to-value and commercial opportunities early in development.
- Own program BOM cost tracking, forecast-at-completion, and variance recovery against approved targets.
- Provide procurement inputs, assumptions, risks, and opportunities for business cases and program financial reviews.
Risk Management
- Establish and maintain the procurement program risk register covering new technologies, capacity constraints, sole-source suppliers, sub-tier dependencies, long lead times, and geopolitical factors.
- Drive time-bound mitigation and recovery plans for launch-critical components, with accountable owners and executive escalation where required.
- Govern long lead-time material, advanced commitment, and tooling decisions to protect launch timing and control exposure.
- Drive dual-source, localization, capacity reservation, or inventory strategies where justified by program risk.
- Provide concise executive reporting on supply continuity, cost, readiness, and decisions required from procurement and business leadership.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Partner closely with:
- Engineering
- Product Management
- Program Management
- Manufacturing Operations
- Quality
- Supplier Quality Engineering
- Planning & Logistics
- Category Management
- Finance
Key Deliverables
The NPI Procurement Program Manager is accountable for:
- Integrated procurement program plans for all assigned programs
- Supplier nomination recommendations and approval packages
- RFQ strategy, completion, analysis, and decision timing
- Program BOM cost baseline, forecast, and recovery roadmap
- Supplier launch-readiness governance and executive reporting
- Capacity validation, risk register, and mitigation plans
- Tooling, APQP, PPAP, and qualification milestone control
- On-time procurement stage-gate approvals and deliverables
- NPI value engineering, savings, and cost-optimization pipeline
Qualifications
Education
Bachelor's Degree in:
Experience
- 7+ years of progressive experience in procurement, sourcing, commodity management, supply chain, engineering, or program management.
- Demonstrated experience leading procurement workstreams for product launches or complex new product development programs.
- Experience leading cross-functional teams and working with suppliers in technical or manufacturing environments.
- Experience in HVAC, industrial equipment, automotive, electronics, aerospace, or other complex manufacturing environments preferred. PMP, APICS, CPSM, or equivalent certification is a plus.
Knowledge & Skills
Technical Skills
- Cost modeling and should-cost analysis
- Launch management methodologies
Leadership Competencies
- Strong program and project management skills
- Ability to influence without authority
- Executive communication capabilities
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Analytical problem-solving
- Risk management mindset
- Strong sense of urgency and accountability
