Position Purpose:

The Product Development Manager will lead and manage the development of new stainless propellers, enhancements to existing products and potential non-propeller business. This role requires a deep understanding of investment casting processes, a strategic mindset, and strong leadership skills to drive product innovation from concept through to market launch.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Product Development Strategy: Develop and implement product development strategies that align with company goals and market demands working with relevant design and product planning teams. Identify opportunities for product innovation and differentiation to improve propeller quality, performance and manufacturability.
• Project Management: Lead cross-functional teams through the product development lifecycle, including research, design, prototyping, testing, and pre/post-production activities utilizing industry best practices (PMI). Ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the highest Yamaha quality standards. Strive to accelerate product development lifecycle to improve time-to-market.
• Technical Expertise: Utilize expertise in investment casting processes to guide product design and development incorporating key design for manufacturability components while collaborating with the engineering, production, and quality teams to resolve technical challenges and optimize propeller performance.
• Customer Interaction and Engagement: Develop strong relationships and work closely with internal customers (stakeholders) to gather requirements, provide technical support, and ensure that products meet or exceed customer and market expectations.
• Documentation and Reporting: Maintain comprehensive documentation of product development processes, including design specifications, testing results, and project milestones. Prepare regular reports and presentations for internal and external stakeholders.
• Continuous Improvement: Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance product quality, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. Implement best practices and lessons learned from past projects towards new products to help drive a Lean culture.
• Team Leadership: Mentor and develop team members, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment. Provide guidance and support to ensure team members achieve their professional goals through the utilization of Individual Development Plans (IDP) and other relevant succession planning initiatives. Ensure technical expert resources are properly being utilized to achieve essential department goals.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Strong attention to details.
• Excellent leadership skills and managerial skills.
• Ability to multitask effectively and good at managing time.
• Ability to manage ambiguous and complex problems. Create solution paths reflecting a range of sustainable, functional, and technically feasible options.
• Understanding of and experience in managing the inter-dependences and relationships between market needs, product design, production and finance
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact with vendors, team members, and executives.
• Strong technical knowledge of general manufacturing processes, materials, and technologies (i.e. tooling design, GD&T, relevant industry nomenclature, etc.)
• Outstanding problem-solving abilities and engineering technical expertise.
• Understanding business processes including managing budgets and capex projects.
• Proficiency in relevant software tools (i.e. CAD = Solidworks / Creo, CAM = Mastercam, ERP = SAP).

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical / Materials Science / Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field. Advanced degree is a plus.
• 5+ years of experience in product development within a manufacturing environment, experience working within the casting industry a plus.
• Excellent project management skills with a proven track record of successfully managing multiple simultaneous complex product development projects at various stages of lifecycle.
• Proven track record leading a team in a Research and Development manufacturing environment

What You'll Love About Us:

• Learning & Development: Tuition assistance is available along with an internal training budget. Get with a hands-on company, in a fast-paced environment where you can have the runway to make change.
• Rest & Relaxation: 12 paid holidays off per year on top of a generous vacation policy.
• Great company culture: Work for a company that genuinely values work/life balance.
• Health Benefits: Medical with HSA options, Dental, and Vision starting first day of the month following date of hire.
• Prepare for the Future: Competitive 401(k) with company match.
• Innovative Environment: Work with a team dedicated to pushing the boundaries of investment casting technology.
• Growth Opportunities: Opportunities for professional development and career advancement within a growing company.