WaterScience
Website:
waterscience.in
Job details:
New Product Development Manager - Plastic Injection Molding/Hard Water
Location: Mahadevapura, Whitefield, Bangalore
Work Mode: On-site · 5 days
Experience: 8–13 years
Type: Full-time, 9:30 am - 6:30 pm
About the role:
We are looking for an experienced Product Development Manager to lead the end-to-end development of new consumer water-care products, from concept through mass production. This is a hands-on engineering leadership role suited to someone who has worked deeply with plastic components, metal machined parts, surface finishing processes, and manufacturing automation, and who can translate consumer and market requirements into manufacturable, cost-effective, high-quality products.
Key Responsibilities
1. Product Development & Engineering
- Lead new product development (NPD) for filters, faucets, softeners, cartridges, and related plumbing/water-care accessories, from concept, feasibility, and design through prototyping, validation, and production launch.
- Own product design for manufacturability (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA), ensuring products can be produced reliably at scale and at target cost.
- Work closely with industrial design, R&D, and quality teams to convert product requirements/PRDs into detailed engineering drawings, BOMs, and process specifications.
- Manage the product development lifecycle using structured stage-gate processes, tracking timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
2. Plastic Molds & Injection Molding
- Design, develop, and validate plastic components and injection molding tools (single-cavity, multi-cavity, family molds) for housings, cartridges, fittings, and other plastic parts.
- Coordinate mold trials, T0/T1/T2 sign-offs, and resolve issues related to shrinkage, warpage, flash, sink marks, and dimensional stability.
- Evaluate and select appropriate engineering plastics/polymers (ABS, PP, POM, PC, etc.) based on mechanical, chemical, and food/water-contact-safety requirements.
3. Metal Machined Parts & Fabrication
- Develop and source precision metal machined components (brass, stainless steel, aluminum) used in faucets, valves, cartridges, and fittings.
- Define machining processes (CNC turning, milling, casting, forging as applicable), tolerances, and inspection criteria.
- Troubleshoot machining-related quality issues and drive process improvements with fabrication vendors.
4. Painting, Plating & Surface Finishing
- Manage and improve surface finishing processes including painting, electroplating (chrome, nickel, etc.), PVD coating, and powder coating, ensuring finish quality, corrosion resistance, and adherence to relevant standards (e.g., salt-spray/CASS testing).
- Work with plating and finishing vendors to control process parameters, finish consistency, and defect rates (peeling, discoloration, adhesion failures).
5. Special Purpose Machines (SPMs) & Automation
- Identify opportunities for and drive the design/development of Special Purpose Machines and semi-automated fixtures/jigs for assembly, testing, leak-checking, and quality inspection.
- Partner with automation vendors/machine builders to specify, commission, and validate SPMs that improve throughput, consistency, and reduce manual dependency.
6. Cost Control & Value Engineering
- Own product costing from concept stage through production, driving Design-to-Cost and Value Engineering/Value Analysis (VE/VA) initiatives.
- Continuously identify cost-reduction opportunities in materials, tooling, processes, and vendor pricing without compromising quality or performance.
- Track and report cost variances against targets; work with finance/sourcing on margin improvement plans.
7. Vendor Development & Management
- Identify, evaluate, and onboard vendors/suppliers for molding, machining, plating, packaging, and component sourcing.
- Build a reliable, quality-focused vendor ecosystem; conduct vendor audits, capability assessments, and performance reviews.
- Negotiate commercial terms, manage vendor tooling investments, and drive supplier quality improvement (PPAP/APQP or equivalent processes).
8. Bill of Materials (BOM) Management
- Create, maintain, and control multi-level BOMs across product variants, ensuring accuracy of part numbers, specifications, revisions, and costs.
- Manage engineering change notes/orders (ECN/ECO) and ensure BOM changes are correctly reflected across ERP/PLM systems.
- Collaborate with production planning, procurement, and inventory teams to ensure BOM accuracy supports smooth manufacturing and supply chain operations.
9. Quality, Compliance & Testing
- Define product test protocols (flow rate, pressure, filtration efficiency, durability, water-contact safety) in coordination with quality/testing teams.
- Ensure products meet relevant regulatory, safety, and quality standards applicable to plumbing and water-contact consumer products.
- Drive root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA) for field or production quality issues.
10. Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of design engineers, project engineers, and technicians.
- Set clear goals, review performance, and build technical capability within the team.
- Collaborate closely with marketing, sales, supply chain, quality, and customer service teams to ensure products meet market needs and are launched successfully.
- Manage multiple concurrent projects, prioritizing effectively and communicating progress/risks to leadership.
11. Market Intelligence, Consumer Insights & Commercial Performance
- Analyze sales data, product performance, and category reports to guide product decisions and identify growth opportunities.
- Maintain a strong understanding of e-commerce and retail channels to ensure products are developed and positioned for these routes to market.
- Collect and translate consumer insights, reviews, and Voice of Customer (VOC) data into actionable product improvements.
- Contribute to pricing, packaging, and go-to-market planning for new and existing products.
- Prepare reports and dashboards on product, sales, and market performance for leadership review.
- Conduct competitor benchmarking and market research to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities.
- Bring strong commercial acumen to product decisions, factoring in profitability, margins, and overall business outcomes.
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