Senior NPI Engineer

The Elevator Pitch

Evolv is seeking a Senior New Product Introduction (NPI) Engineer to lead the manufacturing introduction of complex new products from early development through production launch and ramp.

Evolv’s mission is to help make places safer for people to live, work, learn, and play. We help organizations detect potential threats, mitigate risk, and enhance safety using AI-powered security solutions, connected analytics, and practical insights that support real-world security operations.

This is a senior individual-contributor role for an engineer who can operate as the principal NPI technical leader within the group, take ownership of difficult launches, and bring structure to ambiguity. You will work directly with Product Development, Supply Chain, Quality, Operations, suppliers, and contract manufacturing partners to ensure new products are manufacturable, testable, scalable, and ready for production.

We are looking for someone who has personally launched complex hardware products, preferably in a small, fast-moving organization where ownership extends beyond a narrow engineering discipline. The ideal candidate has worked extensively with third-party contract manufacturers and knows how to lead DFM/DFA, process development, build preparation, readiness reviews, issue closure, and production ramp.

Success in the Role:

In the first 30 days, you will:

Develop a strong understanding of Evolv products, product architecture, manufacturing processes, supply chain, and current NPI programs.

Build working relationships with Product Development, Quality, Supply Chain, Manufacturing Operations, and key contract manufacturing partners.

Learn Evolv’s NPI Stage-Gate process, build-readiness expectations, engineering change processes, and manufacturing-release requirements.

Review active programs, open manufacturing risks, DFM/DFA issues, tooling status, test readiness, material constraints, and outstanding actions.

Begin participating in engineering design reviews and manufacturing-readiness reviews as the senior manufacturing and NPI technical voice.

Within 3 months, you will:

Take technical NPI leadership for one or more active product introductions.

Establish clear build-readiness criteria and drive open actions to closure before prototype, engineering, validation, and production builds.

Lead DFM/DFA reviews with Evolv engineering teams, suppliers, and contract manufacturers, identifying design and manufacturing risks early enough to influence the product.

Establish and maintain structured manufacturing risk tracking with clear owners, closure criteria, and escalation paths.

Drive contract manufacturer readiness across materials, tooling, fixtures, documentation, process definition, test, quality controls, training, and capacity.

Lead manufacturing issue resolution during builds and ensure significant findings are converted into corrective actions rather than carried forward.

Provide technical guidance and mentorship to other NPI and Manufacturing Engineers on launch strategy, manufacturing problem solving, and risk management.

By the end of the first year, you will:

Independently lead complex product launches from development through production ramp and stable volume manufacturing.

Be recognized as the principal NPI engineering resource for difficult manufacturing, build-readiness, and product-introduction problems.

Establish a repeatable approach to DFM/DFA, build readiness, risk management, manufacturing validation, and launch execution that can be applied across Evolv programs.

Demonstrate measurable reduction in late manufacturing issues by identifying and closing risks earlier in the development cycle.

Ensure products entering production have mature manufacturing processes, appropriate process controls, capable test strategies, complete documentation, trained production resources, and clear ownership of remaining risks.

Strengthen the working model between Evolv and its contract manufacturers so the CM actively participates in manufacturability and process development rather than simply receiving a released design.

Capture lessons learned from launches and turn them into improvements to future product development and NPI execution.

The Work: What type of work will you be doing?

NPI & Launch Leadership

Serve as the lead NPI engineer for complex hardware and integrated-system product introductions.

Develop manufacturing launch plans from early product development through production ramp.

Define build objectives, entrance criteria, exit criteria, deliverables, and readiness requirements.

Lead manufacturing readiness reviews before major builds and production release.

Coordinate technical activities across Engineering, Quality, Sourcing, Operations, suppliers, and contract manufacturers.

Drive launch risks and build issues to documented closure.

Lead post-build reviews and ensure lessons learned are incorporated into subsequent builds and future programs.

Design for Manufacturing & Assembly

Lead DFM and DFA throughout product development rather than treating manufacturability as a final design-release activity.

Challenge designs that introduce unnecessary manufacturing complexity, variability, cost, serviceability risk, or difficult assembly.

Work directly with mechanical, electrical, test, and systems engineering teams to develop robust production solutions.

Engage contract manufacturers and critical suppliers early to incorporate their manufacturing expertise into product design.

Translate manufacturing feedback into clear engineering recommendations and drive decisions to closure.

Contract Manufacturing

Act as a senior technical interface between Evolv and third-party contract manufacturers during new-product introduction.

Drive CM readiness for materials, processes, tooling, fixtures, test equipment, work instructions, quality controls, operator training, capacity, and production execution.

Assess whether CM processes are genuinely production-ready rather than relying solely on completed documentation or schedule status.

Work directly with CM engineering teams on process development, manufacturing problems, root cause, corrective actions, and continuous improvement.

Hold both Evolv and CM teams accountable for closing actions required for successful builds and production release.

Build Readiness & Execution

Create disciplined build-readiness plans covering design maturity, BOM readiness, material availability, tooling, fixtures, software, test, documentation, quality controls, and process readiness.

Lead build-floor execution during critical prototype, validation, pilot, and production builds.

Quickly separate design, material, process, supplier, test, and workmanship issues and drive the correct team toward resolution.

Ensure known risks have explicit disposition before moving into subsequent builds or production.

Use build results to determine whether the manufacturing process is ready to progress to the next NPI stage.

Technical Leadership

Provide technical leadership to NPI and Manufacturing Engineers without requiring direct reporting responsibility.

Set a high standard for engineering rigor, problem solving, documentation, and risk closure.

Lead difficult cross-functional technical discussions and drive teams toward decisions.

Escalate risks early, clearly communicate business and schedule impact, and recommend practical recovery plans.

Develop tools, checklists, standards, and lessons learned that improve NPI execution across the organization.

Step into ambiguous or troubled launches and establish the structure needed to get them back under control.

What is the leadership like for this role? What is the structure and culture of the team?

You will join Evolv’s Supply Chain organization as a senior member of the New Product Introduction and Manufacturing Engineering team, reporting to the Senior Manager of Manufacturing Operations.

This is an individual-contributor position with principal-level technical expectations. You will be expected to lead major launches, mentor other engineers, establish best practices, and act as an escalation point for difficult NPI and manufacturing problems.

The broader Supply Chain organization includes Procurement, Contract Manufacturing Operations, Fulfillment, Quality, and New Product Introduction and Sustaining Operations.

The team values people who can move comfortably between detailed engineering work and program-level execution: someone who can review a tolerance stack or manufacturing process in the morning, lead a CM readiness review that afternoon, and clearly communicate the resulting program risk to leadership.

Where is the role located?

This role is based out of Evolv’s headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, with some flexibility for remote work. The role is expected to travel up to 25% (domestic and international) to support contract manufacturers and critical suppliers.

Requirements

• Demonstrated history of successfully launching complex hardware products into production.
• Significant hands-on experience in New Product Introduction, Manufacturing Engineering, Product Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• Proven experience working directly with third-party contract manufacturers through product introduction and production ramp.
• Strong practical experience leading DFM/DFA activities and influencing designs before release.
• Experience planning and executing prototype, engineering, validation, pilot, and production builds.
• Demonstrated ability to identify manufacturing risks, establish corrective actions, and drive issues to closure across multiple organizations.
• Broad knowledge of manufacturing processes and the ability to work across mechanical, electrical, assembly, test, tooling, and supplier-manufacturing disciplines.
• Strong technical problem-solving skills, including structured root-cause and corrective-action methods.
• Ability to lead through influence across Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Operations, suppliers, and contract manufacturers.
• Nice to Have
• Experience launching electromechanical or complex integrated hardware systems.
• Experience in a small or rapidly scaling hardware company where NPI Engineers have broad technical and operational ownership.
• Experience moving products from internal engineering development into outsourced manufacturing.
• Experience establishing or improving NPI processes, build-readiness reviews, manufacturing risk systems, or Stage-Gate processes.
• Experience with manufacturing process validation, process capability, PFMEA, control plans, PPAP, first-article inspection, and structured root-cause methods.
• Experience working internationally with contract manufacturers and suppliers.
• Experience with PLM/ERP-controlled BOMs, engineering changes, manufacturing documentation, and configuration management.
• Experience mentoring or technically leading other engineers.