Senior NPI Engineer at Evolv Technology in Waltham, MA

Job description

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 partici