NPI Product Manager

PerkinElmer is seeking an NPI Product Manager to serve as the dedicated commercial lead for a single major New Product Introduction programme. This is a purpose-built role with one clear mandate: ensure that a new analytical instrument arrives in market fully commercially ready — with the pricing, positioning, training, launch plan, and commercial tools that allow it to ramp revenue quickly and establish a durable market position.

The NPI PM owns commercial readiness from development programme initiation through post-launch ramp. They work in close partnership with R&D, Applications Science, Marketing, and the field commercial organisation — but they are not embedded in R&D. Their job is to represent the market and the customer in every programme decision: challenging technical choices that create commercial risk, driving VOC to sharpen positioning, and ensuring the launch plan reflects what is actually needed to win — not just what is convenient to deliver.

This role requires deep programme discipline, commercial instinct, and the interpersonal credibility to lead cross-functional teams without formal authority. The NPI PM must be comfortable operating in ambiguity, making evidence-based decisions under time pressure, and holding a high bar for commercial readiness even when programme timelines create pressure to compromise.

Responsibilities:

Commercial Readiness Ownership

• Own the commercial readiness workstream for the assigned NPI programme — defining what 'launch-ready' means commercially and driving the organisation to achieve it
• Develop and maintain the NPI commercial launch plan: pricing strategy, target customer profiles, positioning framework, competitive differentiation, channel and regional launch sequencing, and sales readiness milestones
• Set and own launch pricing — building the pricing model from market research, customer willingness-to-pay data, competitive benchmarking, and lifecycle revenue objectives; seeking approval through the VP Product Line
• Define and track commercial readiness gate criteria for each NPI stage gate — ensuring commercial preparation keeps pace with technical development and that the launch team never arrives at gate approval without a complete commercial plan

Market Requirements & Product Definition

• Own the Market Requirements Document (MRD) for the assigned NPI — working with the Strategic Segment Manager and conducting independent VOC to ensure requirements are grounded in customer evidence, not internal assumption
• Translate MRD requirements into a clear Product Requirements Document (PRD) that R&D can act on — making explicit priority trade-offs between must-have and nice-to-have requirements
• Serve as the primary commercial interface to the R&D programme team — attending technical reviews, raising commercial risk flags early, and negotiating feature/schedule trade-offs with the VP Product Line's backing
• Monitor competitive landscape throughout the programme — tracking competitive instrument releases, pricing moves, and application developments that affect the NPI's positioning assumptions

Voice of Customer & Validation

• Design and lead the NPI VOC programme — a minimum of 30 in-depth customer interviews per year during active development, structured around requirements validation, concept testing, and pricing research
• Manage beta customer relationships from site selection through beta completion — ensuring beta programmes generate evidence-based feedback, not goodwill gestures
• Translate VOC findings into actionable programme recommendations: feature priority changes, pricing adjustments, positioning refinements, or competitive response requirements

Launch Execution & Field Readiness

• Own the commercial launch plan — coordinating across Applications Science, MarComm, Regional Marketing, Sales, and Service to ensure every function is launch-ready on day one
• Develop the commercial launch toolkit: product brief, competitive battlecard, value proposition messaging, demo guide, and objection-handling resource for the field commercial team
• Deliver product and application training to the sales and service organisation pre-launch — ensuring commercial teams can demonstrate, position, and close against competitive alternatives
• Monitor post-launch commercial KPIs during the ramp period — order intake, revenue, competitive win rate, and pricing realisation — and lead corrective action where ramp performance lags plan

Programme Collaboration

• Attend and actively contribute to NPI programme reviews, stage-gate meetings, and executive steering committee briefings — representing the commercial perspective at every programme milestone
• Partner with the Applications Scientist to develop the application note and proof-of-performance content roadmap that supports the NPI launch and early ramp
• Handoff the NPI to the Strategic PM and Operations PM at commercial launch — providing full product, pricing, and market documentation, and supporting a clean transition of ongoing portfolio management responsibility

Success Metrics

• Commercial launch plan completeness at each stage gate (vs. defined readiness criteria)
• Post-launch revenue ramp vs. AOP plan — 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month actuals
• VOC programme coverage — minimum 30 documented customer conversations per active programme year
• Pricing realisation — average selling price vs. list price in the launch period
• Sales organisation launch readiness score (training completion, demo capability certification)
• Competitive win rate in the first 12 months post-launch

Qualifications & Experience:

Required

• 8+ years of experience in product management, technical product marketing, or programme management within analytical instrumentation, life sciences tools, or scientific capital equipment
• Demonstrated experience leading a major NPI through full commercial launch — from market requirements definition through post-launch ramp, with clear personal ownership of commercial readiness deliverables
• Deep working knowledge of at least one analytical technique relevant to PerkinElmer's portfolio (spectroscopy, chromatography, mass spectrometry, materials characterisation) — sufficient to engage credibly with R&D teams and customers in technical programme discussions
• Experience conducting structured VOC programmes — customer interviewing, concept testing, willingness-to-pay research — and translating findings into product and positioning decisions
• Strong financial acumen: experience building NPI business cases, pricing models, and revenue ramp forecasts
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional programme teams without direct authority — influencing R&D, Applications, MarComm, and regional commercial functions through credibility and programme structure
• Ability to travel 25–35% for customer visits, beta site management, conferences, and internal programme reviews

Preferred

• MSc or PhD in a relevant scientific discipline — providing peer-level credibility with R&D teams and scientifically trained customers
• Experience in a structured stage-gate NPI process within a product management organisation
• Familiarity with PerkinElmer's specific instrument categories and customer workflows
• Track record of competitive win in a head-to-head NPI situation — launching a product that displaced an established competitive platform

The annual compensation range for this full-time position is $120,000.00 to $131,000.00. The final base pay offered to the successful candidate will be determined by factors including internal equity, work location, as well as individual qualifications, such as job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.