Role Purpose

Lead end-to-end new product development for consumer appliances & other products of V-Guard as need be with a focus mainly on kitchen appliances. Manage the product development through stage-gate execution, compliance requirements & certifications, supplier development, and launch readiness to deliver on-time, cost-effective, reliable, and energy-efficient products that delight Indian consumers and strengthen market share.

Role & responsibilities

Strategy & Roadmap

- Define 1224-month product roadmaps for various categories under appliances like Mixer grinder, cooktops, air fryers, OTGs, and other Small kitchen appliances align with brand positioning and market opportunity.
- Build business cases with volume, pricing, margin, CapEx and tooling forecasts; secure approvals through stage-gate governance.

Consumer & Market Insights

- Translate Indian consumer needs (regional needs, usage for small kitchen applications, safety expectations) into product requirements.
- Support on identifying Benchmark competition, track BIS/BEE star ratings & requirements, feature trends, materials, and price points; run periodic VOC, NPS, and usage studies.

Product Development & Engineering

- Drive concept-to-launch: Product Roadmap/ Product Development Calendar ID/UX engineering design prototyping validation certification Scale-up.
- Understand DFMEA/PFMEA, Design Verification & Plan, reliability test plans (Drop, surge, endurance), and manufacturability (DFM/DFA).
- Understand CAD, BoM, tolerances, materials; ensure safety features (thermal cut-off, overload protection, food-contact compliance).

Compliance & Certification (India & Global)

- Ensure BIS/ISI certification and IS standards compliance for relevant categories; coordinate with labs and auditors.
- Understand BEE star labeling where applicable and support on documentation and testing.
- Ensure IEC/ISO safety standards, RoHS/REACH, EPR, WPC/BIS for applicable Electronics/IoT modules & maintain technical files.

Supplier Development & Sourcing

- Support in Identifying and qualifying suppliers/ODMs (India, China,



ASEAN); run PPAP/APQP; negotiate tooling and NRE; drive localization and VAVE.
- Support in setting CTQs, incoming quality plans, and escalation frameworks; monitor supplier OTD, PPM, and cost-out initiatives.

Quality & Reliability

- Ensure to achieve reliability goals and warranty targets; recommend root-cause analysis (8D) and corrective actions for field issues.
- Understand on control plans, process capability (CP/CPK), and first-pass yield improvements with manufacturing/QA.

Project & Program Management

- Run stage-gate (Concept/Feasibility/Design/Validation/Pre-Launch/Launch) with clear deliverables, risks, and mitigations.
- Manage timelines (MS Project), budgets, CapEx, tooling, and cross-functional dependencies across R&D;, Sourcing, QA, Manufacturing, Marketing, and Service.

Costing & Value Engineering (VAVE)

- Own product cost targets and margin; support teardown benchmarking and VA/VE to reduce COGS without compromising quality.
- Drive localization (% BoM localized) and alternate supplier development to improve resilience and cost.

Sustainability & EPR

- Ensure product development through required compliance as per India EPR guidelines for e-waste and plastic; integrate recyclability, energy efficiency, and repairability into design.
- Track returns, material declarations, and eco-design initiatives.

Launch Readiness & Post-Launch

- Coordinate packaging, user manuals (multi-language), spares/fixtures, service training, and pilot production ramp.
- Monitor early-life performance, returns, and consumer feedback; implement quick-turn improvements and running changes.

Team Leadership

- Lead and mentor a team of engineers (mechanical, electrical, electronics, firmware, testing); on project execution & management,



build capability in tools and processes.
- Foster a culture of safety, compliance, agility, and consumer-centricity.

Preferred candidate profile

Qualifications & Experience

- B.E./B.Tech in Mechanical/Electrical/Electronics/Mechatronics; M.Tech/MBA is a plus.
- 57 years total experience with at least 23 years leading NPD for consumer/kitchen appliances in India.
- Hands-on with stage-gate, APQP/PPAP, DFMEA/PFMEA, DVP&R;, reliability engineering, and certification workflows.
- Experience with ODM/EMS models and supplier ecosystems in India/China/ASEAN; strong negotiation and vendor management.
- Working knowledge of CAD/PLM, tolerance stack-ups, thermal systems, motors, controls, plastics/tooling, and food-contact materials.
- Familiarity with BIS/ISI, BEE, IEC/ISO safety standards, RoHS/REACH, EPR and documentation requirements.
- Tools: MS Project, Excel/Power BI, ERP (SAP/Oracle), JIRA/Confluence (preferred).

Core Competencies & Skills

- Development time analysis and Product Development calendar preparation for timely delivery.
- Systems thinking and design-to-cost mindset.
- Risk management (FMEA), problem solving (8D), and decision-making with data.
- Cross-functional leadership, stakeholder management, and executive communication.
- Program management across multiple SKUs with overlapping timelines.
- Quality orientation with robust attention to detail and compliance.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

- On-time delivery to stage-gate milestones (TTC-Time to Completion and TTM-Time To Market adherence).
- Certification lead-time and first-time pass rate (BIS/BEE/IEC).
- Product reliability: warranty rate, early-life failure rate, MTBF.
- COGS vs target, gross margin improvement, VAVE savings ().
- Localization, Modularization & Standardization - % of BoM and supplier PPM/OTD metrics.
- Launch quality: FPY, field return rate in first 90 days, NPS uplift.
- Sustainability/EPR compliance and documentation completeness.

Travel

20-30% domestic travel; occasional international travel to supplier/ODM sites (China/ASEAN) as needed.

📌 Asst Manager - NPD (Kochi)
🏢 V-Guard
📍 Kochi