Sr. Engineer - Product Engineering

About this role

At Niagara, we’re looking for Team Members who want to be part of achieving our mission to provide our customers the highest quality most affordable bottled water.

Consider applying here, if you want to:    • Work in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment with a chance to make an impact.    • Develop lasting relationships with great people.    • Have the opportunity to build a satisfying career.

We offer competitive compensation and benefits packages for our Team Members.

Sr. Engineer - Product Engineering

As a member of the Product Engineering team, you’ll play a pivotal role in introducing groundbreaking products for both leading brands and private label partners. Your work will directly shape Niagara’s success and growth, driving the launch of new beverages that delight customers and set industry trends. This is your opportunity to lead high-impact projects, collaborate with talented teams, and make a visible difference in a fast-paced, dynamic environment where your ideas and expertise fuel the future of beverage manufacturing. 

The Senior Product Engineer independently leads complex new product development (NPD) projects from concept through commercialization with a proven track record of delivering results. This role blends advanced project management, strong technical judgment, and strategic influence. The Senior Product Engineer proactively identifies gaps, crafts solutions, and shapes both technical and commercial outcomes. They refine NPD processes, mentor others, and partner closely with Manufacturing, Suppliers, and Finance to accelerate launches and improve business results.

Essential Functions • End-to-End Project Leadership: Independently manage multiple concurrent projects, owning scope, capital budgets, timelines, and stakeholder alignment. Drive decisions and accountability across cross-functional teams. • Strategic Influence: Shape project direction through technical and commercial insight—evaluate options, recommend trade-offs, and influence proposals, pricing, and make/buy strategies. • Advanced Planning & Risk Management: Anticipate challenges; conduct robust risk assessments (e.g., FMEA-style thinking), build mitigation plans, and adjust strategy quickly as conditions change. • Technical Commercialization Lead: Conduct thorough technical reviews across the full manufacturing process (materials, packaging, formulation, equipment, process windows, quality controls). Translate complex impacts into clear requirements for Manufacturing. • Site Readiness & Trials: Perform pre-commercialization site assessments, identify constraints (capacity, capability, utilities, tooling), and co-develop action plans with Manufacturing to de-risk trials and ramp-up. • Tool & Process Development: Create and standardize planning tools, dashboards, and templates that improve forecasting, capacity planning, and issue tracking; share and train the broader team. • Supplier & Partner Management: Build strong supplier relationships; negotiate and coordinate to expedite timelines, qualify alternates, and communicate risks and contingencies effectively. • Financial Partnership: Partner with Finance to review and challenge financial models (BOM, yields, run rates, scrap, tooling/capex, logistics). Provide data-driven recommendations to improve margins and payback. • Continuous Improvement: Identify NPD process gaps and propose enhancements to stage gates, governance, and KPIs. Document lessons learned and institutionalize best practices. • Team Leadership & Mentorship: Model ownership and accountability. Coach Level I/II engineers in project planning, decision-making, supplier engagement, and commercialization excellence. • Stakeholder Communication: Maintain clear, concise updates for leadership; escalate critical risks early with options and recommended decisions.

Please note this job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without prior notice.

Travel • 15%

Qualifications • Minimum Qualifications: • 4 Years   – Experience in Field or similar manufacturing environment • 4 Years  – Experience in Position • 4 Years  – Experience managing people/projects

              *experience may include a combination of work experience and education • Preferred Qualifications: • 6 Years– Experience in Field or similar manufacturing environment • 6 Years – Experience working in Position              • 6 Years – Experience managing people/projects

*experience may include a combination of work experience and education • Demonstrated success independently leading multiple NPD projects through launch with measurable business impact. • Strong command of manufacturing processes, scale-up, and commercialization best practices. • Proficiency with project management and data tools (e.g., Smartsheet, MS Project, Excel/Power BI, PLM/ERP); experience building custom templates/dashboards preferred. • Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.

Technical Competencies • Program Leadership & Delivery: Drives timelines, resources, and decisions; consistently delivers to plan. • Critical Thinking & Decision Quality: Quickly synthesizes technical and commercial data to make sound, timely decisions. • Technical Depth: Understands end-to-end manufacturing impacts (process capability, quality controls, changeover, cost drivers) and can teach others. • Influence Without Authority: Uses relationships and credibility to align cross-functional teams and suppliers. • Proactive Planning & Risk Mitigation: Anticipates issues, builds contingencies, and redirects efforts to protect launch dates and quality. • Business Acumen: Connects design/process choices to cost, margin, and capital outcomes; improves financial models with real-world data. • Ownership & Courage: Escalates early, makes tough calls, and acts in the o

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