Product Development - Project Manager

Job DescriptionProject Manager – Product Development

Company: Invictus Defence Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Location: Bangalore, Karnataka

Experience: 7–15 years

Function: Product Development / Program Management / Engineering Delivery

Industry Preference: Defence, Aerospace, UAVs, Robotics, Electronics, Embedded Systems, Manufacturing, Automotive, or High-Technology Product Companies

About IDS

Invictus Defence Systems Pvt. Ltd. is building advanced defence technology solutions with a strong focus on indigenous design, development, integration, testing, and production. The company works on real-world systems that require strong engineering execution, cross-functional coordination, documentation discipline, and timely product closure.

We are looking for a driven and structured professional who can take ownership of ongoing product development programs and ensure that products move from design and development to testing, validation, production readiness, and final closure.

Role Overview

The Project Manager – Product Development will be responsible for managing and driving multiple product development projects at IDS. The person will work closely with mechanical, electronics, embedded software, firmware, GCS/software, production, testing, procurement, quality, and business teams to ensure that products are completed within defined timelines, technical requirements, and documentation standards.

This role is ideal for someone who understands engineering product development and can bring discipline, urgency, and ownership into execution. The person must be able to identify roadblocks, follow up aggressively, coordinate between teams, track milestones, and ensure that each product reaches closure.

The core expectation is simple: bring structure to product development and ensure that products under development are completed, tested, documented, and made ready for deployment or production.

Key Responsibilities1. Product Development Project Management

Manage end-to-end project execution for products being developed at IDS, from concept/design stage to prototype, testing, validation, production readiness, and closure.

Prepare and maintain detailed project plans with timelines, milestones, dependencies, responsibilities, and target closure dates.

Track progress across all product development activities and ensure that there is clear ownership for every open task.

Ensure that project schedules are realistic, updated regularly, and communicated clearly to all stakeholders.

Drive internal reviews to check progress, delays, technical issues, resource gaps, and pending decisions.

2. Cross-Functional Coordination

Coordinate with mechanical design, electronics, embedded systems, software, firmware, integration, testing, production, procurement, quality, and business teams.

Ensure that different teams are aligned on product requirements, technical priorities, timelines, and delivery expectations.

Act as the central point of coordination between engineering and management for product status, risks, and closure plans.

Follow up with internal teams to ensure timely completion of drawings, BOMs, prototypes, PCB development, software releases, integration activities, testing plans, and documentation.

3. Product Closure and Delivery Discipline

Identify all open points preventing product closure and convert them into clear action items with owners and deadlines.

Ensure that products are not left in an indefinite development stage and are moved systematically towards completion.

Drive closure of design reviews, engineering changes, testing observations, procurement delays, production issues, and documentation gaps.

Ensure that product development reaches a clear final stage: prototype complete, tested, validated, documented, and ready for demonstration, production, or customer delivery.

4. Documentation and Review Control

Ensure proper documentation of product requirements, design inputs, development status, BOMs, test plans, test reports, version history, change requests, issue logs, and closure reports.

Maintain project dashboards and weekly status reports for management review.

Document risks, delays, technical dependencies, and decisions taken during project reviews.

Work with teams to ensure that all technical documents required for internal control, production, customer demos, trials, and audits are properly maintained.

5. Risk, Issue, and Dependency Management

Identify risks related to design, procurement, manufacturing, testing, manpower, vendor delays, and technical feasibility.

Escalate critical issues in a timely and structured manner.

Prepare mitigation plans and ensure that pending decisions are closed quickly.

Track dependencies between teams and make sure that one team's delay does not silently block the entire product.

6. Engineering and Production Interface

Work closely with production and manufacturing teams to ensure that product designs are manufacturable and scalable.

Track readiness of BOMs, drawings, jigs, fixtures, tooling, assembly processes, test procedures, and production documentation.

Support the transition of products from R&D/prototype stage to pilot production or regular production.

Ensure that feedback from production, testing, and field teams is captured and fed back into the product development cycle.

7. Management Reporting

Provide regular updates to senior leadership on product development status, delays, risks, support required, and expected closure timelines.

Prepare concise project review presentations and trackers.

Highlight where management intervention is required for faster closure.

Ensure that leadership has visibility on actual progress, not just verbal updates.

Required Experience

The candidate should have 7 to 15 years of experience in project management, program management, product development, engineering coordination, or technical delivery roles.

Experience in any of the following industries will be preferred:

Defence systems, UAVs, drones, aerospace, robotics, embedded systems, electronics hardware, electro-mechanical products, automotive, industrial automation, telecommunications hardware, or manufacturing-led product companies.

The candidate must have experience working with engineering teams and should understand how physical products are designed, developed, tested, improved, and released.

Required Skills and Competencies

Strong understanding of product development life cycles.

Ability to manage multiple engineering projects at the same time.

Strong follow-up, ownership, and closure mindset.

Ability to work with technical teams and understand engineering discussions.

Strong project planning and milestone tracking ability.

Ability to convert unclear problems into structured tasks, owners, timelines, and review points.

Good understanding of BOMs, drawings, prototypes, testing, validation, production readiness, and engineering change control.

Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Ability to work in a fast-paced defence technology environment.

Strong documentation and reporting discipline.

Ability to identify delays early and escalate issues without waiting for failure.

Comfortable working with ambiguity, evolving requirements, and aggressive timelines.

Preferred Qualifications

B.E. / B.Tech in Mechanical, Electronics, Electrical, Mechatronics, Aerospace, Production, Industrial Engineering, or related fields.

MBA / PGDM in Operations, Project Management, or Technology Management will be an added advantage, but not mandatory.

PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, Scrum, or similar project management certifications will be preferred.

Experience with tools such as MS Project, Jira, Trello, Asana, ClickUp, Monday.com, Excel-based trackers, ERP, PLM, or any project management software will be useful.

Key Performance Expectations

The person in this role will be expected to:

Bring visibility and structure to all ongoing product development projects.

Create clear project timelines and ensure regular tracking.

Reduce delays caused by lack of ownership or unclear dependencies.

Ensure weekly closure of pending points.

Improve coordination between engineering, production, procurement, testing, and management.

Push products from development stage to testing, validation, documentation, and production readiness.

Create a culture of project discipline and accountability.

Ensure management always has a clear picture of product-wise status, delays, risks, and closure dates.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is someone who has worked closely with engineering and product teams and knows how to get things done. They may not be the deepest technical expert in every domain, but they must be able to understand technical issues, ask the right questions, identify blockers, push for decisions, and ensure execution.

They should be comfortable working with engineers, vendors, production teams, and senior management. The person should be firm, structured, practical, and outcome-oriented.

This role requires someone who does not only coordinate meetings, but actually drives closure.