Product Engineering Manager, Dispensers for Safe Water Innovations for Poverty Action - Nairobi

Each year, over 1.8 million children under the age of five die from diarrhea, a leading cause of which is unsafe drinking water.  Dispensers for Safe Water (DSW) is an entrepreneurial team tasked with scaling the Chlorine Dispenser System (CDS) – a proven innovation that dramatically expands access to water treatment at an extremely low cost.
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The Chlorine Dispenser technology is at the heart of our program, and the Product Engineering Manager is a new role on the DSW management team created to ensure the excellence of this technology.  In the PEM, we are looking for someone with experience in every step of the design process – from initial concept to mass production serving millions of people in the field.  At the core of the role, the PEM will lead the design of the next-generation Chlorine Dispenser as well as the development of a new Chlorine Dispenser concept using solid chlorine, with dramatic potential to enhance our work by reducing costs and simplifying implementation in the field.
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The PEM will be part manager, part engineer who knows how to design for manufacture, affordability and a developing country context.  The person who steps into this role will be able to quickly understand context-specific constraints and work effectively within them, remaining committed to ensuring manufacturability throughout the product development process.  The PEM should be able to determine the technical expertise necessary for a strong end product; marshal that knowledge from suppliers, advisors, consultant technical experts, and additional research; and apply this information to make effective decisions. The PEM will work with our program team to develop product quality control systems and offer support for modifying designs to local contexts when necessary. As such, this role will require someone who is eager to understand our program’s end-users and field operations in contexts as diverse as Haiti, Kenya, and Bangladesh, and to optimize a design that helps us provide access to safe water as effectively as possible.
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In addition to strong design and technical skills, the ideal candidate will have an interest in developing supply chain management systems, working with import/export agents, and supervising local assembly to ensure that high-quality Chlorine Dispenser hardware is available to our country programs; at a minimum, the candidate should be able to design with supply chain efficiency and optimization in mind. The mark of ultimate success for the PEM will be a high-quality, low-cost water treatment service built around a technology that is widely disseminated and successfully used by millions of people in developing countries, saving thousands of lives every year.
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Responsibilities and Goals
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Develop safe water technology that will reach millions of people

• Design and manage a product development strategy for existing and new technologies that will efficiently and effectively bring safe water to millions
• Revisit the current prototype and identify opportunities for improvement; lead continuous product innovation through periodic redesigns of the dispenser and the development of new products
• Identify, retain, and coordinate consultant engineers and design firms as appropriate
• Oversee field research, including focus groups and testing of new products and product improvements in close coordination with DSW field teams
• Support the expansion of dispenser programs into new countries and contexts, working with field teams to adapt product design and manufacturing strategies for new regions

 
Develop an efficient and effective global manufacturing plan

• Develop a global manufacturing plan to ensure that a low-cost, high-quality product is reliably available for our rapidly expanding operations
• Develop concise product specifications, pricing structures, and cost estimates to plan design activities, outline key decisions, and inform budgeting
• Effectively manage relationships with local and international suppliers through clear communication, and ensure compliance with product specifications and design needs
• Remain open to playing a management role in the procurement, assembly and supply of chlorine dispensers

 
Ensure our products are fully compliant and ready for use

• Investigate product compliance requirements in existing and new countries – e.g. product standards, chemical labeling
• Assist with the registration of chlorine dispenser technology in new countries as necessary
• Work with field teams, manufacturers, and design consultancies to ensure that products are produced in accordance with required deadlines, cost targets, quality specifications, and local compliance measures

Desired Skills & Experience

The ideal candidate has a strong technical background but also a great deal of empathy for our end-users and a broader understanding of the “big picture” needs and opportunities inherent to working in a developing country context. He/she is an excellent communicator who can convey ideas to both technical and non-technical audiences, and is excited about the opportunity to take a leadership role in a multidisciplinary, cross-cultural team. The PEM should be flexible, creative, and resourceful, and look forward to building strong relationships with both our senior management team and our field staff to inform design work.
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Qualifications, Experience and Skills (Required)

• Bachelor’s degree in Product Design, Industrial Design, Mechanical Engineering, or related field; Master’s degree preferred
• Proficient user of 3D CAD software
• 3+ years of work experience with the product design and manufacturing process
• Experience taking a project through different stages in the product lifecycle, from concept to large-scale production and distribution
• Experience developing design specifications, supervising quality control, and conducting field tests of product prototypes
• Experience designing products for low-resource contexts, including experience working with local manufacturers and ideally with outdoor products in tropical environments
• Experience designing injection-molded parts as well as experience in sheet metal design (preferred)
• Excellent organizational skills and a high level of attention to detail
• Extremely analytical, process-oriented thinker with good decision-making skills
• Strong communication skills and experience working on a multidisciplinary team in a cross-cultural environment
• Experience living or working in a developing country
• Willingness to travel domestically and occasionally internationally 

Qualifications, Experience and Skills (Desired)

• Experience developing and negotiating contracts with global manufacturers
• Existing relationships with international vendors and familiarity with sourcing from China
• A basic understanding of chemical engineering, and comfort working with chlorine-based compounds in particular
• An interest in supply chain management
• Background in design for development/design for affordability/appropriate technology
• Familiarity with human-centered design/user experience

Attitude

• Entrepreneurial spirit and eagerness to work in a start-up environment
• Independent, proactive, and willing to take initiative
• Enthusiastic to play a key management role on our program while developing personally and professionally
• Keen to quickly step into a position in a fast-paced, rapidly-growing program
• Motivated by the program's high potential for widespread impact on global health
• Interested in a work environment that is flexible, creative, and constantly changing 

Company Description

Innovations for Poverty Action is a nonprofit organization that creates and evaluates approaches to solving development problems, and disseminates information about what works and what does not to policymakers, practitioners, investors and donors around the world.
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Dispensers for Safe Water is an initiative that began within IPA and is growing rapidly – we currently serve approximately 420,000 people in Kenya, our primary country of operations, and plan to reach 5 million people in the next 5 years.  Our program has global reach – we have piloted the CDS through key partnerships in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti, Peru, Somalia, and Swaziland and initiated a new DSW-led pilot in Uganda, with plans to reach millions in each of the most promising new contexts.
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Our work is based on strong proof of CDS impact – a randomized controlled trial in Western Kenya demonstrated a six-fold increase in the number of households treating their water with chlorine after the installation of the dispenser at communal sources. Such a dramatic expansion in safe water usage will prevent over 2 million cases of diarrhea and 2,230 child deaths each year once we reach our Kenya target of 5 million people served.
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To apply, please email your CV, cover letter and portfolio to ipak.water.jobs@poverty-action.org with the subject line “Product Engineering Manager Application.” For more information about our program, visit poverty-action.org/safewater.