The standard that works for most kinds is to pinch/partially-pluck the long new shoots as soon as the needles begin to stand up (circa Apr/May). This may produce a second flush, but I just do it to balance the foliage load. Within a month or so, buds will have started forming on the new shoot before they have hardened. For me it has been best to wait until around August to cut back to a bud - I don't get as much back budding when I do this earlier in the season. Branches are largely independent, so you can experiment on each branch instead of the entire tree one season at a time, at a time if you want.
When you prune, always keep a bud on the branch/shoot; else you will likely have a dead branch(let).
Like most conifers, they tend to be very apically dominant, so you will always be heavily pruning the top to get/keep low growth.