Program Manager- Product Development Excellence

Location: Onsite 4 days per week – Kohler, WI

Opportunity

We’re looking for a dynamic, results-oriented leader who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative, and growing environment. This role plays a critical part in driving Product Development Excellence for our North America business—partnering closely with senior leadership on long‑term strategy while leading the execution of operational excellence across product development to fuel innovation, vitality, and profitable growth.

As Program Manager, you’ll join our global Product Development Excellence (PDE) team, helping define, coach, and deliver best‑in‑class effectiveness, speed, and agility across the product development community. Your work will be grounded in five strategic pillars: Prioritization & Change Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Automation, Engineering Excellence & Process Improvement, Center of Excellence (COE) Analysis, and Project Management Excellence—enabling teams to focus on what matters most and move faster with confidence.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
Lead and continuously evolve Kitchen & Bath product development processes globally (New Product Development (NPD) and Current Product Development (CPD)) to improve time-to-market (TTM), output, and quality.

Prioritization & Change Management

• Maintain regular communication with business and regional leadership to understand objectives and define measurable product development results.
• Translate business objectives into a product development strategy and an executable improvement roadmap (including prioritized Global Product Innovation (GPI) improvement initiatives, as applicable).
• Scope process changes through workshops and other methods; document, communicate, and deploy changes across regions.
• Create and maintain process assets (standards, templates, playbooks) and training materials/playlists; reinforce adoption and proficiency through training and coaching.
• Partner cross-functionally to gather actionable feedback and lessons learned to improve process, behaviors, and culture; escalate leadership support needed for success.

AI & Automation

• Lead the continual development of product development systems and process capabilities leveraging automation, simulation, and AI tools to increase efficiency and consistency.
• Champion process innovation by identifying and prioritizing opportunities where digital tools reduce administrative burden and enable teams to focus on outputs and delivery.

Engineering Excellence & Process Improvement

• Drive continued evolution of engineering and product development ways of working to reduce TTM and maximize output and quality.
• Lead continuous improvement (CI) projects and lean transformation initiatives aligned to business objectives; facilitate kaizen events, workshops, and training sessions.
• Collaborate with leadership to embed CI principles and influence cultural change; coach and mentor team members on lean/CI methods.
• Lead the set-up and implementation of engineering learning programs/academy elements (as applicable) to build organizational capability.

Analysis

• Proactively measure and analyze operational data to identify actionable insights (trends, root causes, and improvement opportunities) across regions and categories.
• Partner with business stakeholders to implement and develop NPD Analysis COE capabilities (including data solutions, as applicable).
• Develop and maintain visual management tools and performance dashboards (e.g., portfolio trackers/scorecards); track and report KPIs and progress.
• Support budgeting and Return on Investment (ROI) analysis for improvement initiatives; ensure insights translate into prioritized actions and sustained results.

Project Management Excellence

• Establish and grow a Product Development/Program Management Academy and associated rolling curriculum to build functional excellence globally.
• Partner with program leads across categories and functions to align on a roadmap of best-practice improvements and capability-building events (i.e. Kaizens).
• Reinforce a culture of continuous improvement focused on outcomes and delivery while minimizing perceived bureaucracy and friction for teams.