Front End Innovation Lead

Come be DISRUPTIVE with us!At Milwaukee Tool, our most valued resource is our dedicated team of employees - employees who work with a passion to be the best and have an unparalleled pride in their work and in the Milwaukee brand. We know that the only way to sustain growth and success is to value the growth and success of each person within the organization that's why we invest in an individual's growth and development from day one.

Behind our doors you'll be empowered every day to own it, drive it, and do what it takes to design and develop the biggest breakthroughs in the industry. Meanwhile, you'll have the support and resources of the fastest-growing brand in the construction industry to make it happen.

Year after year, our team continues to make significant breakthroughs in the industry. We're just getting started. To learn more about our story click HERE.

As the Front-End Innovation Project Lead you are driven by solving ambiguous problems, great at fostering creativity, and able to develop a strategy for the team to learn through the iteration of concepts. This role leads cross-functional teams in developing breakthrough innovations in our diverse line of hand tools, storage solutions, PPE products, layout products. As the leader of this team, you will be responsible for researching, developing, and realizing emerging technology platforms for Milwaukee Tool.

Our ideal candidate possesses strong project management and technical skill with demonstrated ability to manage complex projects internally and with development partners. They love to create new products, learn about new technologies, understand user needs and are often thinking about better ways to solve them.

You'll also be DISRUPTIVE through these duties and responsibilities:

• Project Leadership: Provides leadership over moderate to highly complex Front End Innovation projects. Provides direction, guidance and engineering expertise to team members. Review work of engineers, researchers, and other project team members.

• Front-End Innovation Leadership: Guide and influence teams both in the way of thinking and in the way of working throughout the process of Concept/Front-End Innovation projects - from project scoping, problem framing, discovery and ideation, to design development, implementation and learning.

• Technical and Business Integration: Identify the key business and technical risks to product success, define the necessary scope to resolve and drive execution within the appropriate teams. Understand the business context and implications of FEI projects and guide them towards commercial viability.

• Define Completeness: Understand the NPD design process (deliverables, timing, pitfalls) to anticipate where work will go and guide teams to deliver appropriate and effective solutions. Outline expectations and gauge quality of work to ensure output is complete and usable.

• Team Leadership: Provide thought leadership to the organization including:

  • Sharing constructive feedback to inspire team members to produce great work and ensure they follow through with comprehensive attention to detail

  • Mentoring team on innovation methods, process, and best practices

  • Training colleagues on standards and techniques

  • Coaching team to develop and deliver presentations, linking innovation work to user insights, brand stories, and business strategy.

  • Build Relationships: Build and manage relationships with internal business teams working with the FEI Team in a way that reflects that we are a trusted partner that provides world-class thought leadership

What TOOLS you'll bring with you:

• 5 years of experience working on a product innovation team.

• Expertise with design-thinking methods, processes, tools, & creativity.

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering or educational equivalent is required. Preferred degree in Mechanical Engineering.

• Experience designing & engineering durable good products

• Inventor:Irresistible drive to invent new solutions to old problems.

• Creativity:Original problem-solving skills coupled with a hands-on approach.

• Critical Thinking:Thrives in ambiguous scenarios in which the correct direction(s) is not yet obvious. Great at gleaning meaning from whatever data is available and making decisions.

• Intuition:Knows the most effective and efficient methodologies to meet project goals.

• Aptitude:Possesses strong mechanical & manufacturing background to ground ideas but has a finger on the pulse of emerging technologies.

• Communication:Up, down, and throughout the organization - speaking the lexicon of the creative, technical and the trade.

• Cross-functionality:Works effectively with Engineering, Marketing, Industrial Design, & Design Research. Understands the strengths, value, and knows how to correctly utilize each member of the team most effectively.

We provide these great perks and benefits:

• Robust health, dental and vision insurance plans.

• Generous 401 (K) savings plan.

• Education assistance.

• On-site wellness, fitness center, food, and coffee service.

• And many more, check out our benefits site HERE.