Drinking Water Product Leader — NPD & Supply Chain

Zurn Elkay (Elkay Manufacturing); Downers Grove (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401(k) Matching

Educational reimbursement

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Paid Holidays

Job summary

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation is hiring a Product Manager III for Drinking Water. You will lead the NPD and sustaining roadmap, drive 80/20 portfolio strategies, and partner with engineering, operations, and commercial teams to improve product performance and customer experience.

The role emphasizes data-driven decision making, lifecycle management, and delivering value through simplification and cost optimization across the Drinking Water category.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Marketing, or related field (MBA preferred).
• 7+ years of experience in Product Management, Engineering, or Operations.
• Proven experience leading sustaining initiatives or 80/20 portfolio simplification programs.
• Strong understanding of product lifecycle management, cost reduction, and value engineering principles.
• Excellent project management, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Technical aptitude with the ability to translate engineering concepts into customer value.
• Proficiency in data analysis and product performance reporting.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the multi-year NPD roadmap for the Drinking Water portfolio, ensuring alignment with market trends, customer needs, and enterprise strategic priorities.
• Translate strategic objectives into clear, actionable NPD project pipelines with defined value propositions and business cases.
• Lead cross-functional teams—including engineering, operations, procurement, finance, and commercial—in the execution of NPD programs from ideation through commercialization.
• Drive stage-gate activities and ensure projects meet scope, schedule, cost, and quality deliverables.
• Lead the Sustaining & Supply Chain Roadmap: Develop and maintain the executive roadmap for sustaining and supply chain projects within the Drinking Water category, aligning business objectives and customer expectations.
• Own the Sustaining Project Funnel: Build and manage the sustaining project idea funnel, prioritizing initiatives that drive quality improvements, cost reductions, and supply continuity.
• Drive 80/20 Strategy Execution: Lead portfolio simplification and standardization efforts across the Drinking Water product line to improve profitability, operational efficiency, and customer focus.
• Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Partner with engineering, operations, supply chain, and sourcing teams to deliver sustaining initiatives on time and within budget.
• Replacement Parts: Own the strategy and execution of parts business to optimize product offering and maximize profit within the category.
• Product Lifecycle Ownership: Monitor and manage existing products throughout their lifecycle to ensure ongoing competitiveness, compliance, and manufacturability.
• Support Supply Chain Optimization: Identify and execute opportunities to mitigate risk, enhance material availability, and improve production flow through product changes or sourcing adjustments.
• Provide Technical Training: Develop and deliver training materials for internal stakeholders, sales representatives, and customers to strengthen technical product knowledge and confidence.
• Customer and Field Support: Serve as a technical point of contact for product-related inquiries, field applications, and issue resolution.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Use analytics to measure project performance, cost savings, and product health, providing insights that guide strategic priorities.
• Champion Continuous Improvement: Promote a culture of simplification, operational excellence, and data-based decision-making throughout the Drinking Water product organization.

Skills

Product management

Cross-functional collaboration

Data analysis

Technical aptitude

Project management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Marketing, or related field

MBA preferred

Job description

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation is hiring a Product Manager III for Drinking Water. You will lead the NPD and sustaining roadmap, drive 80/20 portfolio strategies, and partner with engineering, operations, and commercial teams to improve product performance and customer experience.

The role emphasizes data-driven decision making, lifecycle management, and delivering value through simplification and cost optimization across the Drinking Water category.