Senior Manager, Product Development Governance & Process Excellence
Daikin Applied
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Daikin Applied seeks a Senior Manager to lead governance, deployment, and continuous improvement of the product development framework at a global HVAC leader. You will drive standard work, operating rhythms, and evidence-based decisions across engineering, product design, quality, reliability, compliance, manufacturing, and supply chain.
The role combines program leadership, change management, and organizational influence to scale development practices, reduce risk, and accelerate business
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology, Business, Operations, or related field.
- 8+ years in Program Management, Product Development, or related disciplines.
- Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives.
- Strong understanding of product development processes and governance.
- Experience driving process improvement and organizational change.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, leadership, and stakeholder management.
Responsibilities
- Own and continuously improve product development governance framework and stage-gate model.
- Define governance standards, readiness, escalation paths, and decision criteria.
- Establish consistent operating mechanisms across multiple product portfolios.
- Lead governance reviews and readiness assessments for informed decisions.
- Define standard work, templates, workflows, and procedures.
- Drive simplification and continuous improvement of development processes.
- Lead deployment of new processes, tools, and governance models.
- Develop strategies for long-term adoption and sustainment.
- Train and coach teams on governance requirements and best practices.
- Foster disciplined execution, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Develop metrics, dashboards, and reporting for execution visibility.
- Monitor process health and provide actionable insights for prioritization.
- Collaborate with Engineering, Product, Quality, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain.
- Lead cross-functional teams to resolve execution challenges and improve outcomes.
- Identify opportunities to improve speed, decision quality, and launch readiness.
Skills
Education
Job description
Join the world's largest HVAC company, named by Forbes as one of America's Best-In-State Employers 2025!
Daikin Applied is seeking a seeking a Senior Manager, Product Development Governance & Process Excellence to lead the governance, deployment, continuous improvement, and operational effectiveness of the company's product development framework.
This role is responsible for establishing and sustaining the processes, governance structures, operating rhythms, and standard work that enable disciplined, predictable, and high-quality product development execution across the enterprise.
Working closely with Engineering, Product Management, Product Design Quality, Reliability, Compliance & Safety, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Business Unit leadership, this position drives organizational alignment, improves decision quality, strengthens development readiness, and increases confidence in product launch commitments.
The ideal candidate combines program leadership, process ownership, change management, and organizational influence to build scalable product development practices that improve execution consistency, reduce risk, and accelerate business outcomes.
Come be a part of an exciting journey at Daikin Applied, where innovation and excellence drive our every endeavor!
Hybrid, Plymouth, MN
- Own and continuously improve the company's product development governance framework, decision-making processes, and stage-gate operating model
- Define and maintain governance standards, readiness expectations, escalation paths, and decision criteria
- Establish consistent operating mechanisms that support effective execution across multiple product development portfolios
- Facilitate governance reviews and readiness assessments that enable informed, evidence-based decisions
- Define and maintain product development standard work, templates, deliverables, workflows, and operating procedures
- Ensure processes remain aligned with business objectives, organizational capabilities, and product development best practices
- Identify systemic process gaps and lead cross-functional improvement initiatives to increase effectiveness and efficiency
- Drive simplification, standardization, and continuous improvement of development processes
- Lead deployment of new processes, tools, governance models, and operating practices across the organization
- Develop implementation and sustainment strategies that drive long-term adoption
- Train, coach, and support teams on process expectations, governance requirements, and best practices
- Foster a culture of disciplined execution, accountability, and continuous improvement
- Develop metrics, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms that provide visibility into execution performance, milestone achievement, risks, dependencies, and organizational readiness
- Monitor process health and organizational performance to identify opportunities for improvement
- Provide leadership with actionable insights that support effective prioritization and decision-making
- Improve predictability, transparency, and confidence in product development execution
- Partner with Engineering, Product Management, Quality, Reliability, Compliance, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain teams to drive alignment and execution excellence
- Facilitate collaboration across organizational boundaries to improve development outcomes
- Lead cross-functional teams in resolving execution challenges and implementing process improvements
- Influence stakeholders at all levels through leadership, communication, and data-driven decision making
- Lead strategic initiatives that strengthen product development capabilities and organizational effectiveness
- Support evolution of the company's product development operating model
- Identify opportunities to improve execution speed, decision quality, launch readiness, and overall development performance
- Drive initiatives that improve enterprise-wide product development maturity
- Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology, Business, Operations, or a related technical discipline
- 8+ years of experience in Program Management, Product Development, Engineering Operations, Quality, Process Excellence, or related disciplines
- Demonstrated experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives
- Strong understanding of product development processes, governance models, and project execution methodologies
- Experience driving process improvement and organizational change
- Excellent communication, facilitation, leadership, and stakeholder management skills
- Master's Degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, Business Administration, or related field
- PMP certification or equivalent program management credentials
- Experience leading product development governance, stage-gate, or lifecycle management processes
- Experience developing and deploying enterprise-level business processes and operating models.
- Working knowledge of product development quality practices including:
- Requirements Management
- Design Reviews
- Risk Management
- DFMEA
- DVP&R
- Product Validation
- Reliability Engineering
- Compliance & Product Safety
- Experience in HVAC, industrial equipment, manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, or other complex engineered product environments
Daikin Applied offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:
- Multiple medical insurance plan options + dental and vision insurance
- 401K retirement plan with employer match
- Paid time off and company paid holidays
- Paid sick time in accordance with the federal, state and local law
- Tuition Reimbursement after 6 months of continuous service
Work visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
The typical annual base salary for this position ranges from$113,800- $193,900 in Minnesota plus a 20% bonus. The range displayedrepresentsthe pay range for all positions in the job grade which this position falls. Individual base pay will depend on a wide range of factors including your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.
If you're looking for an engaging career with growth opportunities in a supportive environment, you'll love a career at Daikin Applied!
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