Senior Product Development Engineer - KitchenAid

Whirlpool Corporation; Saint Joseph (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee discount

Fitness & education reimbursement

Kitchenspace/Office amenities

Job summary

Whirlpool Corporation in Saint Joseph, MI is seeking a Senior Product Development Engineer for KitchenAid. This onsite role focuses on system architecture design for strategic innovation and global product planning in the Breakfast category.

You will lead cross-functional teams including marketing and design, shaping requirements and trade-offs from concept to production. The role requires strong communication and leadership, with responsibilities spanning architecture strategy, VOC/VOE

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering required.
• 4+ years of industry experience in product development.

Responsibilities

• Drive category planning for innovation opportunities and de-risk product delivery.
• Provide technical leadership as SME and foster systems-thinking across the team.
• Define architecture strategy with clear trade-offs and guardrails for KitchenAid Breakfast products.
• Translate VOC inputs into VOE system-level requirements.
• Lead target setting and support marketing/legal on claims validation.

Skills

Systems Engineering

Cross-functional leadership

VOC to VOE translation

Architecture design

V&V planning

Advanced development

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering

Engineering discipline options: Mechanical, Electrical, Systems or Chemical

Tools

Design Verification Plans (DVP)

Job description

Requisition ID: 72573

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is a leading home appliance company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home. As the only major U.S.-based manufacturer of kitchen and laundry appliances, the company is driving meaningful innovation to meet the evolving needs of consumers through its iconic brand portfolio, including Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, and InSinkErator. In 2024, the company reported approximately $17 billion in annual sales - close to 90% of which were in the Americas - 44,000 employees, and 40 manufacturing and technology research centers. Additional information about the company can be found at WhirlpoolCorp.com.

This Role In Summary

Whirlpool is currently seeking qualified candidates for a Senior Product Development Engineer - KitchenAid (Senior Analyst, Engineering). This is an onsite role at our St. Joseph Technology Center in MI.

This role will be responsible for system architecture design for strategic innovation and business growth in the KitchenAid's Breakfast category.

This role owns the architecture design - the conceptual system architecture model, requirements, and traceability to key decisions and trade-offs between requirements and architecture design - design to production, as well as innovation and advanced development activities to support the Global Product Plan.

The role will include high levels of cross functional teaming with non- technical team members including, marketing, consumer design and legal teams. As such a candidate must have exceptional team building and communication capabilities.

Your Responsibilities Will Include

• Drive Category Planning: Identify business and innovation opportunities, translating knowledge gaps into Advanced Development projects to de-risk product delivery
• Provide Technical Leadership: Act as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), capturing architecture knowledge and fostering a systems-thinking mindset across the engineering team.
• Define Architecture Strategy: Create clear attribute trade-off spaces, product variant rules, and requirement guardrails for the KitchenAid Breakfast category product architectures.
• Translate Stakeholder Needs: Convert Voice of Consumer (VOC) inputs into clear, measurable Voice of Engineer (VOE) system-level requirements.
• Lead Target Setting: Own competitive set testing and technical target setting, while supporting Marketing and Legal on claims validation and messaging.
• Develop V&V Plans: Establish and support robust Verification and Validation (V&V) plans to ensure all system requirements are fully met.
• Lead Advanced Development Projects: Lead technical decision-making, design reviews, and trade-offs (cost, quality, time) to ensure projects launch within guardrails.
• Execute Predictive Validation: Drive full system validation utilizing predictive modeling and "test-to-learn" methodologies from concept through product validation stages.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering
• 4+ years of industry experience in product development

Preferred Skills And Experiences

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Systems or Chemical)
• Systems Engineering Expertise: Strong experience in Systems Engineering, Requirements Management, and establishing robust Design Verification Plans (DVP) or V&V frameworks
• Cross-Functional Influence: Proven ability to collaborate with and influence cross-functional, non-technical stakeholders (e.g., Marketing, Legal, Consumer Insights)
• VOC to VOE Translation: Experience translating the Voice of the Consumer (VOC) into actionable Voice of the Engineer (VOE) technical specifications
• Advanced Development / Front-End Innovation: Experience managing front-end or advanced development projects specifically aimed at de-risking technology before mass production

What We Offer

Generous benefits package, Whirlpool employee discount, fitness & educational reimbursement programs, kitchenettes, and more! Saint Joseph/Benton Harbor locations: Beautiful, recently renovated office space, free coffee, biking/walking trails, and access to The Eddy - Early Childhood Center (depending upon availability - additional costs required).

Additional Information

Whirlpool’s Ways of Working

Benefits

• Always On Flexibility - You will have the autonomy to manage personal, family, and outside-of-work commitments as needed.
• Two-Week Work from Anywhere - Minimum of one-week increments for a total of two weeks per year.
• Sabbatical - Four weeks paid leave after every five years of service.

Connect with us and learn more about Whirlpool Corporation

See what it's like to work at Whirlpool by visiting Whirlpool Careers. Additional information about the company can be found on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

Whirlpool Corporation is committed to equal employment opportunity and prohibits any discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or any other category protected by applicable law.