Strategic Project Leader — Consumer Goods Launches

Whirlpool, Inc.; Benton Harbor (MI); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Whirlpool Corporation in Michigan, US, is seeking a Project/Program Manager within the Product Delivery team for the KASA Project Leadership Office. You will lead cross-functional teams to deliver consumer launches with speed, quality, and efficiency, applying the Whirlpool Product Development system to ensure disciplined, predictable execution.

You will translate category strategies into actionable plans, manage stakeholders across functions and geographies, and de-risk early-stage initiatives

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or related field.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional project teams within consumer product development or related industries.
• Demonstrated expertise in structured product development processes (WPD or equivalent).
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with proven ability to align diverse functions and geographies.
• Business acumen with financial fluency (NPV, ROI, payback, etc.).
• Strong critical thinking and business judgment, with the ability to ask incisive questions, and influence decisions without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional project teams with clarity, ensuring accountability for scope, timing, cost, quality, consumer outcomes, and delivery against the business commitments.
• Apply the Whirlpool Product Development process with discipline and judgment, coaching teams on stage-rigor, deliverables, and governance while tailoring execution to project risk and complexity.
• Connect project execution to business outcomes by understanding the business case, defining success measures, and challenging assumptions when project decisions put expected consumers or business outcomes at risk.
• Lead and operationalize early-stage Advanced Development Projects (ADP) to de-risk execution, comfortably operating 'in the grey' to orchestrate the team through validating desirability, feasibility, and viability before business case commitment.
• Translate enterprise strategy and category priorities into actionable project plans, frame options, trade-offs, and recommendations to enable timely leadership decisions.
• Anticipate risks, elevate with transparency, and drive resolution through data-based decisions.
• Build strong followership by creating psychological safety, modeling straight talk, and empowering team members to take ownership.
• Partner with category leaders, Marketing, Engineering, Brand and Operations to ensure launches are consumer-centric and business-viable.
• Manage stakeholder relationships proactively- aligning cross-functional leaders, clarifying decision ownership, and ensuring transparency of status, risks, and trade-offs.
• Continuously improve ways of working, leveraging Lean/CI methodologies to reduce waste and increase predictability.
• Ability to travel 1-2 times per year to OEM supplier sites is required to provide on-site project oversight, conduct quality assurance and production reviews, and maintain strong working relationships at all critical project phases.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Project management

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Lean/CI

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Whirlpool Corporation in Michigan, US, is seeking a Project/Program Manager within the Product Delivery team for the KASA Project Leadership Office. You will lead cross-functional teams to deliver consumer launches with speed, quality, and efficiency, applying the Whirlpool Product Development system to ensure disciplined, predictable execution.

You will translate category strategies into actionable plans, manage stakeholders across functions and geographies, and de-risk early-stage initiatives