Job Description

The Opportunity

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is a leading kitchen and laundry appliance company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home and inspiring generations with our brands. 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 2023, the company reported approximately $19 billion in annual sales, 59,000 employees, and 55 manufacturing and technology research centers. Additional information about the company can be found at WhirlpoolCorp.com.

The Team You Will Be a Part Of:

DESIGN fuels Whirlpool's vision to "Be the best kitchen and laundry company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home and in the world." Creating lasting engagement, driving product leadership, and crafting meaningful experiences that enhance everyday life. Rooted in Human-Centered Design, our team's approach prioritizes empathy, innovation, sustainability, and sensorial experiences to shape the future.

The Design team is responsible for designing, validating, and launching new products, ensuring seamless integration of components to deliver high-performing, reliable, and cost-effective solutions. Collaborating closely with internal partners to optimize designs for manufacturability, balancing aesthetics with functionality. Additionally, leveraging CAD/CAE systems, we transform concepts into detailed engineering models and production-ready designs, ensuring every product meets Whirlpool’s highest standards of excellence.

Whirlpool Corporation has design teams in Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA, Monterrey, Mexico, Joinville, Brazil, Delhi, India, and Shenzhen, China. In our 5 global studios, we have more than 130 designers in various disciplines of Industrial Design, Graphic Design, Color Material and Finish, Craftsmanship, Trend Forecasting, User Interaction, Motion Graphics, Usability, Design Research, Model Making, and Studio Engineering.

This Role in Summary:

The Senior Manager, Industrial Design leads the transformation of projects from initial concept to full production across all product categories. This role is pivotal in seamlessly integrating industrial design, graphics, interaction, usability, color-finish, materials, and craftsmanship into cohesive, high-impact design programs. As a key leader, you will define and champion the design direction and best practices for the Design ID teams within the business, driving excellence across strategy, advanced development, and production initiatives. In addition to your strategic leadership, you will be responsible for recruiting, developing, and retaining a world-class Design team within the North American Category studio, fostering an environment of creativity, collaboration, and continuous growth.

Your Responsibilities Will Include:

• Champion Visual Brand Language (trade dress) embedment into the category through the use / creation of governance toolkits and concept oversight of major brand differentiating touch points.
• Continually seek and identify process improvements across the Design enterprise that deliver studio efficiencies and move teams toward the same goal.
• Ensure teams are systematically embedding and applying Whirlpool Product Development processes throughout the product life cycle.
• Oversee Category design work. Work to develop staffing plans, supervise performance and calibrate talent pools across Category Teams.
• Manage designers, by developing annual plans for projects and career development, reviewing project work, providing coaching/mentoring, administering company policies and identifying opportunities for growth.
• Support your design Director with the coordination of the category, initiatives, and strategies.
• Maintain budgets for development spend and travel with the Director and Design finance Manager.
• Model Whirlpool core values of respect, integrity, diversity and teamwork.
• Responsible for managing and collaborating with Business partners from Vision to Execution globally.
• Guide and Leverage strategies and inputs from consumer insights research
• Create and promote category visions, advanced development and Innovation programs, as well as go to market programs

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from an accredited school.
• 10 years of design experience in a corporate or consulting environment.
• 5 years of industry experience leading Industrial Design teams.
• Command of Adobe Creative Suite.

Preferred Skills and Experiences:

• Proven aptitude in the applied use of 3D modeling and visualization software such as Solidworks, Rhino, Creo, and Keyshot for design development.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Excellent decision-making abilities and self-motivation.
• Demonstrated experience working with cross-functional teams and managing multiple projects.
• Excellent leadership qualities demonstrating bias for action, inclusion, active listening, optimism, and curiosity.
• Knowledge of marketing strategies and consumer research methods.
• Proven project planning skills, including proposals, work breakdown schedules, resource planning, and project reviews.
• Experience planning and executing ID work in accordance with accepted product development processes, e.g., phases and gates.
• Demonstrated skill applying industrial design practices, e.g., concept definition, development, refinement and delivery.

What We Offer:

Generous benefits package, Whirlpool employee discount, fitness and 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).

Brands That Innovate: We are focused on innovation that inspires consumers, and we design and build our products around what families and households really want and need. Sure, we’re designing and manufacturing some of the “smartest”, most technologically advanced appliances in the world. But what gets us most excited is empowering our people with the freedom to shape their futures while challenging themselves every day to make our customers’ lives better. For more than 110 years, with our products, we have helped families take care of loved ones. Improving life at home is why we exist and why we are passionate about what we do.

Additional Information:

Whirlpool’s Ways of Working -
Our goal is to provide an environment that helps you bring your best to Whirlpool every day. While employees in this role work in-person Monday through Friday. We offer flexibility and industry-leading time-off benefits that will help you balance what’s important at work and at home, including:

• 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.

How to Apply 

Please follow this link and during the application process mention "leManoosh".

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