Company Overview

Springs Window Fashions is a leader in the custom window treatment industry since 1939. Headquartered in Middleton WI, we have over 7,500 associates with locations in North America, Europe, and Asia.  Our custom window treatments are available under the Bali, Graber, SunSetter and Mecho brands in nearly every major retailer, in thousands of designer showrooms, and showcased in large commercial buildings.

Our company has made significant investments to become a leader in product innovation.  As North America’s premier window covering company, we’re committed to creating a “Best Experience” for our consumers, channel partners and associates.  We are bringing new innovations to the market at an accelerating pace and have a variety of offerings to consumers who want to improve their home décor. 

The Product and Textile Engineering Team supports both the “Grow the Business” and “Run the Business” activities. From simple changes and updates to complex development projects. These team members design, develop, and validate the components and assemblies that are sold through our Retail, Dealer, and Commercial channels.

Job Summary

Responsible for managing the activities of creating, designing, testing, and overall engineering support of new and existing products.  Scope of this role spans multiple product categories and engineering disciplines including mechanical, product, electrical, software, motorization, test and textile engineering.  Leading the strategic development of processes and tools to drive efficiency, manage work activities and schedules, quantify and manage risk, and accelerate product development and implementation is a critical function for this position.  Effective cross functional collaboration and communication are essential to drive meaningful growth and continuous improvement.  These efforts will directly build value for the company and our customers through improved quality and reliability, expanded product features and performance, and best in class user experience. Product responsibilities include Graber and Bali branded products, private label brands, and support for all product componentry across both residential and commercial businesses.

Objectives

 New Product Development – 75%

• Collaborates with Product Management partners to design, develop and introduce new product concepts and major product enhancements which create differentiation for the company in the market.
• Provide innovative and experienced leadership for multi-discipline team including mechanical engineering, product engineering, electrical/software engineering, test engineering and textile engineering functions.
• Ensure Stage-Gate and Technical Review (TR) processes are strictly followed while looking for Continuous Improvement opportunities
• Evaluates proposals, hires, and supervises external design and engineering firms against project schedule, budget and design criteria.
• Interfaces with corporate legal department and outside attorneys to establish and maintain disclosure and patent documents, infringements, product safety and liability issues, and other legal activities.
• Drive continuous improvements to productivity, quality and organizational efficiency.

Department Leadership – 25%

• Promote a collaborative and highly engaged team environment while serving as an inspirational leader, coach and mentor to the Engineering team.
• Embraces the Best Experience philosophy and demonstrates VOA commitment via measurement of VOA scores and Action Plan improvement projects
• Hire, performance manage and develop employees. Make strategic personnel decisions as needed.
• Leads and coordinates engineering activities and defines, establishes, and assigns priorities and resources for projects in accordance with business strategies and goals.
• Develops and plans short and long-term goals in accordance with business strategies and goals.
• Prepares, submits, controls, and monitors departmental capital and operating budgets.
• Prepares and issues required reports, summaries, and presentations related to engineering activities.
• Represents the company in industrial / technical organizations. 
• Serve as a change-agent to implement state-of-the-art processes and product development practices.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering. Master’s Degree preferred.

• 10+ years of experience with product development in a high production environment.
• 3+ years of people management experience including leading teams through change.
• Consumer goods/consumer durables manufacturing experience is required.
• Customized product experience a plus.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Inspirational leader and visionary - motivates others to perform
• Innovative thinker. Always thinking about how to do things better and challenging the status-quo.
• Strategic mindset. Look ahead to future possibilities and translate them into breakthrough strategies.
• Demonstrated change-agent. Ability to engage teams while leading change that impacts processes, products and culture.
• Passionate about quality and continuous improvement with demonstrated success in driving and implementing continuous improvement efforts.
• Strong working knowledge of DFM, FMEA, VA/VE, Test Plans, Cost Modeling and LEAN initiatives.
• Ability to collaborate and partner. Documented success in working cross functionally with areas such as NPD, design, procurement and manufacturing.
• Strong financial and business acumen. Has developed and monitored a departmental budget successfully.
• Ability to organize and manage multiple concurrent projects and priorities. Strong project management expertise.
• Strong oral, written and presentation skills at all levels of an organization.
• Self-starter who can delegate but be hands-on as the situation dictates.

Behavioral Competencies

• Ensures Accountability – Holding self and others accountable to meet commitments
• Drive Engagement – Creating a climate where people are motivated to do their best to help the organization achieve its objectives
• Instill Trust – Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity
• Drive Results – Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances
• Consumer/Customer Focus – Building strong customer relationships and delivering on customer-centric solutions
• Critical Thinking – Making Sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems
• Being Resilient – Rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations
• Optimize Work Processes – Knowing the most effective and efficient processes to get things done, with a focus on continuous improvement