Product Director

Requisition ID: 71299 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. The Team You Will Be a Part Of: The Product Marketing team markets the organization's products and services using customer marketing databases. Creates direct mail marketing plans, targeting specific market segments with specialized offers. Collaborates with market research in developing response models and other database improvements. May conduct data mining analyses of customer data to develop marketing trends. This Role in Summary: We are seeking a Product Director to serve as the strategic engine for an assigned product category within our matrixed organization. This is not a traditional product management role; you will operate with a General Manager mindset, extending your leadership beyond the roadmap to the development and execution of a comprehensive business strategy. Central to this role is the ability to lead and develop a diverse team, fostering an environment of continuous growth and accountability. As the primary connector across the business unit, you will ensure every commercial decision and trade-off is anchored in consumer insights and specific use cases. At its core, this role is directly tied to our mission to “improve life at home.” You are the end-to-end owner of the category, responsible for the strategic roadmap, go-to-market planning, and marketing activation. This position demands a leader who can influence cross-functional partners and translate user needs into market reality. From consumer innovation, verticalization, cost optimization, and factory investments you will manage the levers that drive profitability and growth. If you are ready for significant accountability in a high-visibility environment, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact. Your Responsibilities Will Include: Define and lead the end-to-end category strategy, prioritizing projects that maximize ROI while balancing immediate launches with long-term roadmaps. Own the category P&L, balancing market share goals, cost targets, and profit margins to drive sustained commercial success. Align commercial strategy with manufacturing excellence by embedding World Class Manufacturing (WCM) principles into category roadmaps, ensuring capital investments directly optimize production efficiency and drive maximum net profitability. Serve as a strategic steward of the brand portfolio, ensuring clear differentiation and a cohesive architecture that effectively captures defined segmentation targets while driving total portfolio growth. Drive performance and internal talent development within your direct team while managing the quality and delivery of project teams, external partners, and contractors. Lead and influence diverse cross-functional teams to align technical development with commercial go-to-market execution. Cultivate deep consumer and shopper intimacy by translating qualitative and quantitative insights into actionable strategies, ensuring the voice of the customer drives innovation priorities and enhances the path to purchase. Interpret market trends, research, and purchase behaviors to identify growth opportunities and establish brand portfolio differentiation through high-impact consumer claims. Drive the merchandising strategy for pricing and promotional frameworks, providing data-driven support to empower sales teams. Oversee the shopper journey and launch lifecycle to ensure operational readiness and a consistent consumer experience from concept to shelf. Collaborate with global design and product teams to ensure innovation, technology, and aesthetics align with brand architecture, cost constraints, and global requirements. Minimum Requirements: Bachelor's degree 10+ years of professional experience particularly in consumer facing brands 5+ years of experience leading and influencing people, projects, or programs at scale, in a matrixed environment 5+ years leading end-to-end category strategy with P&L or budget ownership of comparable complexity and organizational impact Demonstrated success translating user insights into large-scale consumer strategy and commercial initiatives Preferred Skills and Experiences: Master's degree or related certifications such as Six Sigma Experience driving transformational growth and launching innovative products that shift consumer behavior Direct P&L ownership experience with a history of delivering both top-line growth and bottom-line profit 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. LI-KH1 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.