Job Description:

Come be DISRUPTIVE with us! At Milwaukee Tool, our most valued resource is our dedicated team of employees - employees who work with a passion to be the best and have an unparalleled pride in their work and in the Milwaukee brand. We know that the only way to sustain growth and success is to value the growth and success of each person within the organization that's why we invest in an individual's growth and development from day one.

Behind our doors you’ll be empowered every day to own it, drive it, and do what it takes to design and develop the biggest breakthroughs in the industry. Meanwhile, you’ll have the support and resources of the fastest-growing brand in the construction industry to make it happen.

Year after year, our team continues to make significant breakthroughs in the industry. We’re just getting started. To learn more about our story click HERE.

As Manager, Design Research, you will lead and develop a small team of Design Researchers that are focused on uncovering innovation opportunities within our Power Tools Front-End Innovation team. You will oversee a variety of projects, from small quick hit technology improvements to large cross-functional investigations that push Milwaukee Tool into entirely new business categories. Research at Milwaukee typically includes qualitative discovery research on jobsites, primary and secondary research exercises to understand the competitive product set, and evaluation of mock-ups and preliminary concept prototypes in field.

You will be responsible for strategic roadmap planning, resource allocation and scope management, oversight of research plans and deliverables, and process improvement. This includes working in a team environment with Product Management, Front-End Innovation, and Industrial Design. This position will sit at our Headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

You’ll also be DISRUPTIVE through these duties and responsibilities:

• Build, manage, and motivate a world class team of Design Researchers to deliver compelling user insights and opportunities to the business. As a thought partner for junior researchers, you will guide them through their approach to project work, coach them on interactions with their team, and provide constructive feedback on day-to-day work and deliverables.

• Work alongside your direct reports to appropriately scope new projects; frame up problems to solve; effectively apply Design Research methods, processes, and best practices to the problem at hand; identify user-centered opportunities; and bring together the full story with user, technical and business rationale

• Challenge your team technically to think outside the box and approach each user question with the right research design and approach

• Foster a learning mindset among your direct reports and support and champion their professional development

• Provide expertise and Design Research support on high complexity projects, acting as a consultant to cross-functional partners across the business

• Champion the importance of User-Centered Design and Design Research as a function formally and organically throughout the company through training, presentations, and dialog

• Plan and facilitate workshops as needed to spur new ways of thinking across disciplines

• Provide thought leadership to the organization both in the way of thinking and in the way of working throughout the process of Front-End Innovation projects

• Discover and nurture young talent inside and outside the company; confidently make hiring decisions to build the team

• Experiment with and introduce new approaches, tools, and methodologies to achieve ingenious results. As a research group we encourage new ways of thinking, and we want you to help us build new tools and methodologies that are appropriate to the work we do.

What TOOLS you’ll bring with you:

• You are comfortable working in ambiguous scenarios where the correct direction is not yet obvious

• You are a strategic thinker who looks not only at the stated problem but at the space around it

• You build and manage strong relationships with peers and stakeholders that establish trust in your role as a world-class thought leader

• You flex your management style to accommodate different ways of working on your team

• You are comfortable recognizing and calling out misalignments on project teams and are proactive about taking steps to resolve them

• You have strong communication skills and can get your ideas across to engineers, industrial designers, and product managers alike

• You link everything back to our core end user’s activities and needs to provide insight for developing breakthrough products

• You are a team player, focused on bringing the team along on the journey, but are also comfortable challenging your direct reports, process partners, and stakeholders when needed

• You have passion for the importance of user insights in the product development process and are ready to champion those insights

• You have excellent problem-solving skills, can exercise independent judgement and work well under pressure in a dynamic environment

• You are self-motivated, organized, efficient, and process oriented with a strong work ethic

• You make non-obvious connections and excel at communicating those connections to others

• You are proficient in Microsoft Office, with some experience with editing video and 2D software (ex: Adobe Creative Suite)

Education and Experience Requirements

• Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, Industrial Design, Graphic Design, Business, or Engineering

• 7 years + experience in the fuzzy front end of product development with an understanding of innovation methods and design thinking

• 7 years + experience using qualitative research methods including observation, interviewing, and contextual inquiry

• 1+ years of management / team leadership experience preferred

• 10% overnight domestic travel

• Upon an interview, must be prepared to present on a project and its methodology

Milwaukee Tool is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Protected Veterans/Disabled

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