Program Manager Strategic Initiatives Jobs in Milwaukee, WI

The Senior Engineering Program Manager leads crossfunctional delivery for Portables product development initiatives, including new product introductions, cost reduction, technology integration, and lifecycle product support.

This role is accountable for translating product strategy, requirements, and businessobjectivesinto clear, executable delivery plans. The Program Manager owns the end-to-end program schedule, manages cross-functional dependencies, drives risk mitigation, and ensures the program teamremainsaligned on scope, timing, trade-offs, and execution priorities.

The Program Manager brings structure to ambiguity, connects decisions to business outcomes, and ensures program health is visible to leadership and stakeholders. This role is expected to move beyond task tracking by actively shaping the delivery path, surfacing risks early,facilitatingdecisions, and keeping teams focused on the highest-impact work.

This position works closely with product management, engineering, service, manufacturing operations, supply chain, marketing, quality, IT, finance, and other cross-functional partners. Success in this role is measured by predictable execution, clear program ownership, strong stakeholder alignment, proactive risk management, and on-time delivery of business outcomes.

This position is located onsite in Waukesha, WI (alternate Pewaukee, WI).

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Own the overall delivery success of assigned programs and lead cross-functional teams through planning, execution, launch readiness, and closeout.
• Develop,maintain, and communicate integrated program plans that reflect scope, timing, capacity, dependencies, risks, milestones, and key decision points.
• Own the end-to-end program schedule, ensuring critical path, dependencies, and execution risks are visible, understood, and actively managed.
• Translate product requirements and businessobjectivesinto clear delivery scope, program milestones, and product realization plans in partnership with product management and engineering.
• Lead new product development programs and related initiatives through the Generac Development Process, using milestones, design reviews, and gate reviews to drive alignment and execution discipline.
• Facilitatecross-functional alignment across all teams contributing to your programs.
• Drive program execution withappropriate urgencybyidentifyingblockers, clarifying ownership, escalating risks, and ensuring teams understand the decisions and actions needed tomaintainforward progress.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, materials, sourcing, quality, manufacturing, and operations to ensure part readiness, build readiness, supplier readiness, and smooth plant builds.
• Understand, communicate, and document project budgets and financials, driving achievement of target product cost for Generac and life-cycle cost for customers.
• Prepare and deliver clear program status updates for stakeholders and leadership, includingcurrent status, key risks, open decisions, path-to-green actions, and where help is needed.
• Build trusted relationships with cross-functional partners and influence teams without direct authority.
• Apply lessons learned from prior programs,identifyimprovement opportunities, and share best practices that improve program execution across the portfolio.
• Work effectively with international teams, including off-hour meetings and occasional international travel as needed to support program success.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
• 7 years of progressive work experience in engineering, project engineering, or brand/product management of equipment, machinery, or other powered products.
• 5 years of project or program management experience in product development of industrial/commercial equipment, machinery, or other powered products.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstratedexperience managing new product development programs with stage-gate or phase-gate development process.
• Experience supporting full-system product releases, including hardware, software, firmware, manufacturing, supply chain, service, and launch readiness considerations.
• Experience managing programs within a portfolio or product line, including visibility into prioritization, sequencing, resource constraints, and business trade-offs.
• PMP,PgMP, Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent certification withdemonstratedpractical application.
• Experience working with global teams, international suppliers, or distributed development and manufacturing organizations.

Knowledge,Skillsand Abilities:

• Demonstratedability to bring clarity and structure to ambiguous, crossfunctional work, and to confidently challenge unclear assumptions.
• Demonstratedability to own program outcomes, not just task completion.
• Ability to design, explain, and defend program logic, including scope, dependencies, assumptions, trade-offs, critical path, and risk posture.
• Ability to connect program decisions to business outcomes, including schedule, cost, quality, customer impact, operational readiness, and portfolio priorities.
• Proven ability tofacilitatecross-functional alignment, resolve ambiguity, and drive decisions when teams or stakeholders have competing priorities.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to communicate program status clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to surface risks and issues early, frame them clearly, and drive mitigation plans withappropriate urgency.
• Ability to influence people and teams who are not direct reports whilemaintainingtrust, professionalism, and productive working relationships.
• Strong technical engagement skills, including the ability to understand engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, service, and qualityconsiderationswell enough toidentifyrisks, dependencies, and decision needs.
• Ability to manage multiple complex initiatives while balancing priorities, resources, timing, and quality of outcomes.
• Strong communicationskills, including the ability to create concise executive-level updates andfacilitateproductive team discussions.
• Self-driven, highly motivated, flexible, and able to learn quickly in a complex product development environment.
• Demonstratedownership mindset, including the ability to reflect on misses, apply lessons learned, and continuously improve planning and execution practices.

Physical Demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employeeis regularly required totalk andhear;and use hands to manipulate objects or controls. The employeeis regularly required tostand and walk. Onoccasionthe incumbent maybe requiredto stoop,bendor reach above the shoulders.The employee must occasionally lift up to 25 pounds.Specificconditions of thisjobaretypical of frequent and continuous computer-based work requiring periods of sitting; close vision and ability to adjust focus.Occasionaltravel.

Generac is committed to fair and equity compensation practices. The salary range for this role based in Waukesha, WI is $110,300 - $143,400. Final compensation for this role will be determined by various factors such as a candidate's relevant work experience, skills, certifications and geographic location. This position includes a comprehensive benefit package that includes medical, dental and vision plans; life, long-term disability, flexible, spending and health savings accounts, accrued paid time off, eight paid holidays in 401(k) retirement benefits.

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