Vice President, CP Hardware

Company Description

Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc. is an industry-leading innovation company focused on creating smarter, safer and more beautiful homes and improving lives. Our driving purpose is that we elevate every life by transforming spaces into havens. We believe our work and our brands can have incredibly positive impacts for not just our business and shareholders, but for people and the planet, too.

When you join Fortune Brands, you become part of a high-performing team who are empowered to think big, learn fast and make bold decisions. We support an inclusive and diverse culture where everyone is encouraged and empowered to be their authentic selves, and where our differences and unique perspectives are a key strength.

Role will sit in either:
Cleveland, Ohio or San Francisco, CA.

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Vice President of Hardware Engineering to lead our global hardware development teams focused on creating innovative connected products across our premier brands:
Yale, August, Master Lock, and Moen. This includes smart locks, smart safes, smart water shutoffs, and smart showers. Reporting directly to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), this strategic leadership position will drive the development of cutting‑edge IoT hardware solutions for both consumer (B2C) and business (B2B) markets that deliver exceptional user experiences while maintaining the highest standards of security, reliability, and performance.

Our products leverage both industry‑standard communication protocols (Z‑Wave, Zigbee, Matter) as well as proprietary protocols over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and WiFi to ensure optimal connectivity, security, and user experience across our ecosystem.

As a key member of the technology leadership team, you will collaborate closely with peer leaders across Software Engineering, Planning and Delivery, and Architecture to ensure cohesive product development across the organization.

• Lead a diverse global team of 90 hardware engineering professionals across international locations including Deerfield, Illinois;
  San Francisco, California;
  Seoul, South Korea; and the United Kingdom
• Oversee and coordinate with engineering teams in the UK and Seoul, South Korea while being based in either North Olmstead, Ohio or San Francisco, California
• Drive cutting‑edge innovation in hardware design for connected smart home products serving both consumer (B2C) and business (B2B) markets
• Guide hardware architecture decisions for wireless communications using both industry standards (Z‑Wave, Zigbee, Matter) and proprietary protocols over BLE and Wi Fi
• Lead and direct engineering teams to achieve optimal radio frequency (RF) performance in product designs, balancing constraints related to materials, form factors, and environmental conditions
• Partner closely with the Industrial Design team to ensure hardware designs achieve both aesthetic excellence and technical performance
• Ensure security and reliability in hardware designs that implement these diverse communication technologies
• Focus on design quality and excellence while ensuring products are designed to value with optimal cost / feature trade‑offs
• Maintain strong say / do ratios across hardware engineering teams, fostering a culture of accountability and reliable execution
• Collaborate as a member of the CTO’s leadership team with peers heading Software Engineering, Planning & Delivery, and Architecture
• Collaborate with Category Management and Product Management to develop and execute the hardware technology roadmap aligned with business strategy and market demands
• Partner closely with Program Management on capacity planning and technical forecasting
• Cultivate collaboration across multicultural teams, leveraging diverse perspectives to enhance product design
• Oversee all aspects of electrical, electronic, and mechanical engineering development for our connected product portfolio
• Establish engineering best practices, processes, and methodologies to ensure efficient development cycles
• Bridge cultural and geographic differences to create unified, high‑performing global teams
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams…