Engineering Process Director

At Polaris Inc., we have fun doing what we love by driving change and innovation. We empower employees to take on challenging assignments and roles with an elevated level of responsibility in our agile working environment. Our people make us who we are, and we create incredible products and experiences that empower us to THINK OUTSIDE.

Position Overview:

You will serve as an enterprise Business Process Owner (BPO) for Product Development and Engineering at Polaris, leading the vision, strategy, governance, and execution of core PLM processes across a multi-brand portfolio. In this role, you will own end-to-end product development process architecture, including: product definition, configuration management, and change control / release management. You will work cross-functionally with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Digital teams to ensure scalable, standardized, and high-quality processes that drive business performance.

You will also lead and develop a team focused on delivering enterprise process excellence and continuous improvement.

This role offers the opportunity to directly influence enterprise-wide product development effectiveness, quality, and speed through impactful process ownership.

Key Responsibilities:

Own and evolve the enterprise-wide Product Development and Engineering process vision aligned to business strategy and Lean Product and Process Development principles

Lead end-to-end process architecture across product definition, configuration management, and change control and release management

Define, govern, and maintain standardized processes, operating cadences, and integration points across engineering disciplines and lifecycle phases

Establish and lead process governance mechanisms, including change control, deviation management, and continuous improvement cycles

Define and govern product definition standards, including part, BOM, and document management within PLM systems

Drive enterprise configuration management practices ensuring consistency, reuse, and accurate product structures across platforms and programs

Own change control and release management processes, including ECR, ECO, and ECN governance, approvals, and traceability

Ensure alignment and integration between PLM (PTC Windchill) and ERP systems (SAP) to support accurate data, releases, and downstream execution

Define and monitor process performance metrics that drive development speed, product quality, and knowledge reuse

Lead continuous improvement initiatives, including experimentation, benchmarking, and deployment of AI and automation opportunities

Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure successful adoption, alignment, and sustainment of processes

Develop, coach, and lead a team while building organizational capability in systems thinking and structured problem solving

Desired

Competencies:

Enterprise thinker with strong value-stream orientation

Influential, credible, and respected across engineering and operations

Disciplined, systems-oriented, and learning-driven

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field; advanced degree strongly preferred

Minimum of 10 years of experience in product development and PLM process leadership within complex, multi-product organizations

Proven experience in product definition (parts, CAD driven, integrated BOMs including downstream variations, documents), configuration management, and change control /release management

Demonstrated success as an Engineering Process Owner or equivalent role governing enterprise-scale processes

Deep working knowledge of Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) and business process design principles

Strong experience with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems, including hands-on use of PTC Windchill and integration with SAP ERPProven ability to lead through influence, governance, and expertise rather than direct authority

Experience identifying, leading, and implementing process improvements, including AI-enabled solutions

This position is not eligible for sponsorship#LI-CS99

The starting pay range for Minnesota is $152,500 to $200,200 per year. Individual salaries and positioning within the range are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge, skills, and geography. While individual pay could fall anywhere in the range based on these factors, it is not common to start at the high end or top of the range.

To qualify for this position, former employees must be eligible for rehire, and current employees must be in good standing.

We are an ambitious, resourceful, and driven workforce, which empowers us to THINK OUTSIDE. Apply today!

At Polaris we put our employees first, by offering a holistic approach to their health and financial wellbeing. Polaris is proud to offer competitive compensation, including a market-leading profit-sharing plan that is fundamental to our pay-for-performance culture. At Polaris, employees are owners of the company through…