Build Products That Matter. Lead Innovation That Wins
GWBD Operations is a privately owned holding company operating PRIER Products, Stern-Williams, and Fiat Products-manufacturers of residential and commercial plumbing products for new construction, repair, and remodel markets.
With over 140 years of heritage and a strong growth trajectory, we are investing in new product development, operational excellence, and strategic expansion.
We are seeking a hands-on, high-impact Research & Development leader who owns and drives the full product innovation cycle, from customer insight and market research through product design, validation, and commercial launch across all three brands. This role leads product development across distinct brands and product categories, offering a broad scope and direct impact on company growth. This role is for a builder—someone who can uncover and translate customer needs into differentiated, winning products, lead teams to execute, and deliver measurable business results. This role requires a leader who is equally comfortable setting strategy and rolling up their sleeves to solve real-world product and manufacturing challenges.
- We are a values-driven organization. We believe:
- Work should be meaningful and aligned with a greater purpose
- People should be treated with respect and dignity
- Leaders should act with humility, accountability, and integrity
The R&D organization is the innovation engine of GWBD, and this role leads it to fuel our long-term growth and competitiveness. Our goal is not just to build great products—but to build a great company for our associates, customers, and community.
Position Overview
This role owns & drives research, product innovation, development, and technical execution for all three GWBD brands.
As a key member of the leadership team, the Director leads product innovation, operational excellence, and technical strategy across all divisions, ensuring consistent quality and performance. The ideal candidate is a curious, strategic, and hands-on leader with a proven track record of bringing successful products from concept through commercialization.
Reporting directly to the President, the Director of Product Innovation & Engineering leads Mechanical Engineers and a Product Manager and is accountable for the full R&D function—market research, new product development and existing product improvement—while driving cross-functional alignment with Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Sales, and Marketing to deliver successful launches and sustained operational performance.
Key Responsibilities
Innovation & Product Development
- Own the Product Development pipeline across all 3 brands, from research to ideation to commercialization, ensuring on-time and on-budget delivery including market research, project selection / feasibility (business case), writing product specifications, design and development activities, etc.
- Provide market research studies to identify market opportunities and understand customer needs to help guide strategic direction and tactical actions as it relates to new products and analysis of competitive products.
- Keep up to date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitor’s activities, providing expert guidance and informing strategic decisions.
- Assure all output is dimensionally accurate with proper tolerancing for various manufacturing methods – casting, machining, injection molding, etc..
- Maintain part models and drawings revision control in SolidWorks software vault.
Operational Integration
- Drive alignment across cross-functional teams in Production, Supply Chain, Quality, and Purchasing to ensure seamless implementation.
- Lead design-for-manufacturability (DFM) and design-for-assembly (DFA) efforts to ensure products can be produced with reliable quality and at target costs at our facilities. Ensure critical design knowledge is transferred to Manufacturing personnel.
- Ensure successful product launches through hands-on support, process validation, and effective knowledge transfer to manufacturing teams.
- Ensure accurate product data and documentation within company systems and leverage data and emerging tools (including AI) to improve development speed and quality.
- Sales / Marketing Support:
- Provide technical support to Sales and Marketing, including customer visits (plumbers, engineers, installers), industry events, and development of product specifications and installation instructions.
- Support Customer Service in resolving complex product-related issues.
- Work with Marketing on Product Specification literature and customer instructions.
Compliance & Quality
- Participate in Industry Professional Working Groups, ASSE, IAPMO to help improve the industry and assure GWBD’s interests are served.
- Be accountable for product performance meets quality, regulatory, and customer requirements.
- Manage correspondence, accounting, testing and certifications with regulatory agencies and test labs.
- Support on-site regulatory audits and certifications as required.
Leadership & Stakeholder Management
- Serve as an active member of the executive leadership team, contributing to company-wide strategic direction and long-term growth planning.
- Create and prioritize the R&D portfolio in alignment with the President and executive team, making clear trade-offs between new product development, cost reduction, and quality/improvement projects.
- Preserve knowledge learned and decisions made during various projects for future use.
- Manage the allocation of resources to multiple projects with shifting priorities at various stages of development at the same time to optimize the product portfolio to meet project timelines and budgets.
- Own R&D performance metrics tied to business outcomes, including ROI, revenue growth, margin expansion, and time-to-market. Track engineering time and expenses per project for R&D tax credits.
- Participate in annual strategic planning, budgeting and capital investment decisions.
- Support merger, acquisition, or product portfolio expansion initiatives.
Skills and Qualifications
Our ideal candidate thinks like an owner, not an employee, obsesses over customer value and product performance, balances speed and discipline (doesn’t over-engineer or rush blindly), is comfortable being hands-on, reviewing drawings, solving problems on the floor, leads with humility and accountability, makes decisions with incomplete information and drives results through others, not just personal output.
Must-Haves for this Role:
- BS in Mechanical Engineering
- 10+ years in product development with a demonstrated track record of successful product launches.
- Proven ability to lead engineering teams and deliver results.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and design for manufacturability across multiple production methods.
What will make You Stand out:
- Experience in Plumbing, Fluid-Handling and Mechanical Systems.
- Experience in working closely with Manufacturing and Supply Chain.
- A proven ability to improve time-to-market and product margins, while improving quality.
- The ability to transfer customer problems or challenges into commercially successful products. Other information you’ll want to know:
- You will work in our Grandview, Missouri facility with some required travel to our Manufacturing facilities or industry events.
- Compensation includes base salary plus performance-based incentives tied to company and product success.
- Matching 401K, Matching Onward Short-Term Savings Program.
- Medical, Dental, Vision & Life Insurance.
Pay: $120,000.00 - $160,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Referral program
- Retirement plan
- Tuition reimbursement
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
