Primary Objective of Position: The primary objective of the Product Planner position is to provide product definition and direction to facilitate the efficient and successful development, production and marketing of the assigned Winnebago motorhome series.
Key Areas of Responsibility
- Utilize Winnebago’s NPD process to lead front end efforts to develop successful features and floorplans meet revenue and profit objectives
- Lead new product mockup and floorplan development
- Lead iterative design sprints
- Identify unmet needs of our customers through voice of the customer research using industry best practices
- Propose new product ideas and designs to the product manager based on sound VOC research
- Assist product manager for product lifecycle management of assigned products
- Create and maintain accurate and complete product plans for assigned products
- Develop an expert level of understanding of our owners, their usage patterns, and sub cultures of the assigned product class
- Use User Experience (UX) design principles and iterative prototyping best practices to drive innovation
- Validate designs through internal and external user experience, VOC, and testing
- Provide regular updates, and recommendations for Multigenerational Product Plan (MGPP)
- Efficient and accurate analysis, forecasting and reporting for assigned industry segments
- Participate in warranty and cost reduction teams for assigned products
- Develop expert product knowledge of competition and market conditions
- Assist sales and training team with competitive comparisons, product training materials and product training and sales support at RV shows
- Provide product information for marketing, retail inquiries and to assist owner relations
- Other responsibilities may be assigned based on business need
Knowledge & Skills
Required
- Industrial Design, Engineering, or similar product development education or experience
- Ability to work in a collaborative environment
- Excellent Communication skills
- Strong work ethic and time management skills
Desired
- UX design training and experience (e.g. model making for rapid visualization, sketching, customer interviews etc.)
- Product management training or experience
- Design software experience- especially Siemens NX and Team Center
- AI in product development including design iteration
- Desire to use RV’s to gain firsthand experience
- Functional understanding of RV systems and usage (electricity, water, etc.)
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, WGO mainframe, D365, and Power BI
Travel
- Moderate travel in United States via recreational vehicle and traditional means
Skills Required
- Education or experience in industrial design, engineering, or a similar product development field
- Ability to work collaboratively
- Excellent communication skills
- Strong work ethic and time management skills
- UX design training or experience, including model making, sketching, and customer interviews
- Product management training or experience
- Experience with Siemens NX and Teamcenter
- Knowledge of AI applications in product development and design iteration
- Desire to use recreational vehicles for firsthand experience
- Functional understanding of RV systems, including electricity and water
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, WGO mainframe, D365, and Power BI
What We Do
At Winnebago Industries we help our customers explore the outdoor lifestyle, enabling extraordinary mobile experiences as they travel, live, work and play. Winnebago Industries, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of outdoor lifestyle products under the Winnebago, Grand Design, Chris-Craft, and Newmar brands, which are used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. Our 5,700 team members across Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota and Florida deliver on our vision to be the trusted leader in outdoor lifestyle solutions by providing unmatched innovation, quality and service. We’re looking for people who are as passionate about their work as they are about the outdoors. We seek fresh minds and skilled hands that can bring new perspectives, ways of working and technology to deliver exceptional experiences. We do this best when we allow ourselves the time to enjoy the environment — so we seek to keep a healthy balance between work and play. Be part of a team that treats each other with the respect, trust and humility needed to create extraordinary outdoor experiences for our customers.
