Product Innovation Specialist

kronesinc

5d•Onsite

About The Position

This role is based out of Krones INC (Franklin, WI) and works directly with customer Maintenance Managers, Reliability Engineers, and Senior Maintenance Technicians to identify equipment challenges, recurring failures, maintenance inefficiencies, and opportunities for product improvement. Through extensive customer engagement, plant visits, and field observations, this position gathers and translates customer feedback into actionable product improvement initiatives. The role partners closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Service, Sales, and Global Product Management teams to develop, validate, and commercialize redesigned aftermarket components and solutions that improve equipment reliability, reduce maintenance costs, increase uptime, and create value for customers. The position is responsible for leading customer-driven innovation efforts from problem identification through product launch while ensuring customer needs remain at the center of product development decisions.

Requirements

10+ years working with industrial equipment, maintenance, manufacturing, service, engineering, or reliability functions.
Strong mechanical aptitude and troubleshooting skills.
Self-starter with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Ability to read technical drawings, understand machine assemblies, and discuss design improvements with engineers.
Ability to earn credibility with experienced maintenance technicians and plant personnel.
Experience identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions.
Builds strong customer relationships and trust.
Detail oriented, very structured and organized ways of working.
Knowledge of equipment reliability, maintenance practices, and continuous improvement methodologies.
Ability to communicate technical issues effectively to engineering and manufacturing teams.
Comfort traveling extensively (80%) and working directly in production environments.

Responsibilities

Conduct regular customer site visits throughout North America to observe equipment performance and maintenance practices.
Build strong working relationships with Maintenance Managers, Reliability Engineers, Maintenance Supervisors, and Senior Maintenance Technicians.
Facilitate structured Voice of Customer (VOC) discussions to identify recurring equipment issues, maintenance challenges, and product improvement opportunities.
Collect, document, and prioritize customer feedback regarding reliability, maintainability, serviceability, and operational performance.
Translate field observations and customer feedback into actionable engineering requirements and business opportunities.
Lead customer-driven product improvement initiatives focused on increasing equipment uptime, reliability, and ease of maintenance.
Work directly with Engineering and Manufacturing teams to evaluate design changes and improvement opportunities.
Identify components that experience excessive wear, frequent replacement, difficult installation, or operational challenges.
Develop business cases for redesigned or enhanced aftermarket products.
Coordinate prototype development, field trials, and validation testing with customers.
Monitor product performance after implementation and gather feedback for continuous improvement.
Serve as the liaison between customers and internal stakeholders including Engineering, Manufacturing, Service, Sales, Supply Chain, and Global Product Management.
Ensure customer priorities are clearly communicated and understood throughout the product development process.
Facilitate cross-functional teams focused on solving customer reliability and maintenance challenges.
Drive timely execution of product improvement projects from concept through commercialization.