Senior Manager, Product & Innovation

JLL•Chicago, IL

5d•$155,000 - $198,000•Remote

About The Position

JLL is a leading professional services and investment management firm specializing in real estate, with operations in over 80 countries and a workforce of over 92,000 individuals. As a global Fortune 500 company, JLL is committed to sustainability and corporate social responsibility, aiming to shape the future of real estate for a better world. The Senior Manager, Product & Innovation will lead the data, analytics, and AI product function for the JLL | Reliability Maintenance Engineering (RME) account. This is a fully remote, succession-track leadership role, intended to develop the individual into the Head of Product & Innovation. It requires a unique blend of field maintenance leadership experience and hands-on software engineering ability on AWS. The role involves leading a team to build internal software products that enhance maintenance operations, improve work order quality and safety, and leverage AI to reduce administrative burdens. The focus will be on replacing manual processes with AI agents and automated workflows, and developing a product roadmap to address operational inefficiencies.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, or a related field—or equivalent practical experience.
5+ years of experience in maintenance, reliability, or facilities operations, with 10+ years preferred, including direct people leadership (Maintenance Manager, Area Maintenance Manager, Regional Maintenance Manager, or equivalent).
3+ years leading teams, with demonstrated ability to hire, coach, and develop technical and operational talent.
Hands-on experience designing, building, and deploying applications on AWS, including at least one production system the candidate personally architected and shipped.
Strong programming proficiency in Python and SQL; working proficiency in at least one additional language (JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, or Bash).
Demonstrated experience building AI/LLM-powered applications (agents, RAG systems, chatbots, or automated document/text analysis) that reached real users.
Experience with data pipelines, ETL processes, and analytics/reporting platforms.
Experience with version control (Git), infrastructure as code, and modern software delivery practices.
Proven ability to drive product adoption and change management across a distributed, non-technical user base.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to brief executives and translate technical concepts for operational audiences.
Self-motivated, comfortable with ambiguity, and able to operate independently in a fully remote environment.

Nice To Haves

7–15 years of progressive field operations experience, including senior leadership scope (multi-site, regional, or account-level responsibility).
Experience in high-volume distribution, fulfillment, manufacturing, or logistics maintenance environments.
Prior experience supporting the our account or a comparable large, technically demanding client account.
AWS certifications (Solutions Architect, Developer, Machine Learning, or equivalent).
Experience with Amazon Bedrock, Anthropic Claude, or comparable enterprise LLM platforms in production.
Experience building Slack-native applications and workflow automation.
Familiarity with CMMS/EAM systems, work order data, PM/PdM programs, and safety and compliance frameworks (including OSHA and LOTO).
Experience building HR, recruiting, or workforce analytics tooling.
Master's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, or Business.
P&L, budget, or business case ownership experience.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and develop the data and analytics team, including engineering, analytics, and program management talent.
Own hiring, performance management, career development, and workload prioritization for the team.
Operate as the designated successor to the Head of Product & Innovation, progressively assuming ownership of the function, its roadmap, its budget inputs, and its client-facing relationships.
Represent the team to senior JLL leadership, Operations Directors, and client stakeholders, translating between operational reality and technical capability.
Build the bench: establish standards, documentation, and development practices that allow the team to scale beyond its current size.
Own the product roadmap for internal tooling across the RME account, balancing operations, safety, HR/recruiting, and analytics demand against engineering capacity.
Identify high-value automation and AI opportunities by working directly with field leadership, and convert them into scoped, funded, measurable products.
Define success metrics for each product (hours saved, defect reduction, compliance rate, adoption) and hold the team accountable to them.
Drive adoption and change management across approximately 147 sites.
Architect and deliver AI-driven applications: LLM-based workflows, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) assistants, chat-based agents, and automated document and work order analysis.
Refactor manual, repetitive administrative processes—recurring policy questions, screening, audits, reporting, coaching documentation—into self-service AI workflows and chatbots.
Build and maintain internal tools that improve work order quality, PM compliance, safety outcomes, LOTO adherence, and technician productivity.
Build tooling for HR, PXT, and recruiting that reduces administrative load, including applicant screening, policy assistance, and analytics.
Establish evaluation and quality standards for AI outputs, including prompt engineering practices, grading rubrics, human-in-the-loop review, and regression testing.
Remain hands-on: this role writes and reviews code, is expected to prototype, and is expected to be able to unblock the team technically.
Design, deploy, and scale secure, cost-efficient cloud solutions on AWS to support account-wide applications.
Own infrastructure as code (Terraform/CloudFormation/CDK), CI/CD pipelines, environment strategy, and deployment practices for the team.
Design and maintain data pipelines and data models that feed analytics, dashboards, and AI applications.
Ensure secure handling of sensitive JLL, HR, and safety data, including appropriate segregation between JLL and client systems, access controls, and data governance standards.
Partner with JLL enterprise technology, information security, and client-side technical teams to navigate account, network, and compliance requirements.
Create and maintain technical documentation for systems, architectures, and operational runbooks.
Adhere to business unit specified client-driven standards ensuring Customer Satisfaction.
Support and drive technical consistency to help ensure adherence to account deliverables, maximize efficiency, and continually deliver exceptional client service.
Quickly adapt and respond to changing client priorities as well as internal initiatives.
Serve as the technical and product subject matter expert for AI and cloud solutions on the account.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate operational problems into scalable technical solutions that deliver measurable value to the account.

Benefits

Base salary of $155,000–$165,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications.
Performance-based annual bonus with a 20% target, bringing total target compensation to approximately $186,000–$198,000 annually.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance with company contribution.
401(k) retirement plan with generous company matching program.
Flexible PTO policy and paid holidays.
Paid parental leave at 100% of salary.
Early access to earned wages through Daily Pay.
Professional development and training opportunities.
Collaboration with talented technology and operations professionals.
Work with a Fortune 500 company and major industry leader.