Polaris Inc. · 1 month ago
Engineering Innovation Program Leader
Plymouth, MN, USA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
$104K/yr - $137K/yr
7+ years expPolaris Inc. is a global leader in powersports that emphasizes innovation and employee empowerment. The Engineering Innovation Program Leader will support the innovation pipeline from ideation to development, requiring strong analytical skills and the ability to foster a culture of innovation across the enterprise.
Consumer Goods
Responsibilities
Own the innovation pipeline and governance: Govern the gate system with clear entry/exit criteria, disciplined review cadence, and crisp go/kill decisions; drive progression from ideation through proof-of-concept to development hand-off
Drive rigorous evaluation and portfolio decisions: Apply standardized scoring against the Innovation Review rubric (IP, income, peak sales, market readiness, risk, strategic alignment, investment) and deliver investable recommendations to leadership forums
Accelerate concept creation and maturation: Lead design-thinking workshops and white-paper sprints, orchestrate rapid prototyping across engineering functions; drive to shorten cycles and de-risk early
Ensure smooth integration to development: Define “definition-of-ready” for Pre-Development and PDP insertion, align requirements with Engineering for clean hand-offs
Build and sustain an innovation culture: Run charrettes/challenges; codify fast-fail learning; align efforts with strategic themes to maximize business impact
Partner externally and internally: Lead make/buy/partner analyses; engage suppliers and universities for feasibility accelerators and benchmarking; maintain strong ties across product and engineering teams
Measure what matters: Establish and track portfolio health and impact metrics (idea throughput, ARL cycle time, kill rate, number of charters, innovation vs. pre-dev investment mix, program stability/speed), and publish transparent, actionable readouts
Support end-to-end innovation pipeline: Drive problem discovery, ideation, evaluation, proof-of-concept, and seamless hand-off into development to ensure disciplined progression from concept to execution
Champion adherence to the innovation process: Model best practices and actively coach teams to follow established frameworks, reinforcing consistency and rigor across initiatives
Mentor and develop innovation capabilities: Build organizational competency through coaching, training, and hands-on engagement, fostering a sustainable innovation ecosystem across Polaris Inc
Apply critical thinking and analytics: Leverage structured analysis and data-driven insights to evaluate opportunities, mitigate risk, and optimize portfolio outcomes
Facilitate cross-functional collaboration: Orchestrate technology roadmapping, ideation sessions, and portfolio reviews to align innovation efforts with enterprise priorities and accelerate decision-making
Align innovation with business strategy: Ensure initiatives support overarching objectives and strategic themes, maximizing impact on growth, profitability, and competitive advantage
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, STEM, Business, or Strategy
7+ years in product development/engineering with demonstrated early-stage delivery (concept through proof-of-concept) and prior ownership of stage-gate or ARL processes
Ability to translate customer insights and competitive/macro scans into high-potential problem statements and investable charters; excellence in technical storytelling/white papers
Portfolio judgment using the standard Innovation Review rubric; comfortable facilitating teams to make evidence-based go/kill calls and presenting to leadership
Track record building cross-functional coalitions and running charrettes/white-paper sprints that result in prototypes and charters
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Execution of engineering design projects, specifically innovation or early product design
Preferred
Advanced degree a plus
Experience with start-ups, partnerships, and/or university initiatives and co-development exposure
Prior leadership in running company-wide innovation challenges or innovation ideation initiatives
Benefits
Competitive compensation
Market-leading profit-sharing plan
Employee Stock Ownership Plan
Discounted employee stock purchases plan
Generous matching contribution to 401(k)
Financial wellness education and consultation
Comprehensive suite of benefits
Health, dental, and vision insurance
Wellness programs
Paid time off
Gym & personal training reimbursement
Life insurance and disability offerings
Polaris Gives paid volunteer time off
Company
Polaris Inc.
Since 1954, Polaris has proudly defined, re-defined and then raised the bar again for the powersports industry.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Polaris Inc. has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (6)
2024 (19)
2023 (17)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$850M2025-11-05Post Ipo Debt· $500M
2025-07-02Post Ipo Debt· $350M
1987-08-21IPO
Leadership Team
Mike Speetzen
Chief Executive Officer
Recent News
2026-01-09
Company data provided by crunchbase