Innovation Director

At Trane Technologies^TM  and through our businesses including Trane^® and Thermo King^®, we create innovative climate solutions for buildings, homes, and transportation that challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world. We're a team that dares to look at the world's challenges and see impactful possibilities. We believe in a better future when we uplift others and enable our people to thrive at work and at home. We boldly go.

What’s in it for you:  

Be a part of our mission!  As a world leader in creating comfortable, sustainable, and efficient environments, it’s our responsibility to put the planet first. For us at Trane Technologies, sustainability is not just how we do business—it is our business. Do you dare to look at the world's challenges and see impactful possibilities? Do you want to contribute to making a better future? If the answer is yes, we invite you to consider joining us in boldly challenging what’s possible for a sustainable world. 

Thrive at work and at home: 

• Benefits kick in on DAY ONE for you and your family, including health insurance and holistic wellness programs that include generous incentives – WE DARE TO CARE!  
• Family building benefits include fertility coverage and adoption/surrogacy assistance.  
• 401K match up to 6%, plus an additional 2% core contribution = up to 8% company contribution.   
• Paid time off, including in support of volunteer and parental leave needs.     
• Educational and training opportunities through company programs along with tuition assistance and student debt support.   
• Learn more about our benefits here!  

Where is the work:

This position has been designated as a Hybrid work schedule with work performed onsite 3 days each week. 

The Team
The Enterprise Innovation Team’s mission is to be a growth engine for Trane Technologies by partnering with the company’s Strategic Business Units (SBUs) as the innovation foundry for the company.  Team members are hyper-connected externally to an ecosystem of partners and customers aligned to our strategic themes.  They uncover, develop, incubate, and accelerate (scale) the adoption of transformative innovation – challenging what is possible for a sustainable world.

Joining the Innovation Team at Trane Technologies provides a distinctive experience where you work on high-impact innovation projects, collaborating across various Strategic Business Units (SBUs) to reduce the world’s carbon footprint. This opportunity will expose you to product portfolios and product growth teams, which will help you better understand how SBUs operate and develop strong influencing skills. You will interact with senior leaders through project steering committees and enhance your executive leadership and communication skills.

The Role
The Innovation Director will report to the VP of Innovation in the Office of the CTO. Their primary role will be accelerating the growth and development of HVACR systems and solutions that leverage hybrid and alternate approaches to decarbonize the heating and cooling buildings and industrial processes. They will work closely with our Commercial, Residential, Transport Refrigeration, and Life Sciences business units to achieve successful matriculation of new technology offerings. They will lead the development of these offerings using the company's Business Operating System (BOS) to ensure disciplined execution and successful scaling.

Responsibilities

• Execute innovation projects to incubate high-potential ideas under the guidance of the Executive Leadership Team through a project steering committee.
• Scan internal and external ideas to find high-potential ones that align with the company's strategic focus areas. Maintain internal partnerships and interact with external innovators, such as strategic partners, accelerators, venture capitalists, and universities.
• Develop domain expertise and thought leadership in the market and business aligned to assigned innovation programs. Understand customer segments and unmet needs to identify emerging market opportunities.
• Continuously advance Trane Technologies' culture of innovation by coaching SBU talent and leading by example throughout innovation projects.  Conduct innovation skills workshops to help accelerate design thinking and employee engagement with the innovation process.

The ideal candidate for Trane Technologies should be a highly collaborative executive who can bring fresh and dynamic thinking to drive innovation. Key qualifications include:

• A bachelor's degree is required with an advanced degree preferred; degrees in both technical and business-related fields are preferred.
• Over 10 years of experience in innovation and/or product management roles, including building, growing, and managing strategic product and technology portfolios that support complex mechanical systems.
• Digital technology understanding with a focus on electromechanical applications.   
• Demonstrated ability to quickly analyze, understand, segment, and size complex markets and combine market-led and technology-led innovation strategies.
• Ability to execute discrete projects in an environment of high ambiguity; apply & coach structured methodologies to reduce ambiguity and bring projects to a conclusion.
• Ability to assign priorities in a fast-paced and changing environment and make strategic, fact-based choices to start, stop, or continue priorities as circumstances evolve.
• Experience influencing cross-functionally and overcoming barriers to execution, including building cross-functional teams and garnering support across various stakeholders.
• Experience building and managing external and internal stakeholder relationships, including executive relationships.
• Entrepreneurial, execution-oriented attitude
• Business case development and realization experience
• Strong communication skills; able to communicate effectively with multiple organizational levels.
• The ideal candidate should have comprehensive innovation experience that includes all the stages of taking an initial idea to build a successful business. At the very least, they should have multiple experiences in various stages, such as idea generation, concept development, product or service launching, business maturation, and growth.

Equal Employment Opportunity:   
We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits and programs. We are an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, pregnancy, age, marital status, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any legally protected status.