Johnson Controls

Director, Portfolio Planning and Product Management

Johnson Controls$120K — $150K *
Energy & Utilities
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
  • 10+ years in product management or digital strategy roles, preferably in building management systems, IoT, or enterprise software.
  • Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence senior stakeholders in a global matrix organization.
  • Expertise in defining product vision, creating business cases, and implementing integrated roadmaps.
  • Strong understanding of building automation, controls, and digital platforms; experience in mission-critical verticals (healthcare, life sciences, data centers) is highly desirable.
  • Skilled in developing GTM strategies, pricing models, and commercial packaging for software-driven solutions.

Responsibilities

  • Define and launch integrated digital solutions, aligning with JCI's strategic growth objectives.
  • Identify and validate high-impact use cases, quantify customer value, and translate insights into compelling product offerings.
  • Develop and execute a roadmap that includes upstream value creation and downstream go-to-market strategies.
  • Collaborate closely with product leaders and stakeholders to ensure seamless integration and eliminate confusion around offerings.
  • Drive outside-in intelligence to inform strategic decisions, leveraging data-driven insights to shape product direction.
  • Champion the scale-up of JCI's software business within the Controls organization, fostering a culture of innovation.

Benefits

  • Competitive benefits package available.
  • Bonus plan accounting for individual, group, and corporate performance.
Full Job Description
What You Will Do

The Director, Portfolio Planning and Product Management plays a critical upstream leadership role in shaping the long-term direction of Johnson Controls' Building Automation & Controls portfolio. You will define portfolio strategy, drive ecosystem development, assess portfolio investments, lead competitive intelligence, and shape vertical solutions and use cases.

This role is central to evolving our portfolio-ensuring JCI brings to market the right solutions, in the right sequence, backed by strong strategic choices. You will influence the future architecture of our Controls offerings and help ensure JCI leads in innovation, quality, and customer value.

How You Will Do It
  • Portfolio & Strategy Leadership: Define the long-term portfolio and product strategy for Controls, aligning with enterprise priorities and customer value drivers. Anticipate market shifts, competitive moves, regulatory changes, and technology inflections to guide strategic investment and shape the future-state architecture.
  • Vertical Solution Management: Lead definition of new opportunities in prioritized verticals, including market segmentation, TAM analysis, validation of unmet needs, and development of differentiated value propositions. Build compelling business cases, solution framing, and strategic positioning for new offerings.
  • Ecosystem Management: Identify and manage strategic technology partners that advance the Controls portfolio. Lead a disciplined make vs. partner vs. buy process to determine where external capabilities accelerate innovation or reduce time-to-market. Own key partner relationships, align joint roadmaps, and collaborate with Engineering and Corporate Development on partnership, licensing, or acquisition pathways. Continuously monitor emerging technologies to strengthen JCI's architecture and competitive edge.
  • Cross-Functional Leadership: Work closely with Engineering, Commercial teams, Finance, Operations, and other product leaders to ensure alignment across the lifecycle. Drive clarity across adjacent offerings and guide simplification of the portfolio to improve scalability, efficiency, and customer experience.
  • Voice of Customer & Market Intelligence: Develop a strong outside-in view of market and customer needs. Integrate customer research, industry trends, competitive intelligence, and emerging technology signals into clear recommendations that shape strategy and influence decision-making across the organization.
  • Business Acceleration: Support go-to-market teams with strategic insights, early adoption strategies, and value articulation for new solutions. Champion innovation, customer-centric thinking, and rigorous product planning to accelerate portfolio performance and growth.


What We Look For
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
  • 10+ years of product management, portfolio management, or strategy experience, ideally within building automation, controls, industrial technology, or related sectors.
  • Demonstrated ability to set long-term product strategy, build business cases, and manage complex roadmaps.
  • Strong experience leading cross-functional teams in a global matrix environment.
  • Deep understanding of building automation systems, controls architectures, and market drivers across mission-critical verticals such as healthcare, life sciences, and data centers.
  • Proven success in driving upstream product efforts including voice of customer, market sizing, segmentation, and strategic portfolio planning.


About Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls International plc is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Cork, Ireland that produces automotive parts such as batteries and electronics and HVAC equipment for buildings. It employs 105,000 people in around 2,000 locations across six continents. As of 2019, it was listed as 389th in the Fortune Global 500; in 2020, it became ineligible for the list. Johnson Controls was founded in 1885 by Warren S. Johnson, a professor at the State Normal School in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Originally called the Johnson Electric Service Company, it focused on automatic temperature regulation. In 1974, the company changed its name to Johnson Controls.
Learn more about Johnson Controls
Size
101,000 employees
Market Cap
$44.1 billion
Industry
Net Income
$923 million
Founded
1885
5 Year Trend
+2.1%
Revenue
$22 billion
NASDAQ

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