Company Overview:
At Quaker Houghton, we are experts in the development, production and application of chemical specialties, process fluids, lubricants, and coatings for the manufacturing industry. We have been an integral part in the growth of the world’s largest industrial companies and to this day our experience and expertise show in the actions and dedication of our Associates worldwide. Today, we have a global presence, with our corporate headquarters located in Conshohocken, PA. Quaker Houghton is a global publicly traded company with a unique collaborative culture that supports career growth for its associates and offers competitive compensation and benefit programs.
Position Summary:
The Director Functional Solutions will play a pivotal role in aligning technology solutions and develop cutting-edge, customer facing SaaS solutions for strategic initiatives. Reporting to the Senior Director, Business Technology Solutions (BTS), this individual will be a key member of the BTS Fluid Intelligence and R&D team. This position requires a strategic thinker who can effectively communicate and collaborate with business units and Digital Information Technology leadership to drive innovation and efficiency. Part of a lean team tasked with delivering outstanding digital experiences for new and existing technology through functional partnership, translating business challenges into actionable digital or process solutions, leading efforts in development of platforms and applications, project management excellence and deep business analysis. Key to success in this role is prioritizing user experience, anticipating longer-term needs and a blend of project management and business analysis capability while championing Agile methodologies and DevOps practices.
This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of QH technology offerings, driving innovation and meaningful impact. If you're passionate about fostering collaboration and driving digital innovation, join us on this exciting journey.
Accountabilities:
Project Leadership
- Lead multiple concurrent IT projects with R&D and Fluid Intelligence business unit, and implement technology solutions aligned with strategic initiatives while managing scope, quality, budget, risk and schedule.
- Actively manage and control all aspects of the project with a strong bias to avoid waste and ensure successful solution delivery
- Perform consistent and deliberate stakeholder management, change management and communication including executive presentations, status reporting, training and creative project engagement activities.
- Build, lead and mentor project teams without losing sight of the project goals and mediate when needed.
- Plan, gain and manage to the allocation of the resources to be mobilized (human, technical, financial, etc.) to achieve project goals.
Business Analysis and Fluid Intelligence SME
- Provide functional expertise and drive business analysis and process design to define requirements for IT solutions.
- Identify opportunities to streamline processes, improve system efficiency, and enhance user experience through continuous evaluation and optimization.
- Serve as a product owner to create the vision for the product and identify features that will bring the most value and benefit.
- Own and orchestrate the end-to-end product development for Fluidtrend, Fluid Intelligence connected products and R&D platforms, ensuring alignment between the technical platform, business strategy and user needs.
- Develop the system vision by shaping, capturing and validating demand including partnering with stakeholders to establish expected outcomes and priority of initiatives as it relates to strategy.
- Create business cases, functional requirements, user stories, process flow, functional specifications and other relevant documentation.
Solution Design and User Experience
- Champion End User Experience to minimize friction and optimize productivity by representing the end user on the team.
- Shape Fluid Intelligence, Fluidtrend IoT and Fluidtrend lab process for fluid care lab and field processes by designing solutions that balance pace, flexibility, scale and longevity.
- Collaborate with Architecture and Technical Solution Managers to design and build seamless, integrated, scalable, compliant, secure, automated and adaptable solutions.
- Define and execute functional testing (strategy, scenarios, cases) to ensure the solution is performing as expected along with corresponding defect management process and tools.
Partnership & Relationship Management
- Engage key stakeholders and establish trusted business relationships to ensure alignment, visibility and transparency into all aspects of assigned projects and ongoing support.
- Manage vendor contracting and engagements and foster accountability for deliverables, timeline, and quality.
Operations & Day to Day
- Direct vendors and consultants to implement systems, deliver enhancements, upgrades, and integrations.
- Support ongoing operations with a focus on Fluidtrend, Fluid Intelligence Connected platforms and Fluid care products including issue triage and coordination of the resolution.
- Plan and perform maintenance, change, and release management with the DIT team and external partners.
- Manage security and compliance aspects of the technology landscape and drive continuous improvement in operations.
- Lead release management, security, user access and audit compliance activities for production applications.
- Manage the transition of routine support functions of the solution to Service desk as appropriate.
Innovation
- Serve as an advocate for emerging technologies and industry trends to bring business value and improve technology health.
- Champion opportunities, recommendations and advice that support Quaker Houghton and DIT goals.
Work Environment / EHS Responsibilities
- Sedentary category requiring exertion up to 10 lbs. of force occasionally and uses negligible amounts of force to move objects. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time.
- Occasional: Standing: Remaining on one's feet without moving.
- Frequent: Sitting: Remaining in seated position
- Frequent: Reaching below shoulders: Extending arms in any direction below shoulders.
- Continuous: Communication: Expressing or exchanging written/verbal/electronic information.
- Continuous: Vision: Clarity of near vision at 20 inches or less and far vision at 20 feet or more with depth perception, peripheral vision, color vision.
Education and Experience:
- At least bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Computer Science or Information Systems preferred. Master’s Degree in preferred
- 10+ years of progressive Digital IT technology experience.
- 10+ years’ experience in managing design, development, test strategy and implementation of SaaS, Mobile, Web, IoT connect products in a private / public cloud environment.
- Proven experience of 5+ years in a senior role or close to technology, with a strong background in SaaS technology platforms and connected devices is highly preferred.
Required Skills and Competencies:
- Proven experience leading implementation teams and operation of information systems, architecture evaluations and Vendor relationship management.
- Passionate about using technology to solve business problems through data, integration, applications, and sustainable architecture.
- Ability to communicate, gain consensus, shape, challenge and influence effectively in group settings.
- Extensive exposure to Full-Stack web/mobile development with keen eye to UI/UX journey mappings.
- Expert knowledge in managing technology solutions for IoT, event driven architectures, real-time time series data and sensor data capture and ML/AI-driven products.
- Experience in working with geographically distributed teams in Agile/Scrum setting with productivity tools like Jira, confluence or Azure Dev Ops.
- Experience with Automated build, continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) processes.
- Salesforce CRM and MDM (Customer, Product) integration knowledge is highly desirable.
- Exposure to Lab automation, Lab management (eg: LIMS, LSR) knowledge will be an added advantage.
- Understanding of containers and container management solutions like Kubernetes will be helpful
What's in it for you:
- Competitive pay programs with excellent career growth trajectory
- Opportunities to see your efforts contribute toward the success of the business
- Work for a global leader in the industrial process fluids industry
Quaker Houghton is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse workforce. Quaker Houghton provides equal employment opportunity for all qualified candidates. Quaker Houghton does not discriminate against any candidate for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, creed, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, marital or domestic partnership or civil union status, veteran’s status, physical/mental disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by U.S federal, state, and/or local employment law. Furthermore, Quaker Houghton is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified candidates with physical and/or mental disabilities. Applicants with a disability who need assistance applying for a position may email [email protected].