Senior Product Manager- Search

Work Location Type: Remote  

About Grainger:

W.W. Grainger, Inc., is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom. At Grainger, We Keep the World Working® by serving more than 4.5 million customers worldwide with products and solutions delivered through innovative technology and deep customer relationships. Known for its commitment to service and award-winning culture, the Company had 2024 revenue of $17.2 billion across its two business models. In the High-Touch Solutions segment, Grainger offers approximately 2 million maintenances, repair and operating (MRO) products and services, including technical support and inventory management. In the Endless Assortment segment, Zoro.com offers customers access to more than 14 million products, and MonotaRO.com offers more than 24 million products. For more information, visit www.grainger.com.  

Compensation

The anticipated base pay compensation range for this position is $121,500.00  to $202,500.00.

This position is not eligible for any form of sponsorship now or in the future.  Individuals requiring sponsorship (e.g. OPT or H1B visa status) should not apply. Only individuals authorized to work in the United States now and for the foreseeable future will be considered for this position.

Rewards and Benefits:

With benefits starting on day one, our programs provide choice and flexibility to meet team members' individual needs, including:

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans with coverage starting on day one of employment and 6 free sessions each year with a licensed therapist to support your emotional wellbeing.
• 18 paid time off (PTO) days annually for full-time employees (accrual prorated based on employment start date) and 6 company holidays per year.
• 6% company contribution to a 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan each pay period, no employee contribution required.
• Employee discounts, tuition reimbursement, student loan refinancing and free access to financial counseling, education, and tools.
• Maternity support programs, nursing benefits, and up to 14 weeks paid leave for birth parents and up to 4 weeks paid leave for non-birth parents.

For additional information and details regarding Grainger’s benefits, please click on the link below:

https://experience100.ehr.com/grainger/Home/Tools-Resources/Key-Resources/New-Hire

The pay range provided above is not a guarantee of compensation.  The range reflects the potential base pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual base pay compensation will depend, in part, on factors such as geographic work location and relevant experience and skills.   

The anticipated compensation range described above is subject to change and the compensation ultimately paid may be higher or lower than the range described above. 

Grainger reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion at any time, consistent with applicable law.  

Position Details:

As the Sr. Product Manager for Search, you will define and own the vision, strategy, and roadmap that evolves Grainger.com’s keyword based Solr platform into AI-driven vector, semantic, and hybrid search—guiding teams to deliver scalable, best-in class discovery experiences.

You will work cross-functionally to drive products from ideation through testing to launch, with a focus on north star metrics, clear OKRs, and business priorities.

You will empower the Search team with clear strategy, priorities, requirements, and flawless execution to rapidly deliver AI/ML-powered search experiences and develop best-in-class search at Grainger. You will break complex problems into clear development steps and go deep on ML and engineering when needed (e.g., understanding search technologies, search engines, query performance, and relevancy).

You will work in close partnership with business stakeholders in Merchandising to scale human review of Search defects and strengthen AI/ML feedback loops.

You will report to the Director of Product Management, Search and Recommendations. This role is open to remote candidates or hybrid in Chicago or Lake Forest, IL.

You Will:

• Define and own the Search product strategy and roadmap across Solr, vector, semantic, and hybrid search systems with human-in-the-loop
• Establish a clear Minimal Viable Product (MVP) definition and product roadmaps for the “now, near, and next” that align with the broader Discovery product domain and elevate customer value proposition and differentiators at every stage
• Define clear OKRs and guardrail metrics, creating transparency and accountability across teams and stakeholders
• Bring extreme clarity and transparency to the work to be done – the why, the how, and when—ensuring performance, scalability, and delivery of excellent outcomes
• Collaborate extensively cross-functionally (AI/ML, Engineering, UX, Analytics, and Technical Architecture) and with business stakeholders (Merchandising) to execute product roadmap with urgency and hit critical milestones, while managing risk
• Champion a strong customer and data-first mindset, using customer and stakeholder feedback, testing, and measurement to prioritize and continually refine the search experience
• Develop excellent storytelling and compelling narratives, and be able to communicate status, blockers, risks, and tradeoffs to cross functional partners, stakeholders, and product leaders
• Evangelize product strategy up, down, and across your product, and effectively communicate business impact to Merchandising stakeholders and senior leadership
• Stay ahead of trends in AI/ML space in vector search and adjacent technologies, competitive space, and customer needs and develop a clear strategy around how Grainger can win in Search

You Have:

• 7+ years’ experience as a product manager or related technology occupation. Base experience must involve leading agile sprint teams, working with UX, analytics and business stakeholders and include demonstration of delivering and supporting working custom software/capabilities
• Continuous improvement and innovation mindset that results in the understanding of latest technologies, including Machine Learning.  Demonstrated experience partnering with Machine Learning teams to drive new customer or process insights or automation
• Demonstrated experience designing solutions to complex problems and delivering results by conceptualizing, building, or substantially modifying enterprise internal tools & external website
• Ability to function with ambiguity within a matrix organization and drive clarity cross-functionally to deliver value quickly through scalable solutions
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills; ability to use hard data and metrics to back up assumptions when developing & presenting business cases to executive leadership & stakeholders
• Problem solving & planning capabilities along with creative time management skills, high degree of ownership and helping influence teams to act with urgency 
• Bachelor’s Degree with Master’s degree preferred. 

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible work environment that includes both providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities during the application and hiring process as well as throughout the course of one’s employment, should you need a reasonable accommodation during the application and selection process, including, but not limited to use of our website, any part of the application, interview or hiring process, please advise us so that we can provide appropriate assistance.