Senior AI/ML Product Manager
Yesterday• Lake Forest, IL
Work Location Type: Remote
Req Number 323107
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.
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Compensation:
The anticipated base pay compensation range for this position is $121,500.00 to $202,500.00.
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 Senior Product Manager for Product Matching, you will lead the vision, strategy, and roadmap for Grainger's competitive intelligence product matching systems, responsible for accurately cross-referencing competitor SKUs with Grainger's catalog. Your mission is to enable customers and internal teams to confidently identify equivalent or superior Grainger products, driving revenue and increasing product discoverability.
This role is at the intersection of advanced AI/ML capabilities and core business operations. You will guide a cross-functional team of engineers and applied ML scientists to build and scale state-of-the-art solutions, including LLM-based matching workflows, computer vision for visual similarity, and GenAI-powered enrichment tools.
You will also be responsible for leading the development of an internal web application in close partnership with business operations teams, enabling them to perform standard product matching workflows efficiently and at scale. This tool will support high-quality human review, streamlined exception handling, and tight feedback loops into the AI/ML models. You'll work hand-in-hand with operations stakeholders to deeply understand their processes, gather input on tool design, and ensure the solution evolves to meet evolving business needs, serving as the connective tissue between AI systems and day-to-day operational excellence.
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 product team with clear strategy, priorities, requirements, and flawless execution to rapidly deliver AI/ML-powered matching experiences and develop best-in-class matching at Grainger. You will break complex problems into clear development steps and go deep on ML and engineering when needed (e.g., understanding technologies, data products, operational metrics, etc.).
You will report to the Director of Product Matching. This role is open to remote candidates or hybrid in Chicago or Lake Forest, IL.
You will:
- Define and own the competitive intelligence product matching strategy and roadmap across AI/ML driven matching and internal web application with human-in-the-loop AI
- Establish a clear Minimal Viable Product (MVP) definition and product roadmaps for the "now, near, and next" that align with the broader 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, competitive landscape, and customer needs to evolve the strategy around how Grainger's competitive intelligence product matching
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
- 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.
Client-provided location(s): Lake Forest, IL
Job ID: Grainger-323107-en_US
Employment Type: OTHER
Posted: 2025-08-25T23:30:11
Perks and Benefits
Health and Wellness
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Short-Term Disability
- Long-Term Disability
- FSA
- HSA
- HSA With Employer Contribution
- On-Site Gym
- Pet Insurance
- Mental Health Benefits
Parental Benefits
- Birth Parent or Maternity Leave
- Non-Birth Parent or Paternity Leave
- Fertility Benefits
- Adoption Assistance Program
- Family Support Resources
- Adoption Leave
Work Flexibility
- Flexible Work Hours
- Remote Work Opportunities
- Hybrid Work Opportunities
Office Life and Perks
- Commuter Benefits Program
- Casual Dress
- On-Site Cafeteria
Vacation and Time Off
- Paid Vacation
- Paid Holidays
- Personal/Sick Days
- Leave of Absence
- Volunteer Time Off
Financial and Retirement
- 401(K) With Company Matching
- Stock Purchase Program
- Performance Bonus
- Relocation Assistance
- Financial Counseling
Professional Development
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Mentor Program
- Shadowing Opportunities
- Access to Online Courses
- Internship Program
- Leadership Training Program
- Associate or Rotational Training Program
- Promote From Within
- Professional Coaching
Diversity and Inclusion
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program
- Employee Resource Groups (ERG)
- Woman founded/led
- Black founded/led
- Asian founded/led
- Veteran founded/led
- Unconscious Bias Training