The posting
What you will do
Johnson Controls is creating a new Supply Chain Risk Engineering team within Chillers North America, and is seeking a hands-on Manager to build and lead it.
The team's mission is to establish qualified alternate sources for existing chiller components whose supply chains are strained, so that a single supplier disruption does not stop a factory or a customer shipment. The team also responds to sudden, ad hoc material shortages, rapidly identifying and qualifying alternatives to keep production running.
The Manager leads a small working team of electrical and mechanical engineers and is personally engaged in the technical work. The role partners with Procurement and the chiller product teams to identify strained component categories, quantify the product demand behind them, plan and execute component qualifications, and get qualified alternates into production — either by implementing them directly or by handing them off to the product team for implementation.
The role works across all of Chiller Engineering: the individual product groups and the technology teams. Typical component categories include fans, pump kits, circuit breakers and electrical components, brazed plate heat exchangers, and similar purchased parts.
How you will do it
Identify strained component categories
- Partner with Procurement and Supply Chain to identify component categories with supply risk — single or sole sources, long or unstable lead times, supplier capacity limits, quality escapes, geopolitical or tariff exposure, and pending obsolescence.
- Build and maintain a prioritized risk register of strained categories, ranked by supply risk and business impact.
- Bring the engineering perspective to Procurement's supplier strategy, including technical capability of candidate suppliers and engineering effort required to qualify them.
Understand product demand for those components
- Work with the product teams to map where each strained component is used across the chiller portfolio — models, configurations, options, and factories. Translate those application demands into a clear technical specification that an alternate component must meet.
Create qualification plans
- Author a formal qualification plan for each alternate component class, defining the requirements, analysis, test, documentation, and approvals needed to release it for use.
Execute qualification
- Lead execution of qualification plans: engineering analysis, supplier technical reviews, sample and first article evaluation, bench and lab testing, and in-unit testing at the JADEC test lab or factory.
- Coordinate with Supplier Quality and Procurement on supplier PPAP, first article inspection, and supplier quality requirements.
- Document results in a qualification report and disposition each alternate as approved, approved with conditions, or rejected.
- Deliver alternates in a ready-to-use state: part numbers created, drawings and specifications released, and approved manufacturer information current in SAP and PLM.
Implement or hand off to product teams
- Work with each product team to decide the implementation path for a qualified alternate.
- Where it makes sense, the Supply Chain Risk Engineering team implements directly — authoring ECNs through CCB, updating BOMs and KMAT/variant structures, and coordinating effectivity with the factories.
- Close the loop with Procurement so new sources are activated commercially once engineering release is complete.
Respond to sudden material shortages
- Serve as the engineering point of response when a sudden, ad hoc material shortage threatens factory output, working with Procurement, Planning, and the factories to assess impact.
- Rapidly identify candidate alternate components or suppliers, evaluate form, fit, function, and compliance, and recommend the fastest acceptable path to keep production running.
- Execute expedited qualifications or engineering deviations where appropriate, with defined risk controls and a plan to complete full qualification afterward.
- Feed lessons from each shortage back into the risk register so recurring problem categories receive proactive multi-source work.
Lead and build the team
- Hire, develop, and lead a team of electrical and mechanical engineers; set priorities, assign work, and coach on technical depth and execution.
- Act as a working manager — personally owning qualifications and technical reviews alongside the team.
- Define the team's operating model, standard work, and metrics, including categories de-risked, qualifications in progress and completed, cycle time, and parts released for multi-source use.
- Report status and risk to engineering and supply chain leadership on a regular cadence.
What we look for
Required
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.
- 8+ years of engineering experience in product, component, sustaining, or supplier engineering for complex mechanical or electromechanical equipment, preferably HVAC, refrigeration, or industrial capital equipment.
- 2+ years leading engineers or technical teams, formally or as a project or team lead.
- Demonstrated experience qualifying alternate components or suppliers, including writing test and qualification plans, running or directing testing, and documenting results.
- Working knowledge of engineering change processes (ECN/CCB), BOM management, part number lifecycle, and effectivity in a manufacturing environment.
- Proficiency with SAP or equivalent ERP for BOM and where-used analysis, and with a PLM system for controlled engineering documents.
- Familiarity with agency and code requirements for purchased components, such as UL, CSA, CE, and ASME.
- Proven ability to influence Procurement, Quality, and product engineering teams without direct authority.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, comfortable presenting to engineering and supply chain leadership.
Preferred
- Direct experience with components and systems used in chillers — fans and motors, pumps, breakers and power distribution, VFDs, controls, heat exchangers, or valves.
- Experience in a supplier engineering, component engineering, or strategic sourcing engineering role.
- Knowledge of PPAP, first article inspection, supplier quality, and FMEA.
- Familiarity with JCI engineering governance including ECN/CCB, P-status lifecycle, KMAT/variant configuration, and Windchill/PLM.
- Experience running or using a test laboratory for component and in-unit validation.
- Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish, given close work with Monterrey and San Antonio factories.
- Professional Engineer (PE) license.
Role scope – important note
This team focuses on existing components already in production on our chillers. Multi-sourcing for new designs remains the responsibility of the development teams within their program schedules. This is a hands-on working manager role: candidates should expect to lead qualifications personally, not only manage the people doing them. Candidates who enjoy building a new team, solving supplier and component problems that directly protect factory output, and working across many product lines will thrive here.
HIRING SALARY RANGE: $110,000 - $140,000 (Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.) This role offers a competitive Bonus plan that will take into account individual, group, and corporate performance. This position includes a competitive benefits package. The posted salary range reflects the target compensation for this role. However, we recognize that exceptional candidates may bring unique skills and experiences that exceed the typical profile. If you believe your background warrants consideration beyond the stated range, we encourage you to apply. To support an efficient and fair hiring process, we may use technology assisted tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), to help identify and evaluate candidates. All hiring decisions are ultimately made by human reviewers. For details, please visit the About Us tab on the Johnson Controls Careers site at https://jobs.johnsoncontrols.com/about-us
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Johnson Controls International plc. is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any other characteristic protected by law. To view more information about your equal opportunity and non-discrimination rights as a candidate, visit EEO is the Law. If you are an individual with a disability and you require an accommodation during the application process, please visit here.
