Job ID: 19974

Position Description:
The Senior Product Manager (SPM) is the focal point for developing technical and commercial subject matter expertise for the products and commercial applications related to the product line they are responsible for. The position is an advocate for the customer and the field sales force while managing the internal resources to ensure a healthy product life cycle is managed and to ensure the success of growth programs from initial inquiry through full production. The SPM will collaborate with DFS Engineering team to help create new solutions from existing platforms and advise on new product development based on industry experience and customer and market requirements. The position must own the strategic vision of multiple product lines and drive to make the vision a reality.

The SPM will play a key role in providing commercial support to the Commercial organization including implementing pricing strategies, developing pricing and margin targets on non-standard product requests, and developing collateral (White Papers, “How To” Videos, Website content related to promoting our products) and tools to equip the sales organization and channel partners.

The focus of this role includes the support of products, customers, and the field sales team.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Leads the management and communication of the overall product strategy for assigned market segments and product families.
• Manage product vitality; Define and implement vitality initiatives to mitigate gaps in product launch targets.
• Conduct ongoing competitive and market analysis. Lead competitive benchmarking sessions, prepare competitive product feature comparison spreadsheets, prepare competitive pricing analysis and conduct ongoing market insight. Synthesize insight for input into product road maps, value selling, market positioning, and strategic planning.
• Liaison between Sales, Engineering, and Operations to coordinate troubleshooting responses to customer problems, product issues, new opportunities, or solution proposals.
• Support the product development process and toll gate process with coordinating and identifying product requirements such as performance, attributes, features, options, complimentary products, costs, and timelines.
• Prepare annual price recommendations to ensure attainment of revenue and margin targets.
• Update all collateral, tools, and online applications to ensure accurate and timely pricing.
• Provide technical and application training to sales, customer service, and application engineers to enable stakeholders to successfully apply content and learnings to their respective disciplines.
• Participate in sales funnels calls and sales/orders calls, as requested.
• Work with Engineering, Manufacturing, and suppliers as needed to support VA/VE and supply chain initiatives impacting product development, pricing, or margin.
• Support Sales and Marketing in developing key account strategies.
• Support the identification of target market opportunities with Marketing and Sales in support of existing or new products.

Product Technical Responsibility
• Strong application and value proposition understanding of DFS products.
• Manage communication between factory and field sales and support teams for large account projects.
• Assist on product competitive analysis: develop pricing plan, schedule engineering resources, provide oversight and technical analysis of engineering provided data to ensure our product life cycles remain healthy.

Support Product Commercialization
• Works with Sales and Marketing management to establish forecasts, maintain Key Performance Indicators (KPI) information and perform ongoing analysis for assigned products.
• Support product collateral and web content.
• Assist with forecast and Product Lifecycle Management.

Process Ownership
• Product Lifecycle Management.
• Toll Gate Process.
• Sales Opportunity Reporting.
• Help Marketing, New Product Development, and Engineering Management with project prioritization.
• New Product Requirements Document.
• Competitive Analysis Knowledge Base.

Specific customer, high-level opportunities tasks:
• Take ownership of coordination efforts between sales, engineering, manufacturing, and quality to resolve major customer and production issues
• Generate and maintain technical content for QA, catalogs, brochures, training, and other tools for the promotion of the products.
• Assist in developing functional specifications for new product line platforms, including working with Marketing and sales to gather VOC for input to these specs.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS:

• Field Sales Engineers
• Marketing
• Engineering
• Operations
• Customers and Distributors

Position Requirements:
SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• BS in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or related technical or business degree.
• 5+ years of experience in product management, product specialist, application engineering, marketing/sales of technical industrial products, or similar role.
• Demonstrated success and experience in the strategic ownership and management of a product portfolio.
• Self-starter who is committed to the job and seeks empowerment and accountability and is readily adaptable to changing market and organizational dynamics.
• Solid presentation and negotiating skills.
• Ability to work effectively in global cross-functional teams.
• Excellent communicator and critical thinker.
• Hands-on, practical, willing to grow into further responsibility.
• Other duties as assigned.

ADDITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS:
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams with or without a formal reporting relationship.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally. Estimated travel at 30%.
• Excellent interpersonal skills required. Results-driven.
• Excellent working knowledge of sales and marketing principles.
• Strategic thinking capability with high business acumen.

#LI-JT1

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against
any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex,
age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity,
status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal,
state or local protected class.

.