Director, Product Marketing - Lincoln

Ford • Detroit, MI

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Product Marketing for Lincoln is a leadership role responsible for shaping Lincoln’s future product portfolio, leading the Product Marketing organization, and ensuring vehicles meet the brand promise, client expectations, and business objectives. The position owns the product marketing agenda and portfolio recommendations throughout vehicle development, integrating client insight, competitive intelligence, brand strategy, volume and revenue objectives, offering strategy, pricing, content, and product mix.

The director serves as a product and market expert, partnering with product development, design, engineering, finance, research, sales, quality, brand, and marketing teams to make trade-offs, drive decisions, and develop vehicles that strengthen desirability, quality, and profitability. The role leads managers and Senior Managers, establishes team priorities and accountabilities, develops talent, and fosters an inclusive and collaborative culture. The position is hybrid and based in Detroit, Michigan.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, advertising, or a closely related field.
• At least 12 years of progressive professional experience in product marketing, product strategy, product development, brand management, or a related marketing field; alternatively, at least 10 years of experience with a Master’s degree or MBA.
• Demonstrated team leadership and ability to lead through influence and collaboration with internal and external partners, including senior leaders.

Nice To Haves

• Strong analytical and financial capabilities, including using data to explain client behavior, build business cases, evaluate trade-offs, and recommend action.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, including advanced proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with the automotive product development process and marketing deliverables from early strategy through launch and lifecycle management.
• Experience developing product, content, packaging, pricing, volume, and mix strategies for a premium or luxury brand.
• Understanding of U.S. marketing and sales operations and the needs of luxury clients and automotive dealers.
• Knowledge of automotive data sources, tools, and dashboards, including GPS, NVCS, JDPIN+, and S&P.
• Ability to simplify complex issues, think innovatively, act with urgency, and persuasively make the case for change.
• Resilient, proactive, curious, and collaborative leadership style, with strong listening, learning agility, disciplined prioritization, and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Master’s degree or MBA in marketing, business, finance, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Set Lincoln’s product marketing strategy and translate brand pillars, client needs, market dynamics, and business priorities into vehicle and portfolio choices with defined client, volume, revenue, quality, and profitability objectives.
• Serve as the product marketing expert across Lincoln vehicle programs throughout development and ensure decisions support a distinctive modern luxury experience.
• Define product value propositions and offering strategies, including content, packaging, pricing, volume, and mix.
• Ensure consistency across Lincoln nameplates through series and derivative cross-carline strategies.
• Champion the voice of the client and ensure future programs achieve product marketing deliverables.
• Develop expertise in target clients, segments, competitors, technology, and cultural trends, and turn insights into product recommendations.
• Partner with market research teams to plan research, participate in client learning, communicate findings, and advocate for insights in product and design decisions.
• Lead product studies and strategic reviews to modernize and simplify offerings, improve profit and quality, and reduce complexity.
• Integrate Lincoln brand strategy into vehicle-line assumptions and lead product implementation of priority initiatives, including connectivity, subscription, and experiential elements.
• Assess feature and commodity take rates to align high-demand content with market availability, improve financial forecasting, and inform corporate emissions planning.
• Ensure disciplined transfer of marketing responsibility and product knowledge from future programs to current-model launch teams; support go-to-market plans and internal product immersions.
• Lead in-cycle actions that build excitement for Lincoln products and respond to changing client, competitive, and business conditions.
• Drive quality and profit improvement, content realignment, complexity reduction, and enterprise cost optimization for Lincoln nameplates with brand and enterprise partners.
• Lead cross-functional alignment, frame decisions, recommend trade-offs, establish owners and timing, and hold partners accountable for agreed outcomes.
• Build business cases and executive recommendations using client insight, competitive intelligence, and financial analysis; communicate choices, risks, and trade-offs to influence senior leaders.
• Champion product strategy and presentation materials for dealer engagements and incorporate dealer perspectives into decisions.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team that includes managers and Senior Managers; establish priorities, decision rights, accountabilities, and operating rhythms.
• Develop leadership capability, allocate talent to business priorities, support career growth and succession planning, and foster an inclusive culture.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage.
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, and subsidized back-up childcare.
• Family-building benefits, including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement and fertility treatments.
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members, and management leases.
• Tuition assistance.
• Employee resource groups.
• Paid time off for individual and team community service.
• Paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director