Product Manager - Accessories

Slate Auto•Troy, MI

2d•$108,000 - $149,000

About The Position

At Slate, we’re building safe, reliable vehicles that people can afford, personalize and love—and doing it here in the USA as part of our commitment to reindustrialization. The spirit of DIY and customization runs throughout every element of a Slate, because people should have control over how their trucks look, feel, and represent them. We’re looking for an upbeat, organized, and innovative Product Manager to bring our accessories portfolio to life. This role can support either exterior or interior hard-goods products. Reporting directly to the Sr. Director of Accessories, you are customer-led in everything you do: your primary responsibility is to translate customer needs into useful products that foster deep brand connections through expression. You’ll drive the end-to-end product lifecycle, with extensive creative partnership with our Brand team, in a fast-paced startup environment where your contributions have a direct impact on the company’s direction and success.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, engineering, or equivalent. MS/MBA a plus. Exceptional experience may be considered in lieu of a formal degree.
6+ years of experience in hardware products and programs, preferably automotive/power sports accessories, lifestyle accessories, engineering, or product development.
Proven track record of taking products from concept to creation, with strong project management, analytical, and communication skills.
Comfortable in start-up environments. You can roll up your sleeves to do the work and build or recommend the tools needed to be successful as the company grows.
A proactive “one company” teammate with a continuous improvement approach, equally comfortable with engineering details and business planning.
Comfortable operating in ambiguity — you define the problem, not just the solution — and able to influence senior stakeholders and raise the bar for PMs around you without formal authority.
Capability to work cross-functionally with partners, suppliers, and vendors, building strong relationships that produce positive results.
An ability to be an effective brand representative and ambassador to the Slate community, both presenting the Slate vision and collecting input that leads to future accessories development.

Responsibilities

Obsess over enabling world-class personalization for our customers by bringing products to market
Use strategic and quantitative analysis to build and defend the business case for new products, assign features and specs, own trade-off decisions, and lead business execution.
Own a category of the accessories portfolio end to end — performance, customer satisfaction, and company impact.
Conduct market studies and keep product offerings fresh with our customer base.
Execute and improve the product development process, then manage the end-to-end cycle of approved products on the line plan, including product sunset management.
Lead cross-functional execution across Design, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, Brand, and Commercial teams to ensure Slate accessories are inspiring, on time, and on budget.
Partner with Brand and Legal teams to secure product licensing and reseller agreements.
Create presentations and documentation and present to cross-functional leadership, including product updates and recommendations. We share the spotlight!
Travel to suppliers and Slate office sites (10–25% average) to support team and project work.
Have a lot of fun working on a dynamic and engaging team with a seat at the table.