Product Manager - Portables

Johnson Controls • Chicago, IL

9d • Remote

About The Position

As a global leader in smart, healthy, and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places, and the planet. Join a winning team that enables you to build your best future. Our teams support a wide range of industries across the globe, offering opportunities for meaningful work, professional development, and continuous learning. We are committed to supporting the physical, financial, and emotional well-being of our employees. Become a member of the Johnson Controls family and thrive in an empowering company culture where your voice and ideas will be heard. This position is not eligible for Visa sponsorship. What We Offer Competitive salary Paid vacation, holidays, and sick time Comprehensive benefits package including 401(k), pension, medical, dental, and vision care (available day one) On-the-job and cross-training opportunities Encouraging and collaborative team environment Dedication to safety through our Zero Harm policy What You Will Do The Global Product Manager – Portables is responsible for the overall performance and strategic direction of the portable fire suppression product portfolio on a global basis. This role has end-to-end accountability for products manufactured in both the United States and Germany, ensuring alignment of global strategy while addressing regional market and regulatory needs. Major responsibilities include driving profitable revenue growth through robust product lifecycle management, global portfolio strategy, solution enhancements, sustaining engineering, and obsolescence planning. The role focuses on gathering and translating customer and market insights into actionable product strategies, while also overseeing cost-out and value engineering initiatives. This position requires significant cross-functional collaboration across global sales, engineering, manufacturing, sourcing, quality, and operations teams. The role reports to the Product Management Leader and is based in North America, with the option to work from a Johnson Controls office or remotely.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or a related field
• 3–5+ years of business experience
• Experience managing products through a phased-gate or structured product development process
• Strong customer-facing skills with experience engaging external customers and partners
• Proven ability to work effectively in a global, matrixed organization across multiple functions and regions
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills
• Strong financial and general business acumen
• Ability to travel approximately 10–20%, including international travel

Nice To Haves

• 2+ years in product management or a closely related role
• Experience in fire protection, life safety, industrial safety, or infrastructure-related industries
• Experience managing globally manufactured products or portfolios with multiple manufacturing sites
• German language fluency or professional working proficiency (preferred)
• Familiarity with European markets, standards, and regulatory environments
• MBA or advanced degree
• Demonstrated ability to drive results through disciplined execution in complex or ambiguous environments

Responsibilities

• Assess global and regional market trends, customer needs, and voice-of-customer insights
• Conduct market sizing, segmentation, and targeting across regions and applications
• Perform ongoing competitive, regulatory, and standards analysis for the global Portables portfolio
• Monitor regional differences in codes, certifications, and customer requirements, particularly across North America and Europe
• Develop and maintain the global product line strategy and roadmap for the Portables portfolio
• Define clear value propositions for individual products and configurations by region and customer segment
• Establish pricing and positioning guidelines that balance global consistency with regional flexibility
• Communicate product strategy, value propositions, and lifecycle plans across the global organization
• Contribute to and maintain a multi-year global product roadmap
• Lead new product development and major enhancements using a structured, multi-stage gated development process
• Partner with global engineering and manufacturing teams in the U.S. and Germany to define product requirements, including cost, quality, compliance, and timing targets
• Develop detailed business cases for new products, regional variants, and major enhancements
• Lead cross-functional teams through all phases of the product lifecycle, including introduction, growth, maturity, and end-of-life
• Manage the global product portfolio with accountability for SKUs, pricing, profitability, quality, warranty, and regional sales performance
• Drive portfolio simplification, SKU rationalization, and harmonization initiatives where appropriate
• Analyze sales trends and proactively communicate product updates, transitions, and roadmaps to internal stakeholders and customers
• Interface regularly with end users, sales, marketing, engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams across regions

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Paid vacation, holidays, and sick time
• Comprehensive benefits package including 401(k), pension, medical, dental, and vision care (available day one)
• On-the-job and cross-training opportunities
• Encouraging and collaborative team environment
• Dedication to safety through our Zero Harm policy

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees