Product Manager

ITW•Troy, MI

13d•Onsite

About The Position

Vulcan, recognized by chefs and operators around the world as the best-in-class supplier for premier, energy-efficient foodservice equipment, is seeking an organized and energetic Product Manager to join our growing team. Vulcan is a division of Illinois Tool Works (ITW), a Fortune 200 global multi-industrial manufacturing leader with revenues totaling $15.9 Billion in 2024. Reporting to the Senior Director of Sales, the Product Manager is responsible for the strategic and tactical management of assigned product categories to drive profitable growth, customer-back innovation, and commercial excellence. This in-office role will bridge marketing, engineering, and sales, ensuring Vulcan’s product portfolio delivers differentiated, customer-validated solutions that align with our long-term business strategy. The Product Manager will collaborate cross-functionally with Engineering, Supply Chain, Marketing, and the Business Development (BDM) team to define market requirements, lead customer-back innovation projects, and own the go-to-market readiness of new and existing products.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or Engineering; MBA preferred.
5+ years of product management or related commercial/technical experience in foodservice or capital equipment industries.
Demonstrated success in product launches, innovation projects, and cross-functional leadership.
Proven analytical ability to turn data into actionable insights.
Skilled collaborator with strong communication and influencing skills.
Familiarity with manufacturing operations, supply chain processes, and go-to-market execution.

Responsibilities

Follow and execute ITW Enterprise Strategy, ITW Toolkit, Core Values, and Code of Conduct as a leader of the business
Identify and quantify customer pain points and follow established frameworks for Customer-Back Innovation (CBI) projects.
Lead cross-functional meetings with Engineering to align project priorities, timelines, and development progress.
Translate VOC (Voice of Customer) insights into actionable product requirements and business cases.
Execute on regular field visits in key customer market segments, capture insights to return to the business. Product Manager monthly (VOC) field visits as experts in the Market.
Define product roadmaps aligned to strategic growth priorities and lifecycle management objectives.
Partner with Engineering and Strategic Sourcing to ensure manufacturability, cost targets, and serviceability are considered early in development.
Serve as category expert, monitoring trends, competitive activity, and emerging technologies.
Lead and deliver on product line simplification (PLS) projects within each product category.
Own product content in collaboration with Marketing: spec sheets, brochures, POS materials, digital assets, and launch collateral.
Drive internal and external product training for BDMs, Sales organization, reps, and channel partners.
Lead launch readiness activities, ensuring the field has the tools, pricing, and support needed for success.
Support customer presentations to include Vulcan Experience, tradeshows, and key end-user engagements.
Partner with Sales Operations on pricing strategy, cost optimization, and margin management.
Collaborate with the Marketing team to create and maintain marketing plans, and sales tools including brochures, product descriptions, technical data sheets, web content.
Collaborate with Strategic sourcing and Operations on inventory planning, product transitions, and forecasting accuracy.
Support product line performance analysis to identify improvement opportunities.
Use market and internal data to inform product discontinuation, replacement, or line extensions.