Product Portfolio Director

RapidAir Products•Schaumburg, IL

22h

About The Position

RapidAir is seeking a commercially driven product leader to own the strategy, lifecycle management, pricing discipline, and commercialization of our compressed air piping and system portfolio. This role blends strategic direction with hands-on execution in a lean, growth-focused organization. The Director / Senior Product Manager will influence revenue growth, gross margin expansion, and competitive positioning across ICP and IAP channels — while partnering closely with Sales, Operations, Engineering, and Marketing to drive measurable results. This role does not carry formal P&L ownership but is accountable for influencing financial performance through disciplined product strategy and execution. RapidAir competes against industry leaders such as Parker Hannifin, AIRnet, Applied System Technologies, and AirPipe USA. This position ensures our portfolio strategy and execution remain differentiated, disciplined, and growth-oriented.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Marketing, or related discipline
7–12+ years of product management experience in industrial or technical B2B markets
Demonstrated experience influencing pricing and margin outcomes
Experience leading product launches in a manufacturing environment
Strong analytical and financial modeling skills
Ability to operate strategically while executing tactically
Commercially minded with strong financial awareness
Structured and disciplined in approach
Comfortable operating in a lean organization
Strong communicator with executive presence
High accountability without formal authority
Hands-on and execution-oriented

Nice To Haves

Experience in compressed air, piping systems, HVAC, or industrial distribution
Experience in growth-stage or private equity-backed organizations
MBA or advanced business training
Familiarity with Salesforce, ERP, and ecommerce platforms

Responsibilities

Develop and execute 3–5 year product roadmap
Lead pricing strategy and margin improvement initiatives
Drive new product development and launch execution
Own product positioning and competitive differentiation
Oversee all product-related marketing and ecommerce collateral
Serve as internal product expert and strategic advisor to Sales leadership
Develop and maintain multi-year product roadmap aligned to company growth objectives
Lead full product lifecycle management (concept → launch → growth → rationalization → EOL)
Identify portfolio gaps, whitespace opportunities, and competitive risks
Conduct voice-of-customer research and market analysis
Drive SKU simplification and complexity reduction initiatives
Develop structured pricing strategy by segment (Industrial Direct, Distribution, Contractor, Retail, Ecommerce)
Recommend and support annual price adjustments
Analyze margin performance and recommend corrective actions
Build business cases for new product investment
Monitor and report KPI performance tied to portfolio financial outcomes
Lead stage-gate new product development process
Partner with Engineering and Operations to bring new products to market
Define value proposition and competitive positioning
Execute launch readiness plans (inventory, packaging, training, digital assets)
Conduct post-launch performance analysis
Own creation and maintenance of: technical documentation, sell sheets and launch kits, website product pages, ecommerce listings (SEO, product descriptions, cross-sell logic), and accurate distributor and channel data
Ensure product messaging aligns with RapidAir brand positioning
Support vertical market campaigns and growth initiatives
Train and equip sales teams on product value positioning
Present portfolio performance and roadmap updates to executive leadership
Influence Engineering, Operations, and Marketing priorities without direct authority
Build scalable product processes as the function matures