Senior Product Manager

Grote Industries • Madison, IN

55d • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Product Manager will own the strategy, lifecycle, and commercial performance of one or more product categories within Grote's commercial vehicle portfolio. This is a hands-on, cross-functional leadership role — the right candidate will be equally comfortable reviewing a product specification, facilitating a cross-functional roadmap review, analyzing margin performance, or enabling the sales team with competitive intelligence.
This role requires deep familiarity with physical product environments — electrical systems, wiring harnesses, and lighting applications in transportation are preferred backgrounds. The ideal candidate brings rigorous product thinking to a hardware-centric world, without defaulting to software frameworks that do not translate to our category.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Marketing, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of five years of product management experience in physical or hardware-based product categories.
• Strong background in electrical systems, wiring harnesses, or vehicle lighting products within the transportation, commercial vehicle, automotive, or related industrial markets.
• Demonstrated experience managing products throughout the full product lifecycle, from market research and product definition through launch, growth, and end-of-life management.
• Strong analytical and financial acumen, including experience developing pricing strategies, margin analyses, SKU profitability assessments, and business cases.
• Close collaboration with engineering teams to define product requirements and support new product development.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills to effectively communicate with technical teams, customers, sales organizations, and executive leadership.
• Ability to travel approximately 50% of the time.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with LED lighting, signal lighting, warning systems, or other commercial vehicle electrical products.
• Familiarity with industry regulations and standards such as DOT, FMVSS, SAE, and FMCSA.
• Knowledge of OEM, fleet, and aftermarket distribution channels.
• Experience conducting competitive market analysis.
• Experience supporting sales enablement initiatives.
• Experience leading value engineering or cost reduction (VAVE/MPV) programs.
• Experience contributing to long-term product strategy and roadmap development.

Responsibilities

• Own the product roadmap for assigned categories, aligning priorities with corporate strategy, margin targets, and market opportunities.
• Conduct ongoing portfolio analysis — identifying products to accelerate, rationalize, or retire based on performance data and strategic fit.
• Translate voice-of-customer and field intelligence into actionable product requirements.
• Partner with engineering to define product specifications, manage tradeoffs, and hold the line on scope.
• Support the Stage-Gate process with well-prepared business cases, market analyses, and go/no-go recommendations.
• Track and report on gross margin, contribution margin, and revenue performance by SKU and category.
• Lead or support pricing decisions, considering cost structure, competitive positioning, and channel dynamics.
• Identify and build the case for cost-reduction and value-engineering opportunities across the product line.
• Participate in annual and multi-year planning, providing category-level inputs to financial models and operating targets.
• Maintain current knowledge of the competitive landscape, including product specifications, pricing, channel strategy, and emerging entrants.
• Develop and maintain competitive cross-reference and interchange tools for use by the sales team.
• Monitor regulatory and compliance developments (FMCSA, SAE, FMVSS, DOT, and related standards) and assess impact on the product portfolio.
• Track market trends in commercial vehicle electrification, lighting technology, and connected vehicle systems.
• Serve as the subject matter expert and primary resource for product questions from sales, customer service, and key accounts.
• Develop training materials, product guides, and competitive tools that enable the field to sell confidently and accurately.
• Work closely with engineering, operations, supply chain, and quality to move products from concept through commercialization.
• Represent product management in cross-functional forums; bring clarity to prioritization decisions and trade-offs.

What This Job Offers

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