Staff Product Development

Twenty-Six Defense • Roanoke, VA

13d • $160,000 - $180,000

About The Position

The Staff Product Line Manager serves as a senior technical and strategic partner within the Warfighter Systems business, owning a major product group and driving its multi-year roadmap, technology integration, and market direction. The role influences cross-product architectural decisions, investment priorities, and long-term capability evolution without direct people management.

The successful candidate brings subject matter expertise in night vision technologies, imaging sensors, optical systems, soldier-borne systems, and networked battlefield architectures. They translate customer needs, operational use cases, and mission requirements into product strategies, technical requirements, and business cases, and influence engineering, operations, business development, and senior leadership.

The position engages domestic and international customers, supports product development and demonstrations, and works across Warfighter Systems and other TSDEF business units. Travel is approximately 25% to TSDEF sites, trade shows, and customer locations worldwide.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, systems engineering, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in night vision, warfighter systems, optics, sensors, radios, or related defense technologies.
• Strong experience translating customer requirements into technical specifications and product strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex product initiatives without direct people management.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret Security Clearance.
• Ability to prioritize tasks and drive projects to conclusion.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence engineering, business development, and leadership.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree.
• Active DoD security clearance.
• Military experience or familiarity with dismounted soldier operations.
• Deep technical understanding of imaging sensors, optical systems, radio technologies, and soldier-network architectures.
• Ability to integrate financial, technical, and market inputs into strategic recommendations.
• Interest in collaborative environments, relationship building, and mentoring early-career product professionals.
• Proven experience with customer-facing engagements, requirements capture, and technical presentations.

Responsibilities

• Own the strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle for one or more Warfighter Systems product groups.
• Develop multi-year product strategies based on customer needs, market assessments, and technology trends.
• Facilitate product trade studies and prioritize features for next-generation night vision and soldier-borne capabilities.
• Create product investment business cases, including IRAD justification, ROI assessments, and value-based pricing strategies.
• Align product-level roadmaps with the broader Warfighter Systems portfolio.
• Capture customer requirements, operational use cases, and CONOPS, and translate them into clear technical requirements.
• Lead customer technical interactions, product demonstrations, prototype planning, and requirement validation.
• Author and socialize product-offering requirements and supporting documentation across engineering, business development, program management, and operations.
• Guide engineering teams on component and architecture selections consistent with market and other key requirements.
• Work with cross-functional leaders to shape development priorities, investment decisions, and technology integration paths.
• Partner with PEM to lead or support major product checkpoint reviews, ensuring designs meet cost, schedule, performance, and user-driven requirements.
• Establish and maintain DTUPC targets and coordinate with engineering and operations to achieve cost-performance objectives.
• Assess competitors, emerging technologies, and market shifts to guide product evolution.
• Support system-level architectural decisions spanning multiple products and contribute technology assessments to product strategies and roadmaps.
• Contribute to cross-product system concepts involving integrated night vision, soldier power, tactical radios, shared situational awareness, AR displays, and networked sensor systems.
• Help ensure technical cohesion and interoperability across the Warfighter Systems product family.
• Monitor development activities for assigned product lines, identify risks, and align priorities with strategic objectives.
• Collaborate with program management on schedule, cost, and engineering deliverables.
• Support proposal development, customer reviews, and internal strategy reviews.
• Provide input into IRAD and EAID rationalization for related technologies and product lines.
• Engage domestic and international customers to strengthen relationships and identify product and capability growth opportunities.
• Deliver technical briefs and support business development capture activities with technical insight.
• Support prototype demonstrations and align them with product strategy and business development capture plans.
• Author and socialize white papers and product or technology briefings to influence or define potential CRAD projects, CRADA relationships, or other customer collaboration.
• Work with other TSDEF business units to leverage technologies that enhance Warfighter Systems offerings.
• Participate in relevant enterprise-level technology discussions and contribute product-level insights to broader architectural initiatives.
• Travel approximately 25% to TSDEF sites, trade shows, and customer locations worldwide.

Benefits

• Most locations offer a 9/80 schedule, providing every other Friday off.
• Competitive compensation and a 401(k) program.
• Medical, dental, vision, and disability coverage with qualified wellness discounts.
• Basic life insurance and additional life and AD&D insurance options.
• Flexible vacation and PTO.
• Paid parental leave.
• Employee referral program.
• Voluntary long-term care, legal, identity theft, pet insurance, and other benefits.
• Voluntary TRICARE supplement available for military retirees.

What This Job Offers

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