Vice President, Product Management

Tantalus•Raleigh, NC

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Tantalus Systems (TSX: GRID) is a technology company dedicated to helping utilities modernize their distribution grids by harnessing the power of data across all their devices and systems deployed throughout the entire distribution grid – from the substation to the EV charger located behind the meter. We offer smart grid solutions across multiple levels: intelligent connected devices, communications networks, data management, enterprise applications and analytics. This position offers a competitive salary plus variable compensation based on performance targets and business objectives. Tantalus also offers generous benefits, including medical, dental and vision plans, healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts and paid time off. The Vice President of Product Management will lead the vision, process, and performance of the product management function for a portfolio of electric utility solutions focused on the distribution grid. The right candidate will not only manage products, but also architect the way the product organization operates, including creating a repeatable management system for product planning, roadmap review, customer feedback loops, launch readiness, and outcome tracking. This leader will define how the department works, how priorities are set, how investment decisions are made, and how product outcomes are measured across strategy, execution, customer value, and business impact. The Vice President, Product Management will also be responsible for building and leading a best-in-class Product Management function and operating model. This role will establish the governance, discipline, and leadership practices required to ensure customer needs, market opportunities, and commercial priorities are translated into clear investment decisions and product outcomes. Working closely with Product Development, Architecture, Customer Operations, Sales, Marketing, and Executive Leadership, this leader will elevate Product Management as a strategic capability that drives alignment between market needs, product investments, and business outcomes. This role requires deep electric utility domain expertise, particularly in distribution grid technology, including metering, power measurement, AMI 2.0, ADMS, DERMS, outage management, load management, grid operations workflows, and related grid-edge and enterprise applications. The successful candidate will combine market insight, technical credibility, and organizational leadership to build a high-performing product organization that translates utility needs into differentiated offerings and measurable business results. This person must also be entrepreneurial, creative, and forward-looking. The company is seeking a product leader who can think beyond conventional utility playbooks, identify where the market is headed, and develop breakout strategies that allow a smaller, nimble organization to differentiate against larger incumbents through focus, speed, innovation, and sharper customer value. This is an in-office position. Travel will be required for corporate meetings, industry conferences, customer visits, and other business-related activities.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive experience in product management, product strategy, solution leadership, or related roles, with substantial leadership experience managing senior product talent.
Deep electric utility domain experience, with particular strength in distribution grid technologies such as metering, power measurement, AMI, ADMS, DERMS, OMS, grid analytics, or related operational platforms.
Demonstrated success deﬁning product vision, building roadmaps, leading cross-functional execution, and delivering measurable business outcomes.
Demonstrated experience building, scaling, or transforming Product Management organizations and operating models.
Proven ability to inﬂuence executive stakeholders and lead complex cross-functional decision-making across technical, operational, and commercial teams.
Strong understanding of utility operations, utility modernization priorities, and the practical realities of deploying software and integrated solutions in regulated utility environments.
Proven experience building and leading teams, establishing process discipline, and inﬂuencing executive stakeholders across engineering, sales, marketing, services, and ﬁnance.
Strong technical ﬂuency and credibility in software, data, grid applications, and integrated hardware-software solutions, including familiarity with platform-based architectures and ecosystem-oriented thinking.
Demonstrated ability to create differentiated product strategy in competitive markets, especially where a smaller company must out-focus or out-innovate larger players.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, computer science, or a related ﬁeld; advanced degree preferred.

Nice To Haves

Experience with enterprise utility software or grid operations platforms such as ADMS, DERMS, OMS, SCADA-adjacent applications, or distributed intelligence solutions.
Experience in consultative customer engagement, market development, or solution business case modeling in the utility sector.
Familiarity with platform business models, APIs, cloud or hybrid deployments.
Experience working with global utilities, regulatory stakeholders, or complex strategic partners.
Experience scaling products or product organizations in high-growth, resource-constrained, or challenger-company environments.

Responsibilities

Define and communicate a multi-year product vision and strategy for the company’s distribution grid technology portfolio, aligned to customer needs, market trends, regulatory dynamics, and company growth objectives.
Establish a clear point of view on portfolio direction across metering, power measurement, AMI 2.0, ADMS, DERMS, distribution operations, load / demand management, grid intelligence, and adjacent applications.
Translate utility industry challenges into product strategy, investment priorities, market requirements, and roadmap decisions.
Partner with executive leadership to align product vision with company strategy, financial goals, and go-to-market priorities.
Identify disruptive whitespace opportunities where a focused company can win through faster execution, stronger usability, easier integration, better analytics, or clearer economic value than larger competitors.
Develop product theses around the evolution of distribution utilities, particularly in grid digitization, distributed intelligence, software-driven operations, and converged data platforms.
Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing product management organization, including product managers and, where applicable, product owners or adjacent roles.
Define the department’s operating model, including product planning cadence, roadmap governance, customer discovery expectations, prioritization methods, and cross-functional decision-making forums.
Create a strong product culture grounded in customer insight, accountability, data-driven decisions, and close partnership with engineering, sales, marketing, services, and customer success.
Serve as the executive-level voice of product across functions to ensure the organization builds the right solutions for the market and the business.
Foster an entrepreneurial mindset focused on creative thinking, rapid learning, practical experimentation, and differentiated products.
Establish and continuously improve the Product Management operating model, including governance, prioritization frameworks, roadmap reviews, and executive decision-making processes.
Build organizational capability within Product Management through coaching, talent development, succession planning, and the establishment of best practices.
Serve as the primary bridge between customer needs, commercial priorities, and product development investments to ensure resources are allocated toward the highest-value opportunities.
Oversee the full product lifecycle from market discovery and business case development through requirements, launch, adoption, and post-launch optimization.
Prioritize investments with a small-company mindset, focusing resources where the company can create defensible differentiation rather than matching large competitors feature-for-feature.
Lead portfolio tradeoff decisions across innovation, technical debt, regulatory commitments, customer-specific requirements, and platform scalability.
Ensure strong product-management-to-engineering partnership so roadmap commitments are realistic, customer-centered, and commercially relevant.
Drive structured customer engagement with utilities, partners, consultants, and industry stakeholders to validate product direction and identify emerging needs.
Define and monitor clear product and portfolio success measures tied to adoption, customer value, strategic differentiation, and business performance.
Develop business cases and investment recommendations that balance customer value, strategic differentiation, technical feasibility, and financial return.
Facilitate executive-level discussions regarding roadmap prioritization, portfolio trade-offs, and product investment decisions.
Bring deep expertise in electric utility operations, especially distribution planning, engineering, reliability, outage management, DER integration, and grid modernization programs.
Maintain a strong understanding of utility buying processes, regulatory drivers, grid architecture, interoperability needs, and the operational realities of utility deployments.
Represent the company externally with senior utility leaders, industry analysts, partners, and at industry forums as a thought leader in distribution grid technology.
Inform go-to-market strategy, solution positioning, and value proposition development with a strong understanding of business cases and utility customer outcomes.
Bring practical ideas for how a challenger brand can break through in the market, including category creation, beachhead use cases, strategic partnerships, and solution packaging that resonates with utility buyers.