The Product Manager will manage the full product lifecycle for the assigned product category. This role will collaborate with divisional marketing, sales, engineering, and operations to execute on a 5-year product roadmap. This individual will need a blend of technical knowledge, market insights, strategic thinking and project execution skills to ensure the alignment of the product category to the customer needs and divisional goals. The Product Manager will determine and oversee the delivery of the strategy and roadmap for the products to achieve both customer (buyers and users) outcomes and organizational financial objectives. The Product Manager is effectively the ‘voice of the customer in the product’. The Product Manager continuously uses data to empower decision making and inform product direction in ways that build toward positive business outcomes for the division and the customers.  

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What You Will Do at Graco  

Product Strategy, Development and Management 

• Discover valuable problems to solve and validate potential solutions with customers and the market. 

• Develop a deep understanding of business goals and processes to inform product priorities and improvement recommendations. 

• Socialize the product strategy and ensure a common understanding among internal and external stakeholders. 

• Lead product strategy, planning, and lifecycle management efforts to support the ongoing evolution and innovation of the product line.  

• Monitor business, marketing and technology trends and competitive intelligence to inform product strategy and proactively propose new solutions.  

• Establish product roadmaps and release plans that satisfy requirements and achieve desired customer outcomes. 

• Contribute to translating desired business outcomes into actionable product and technical requirements.  

• Continuously monitor and evaluate product performance, including sales and usage metrics, to monitor product health and make maintain/refresh/retirement recommendations and decisions.

• Define, track and communicate relevant KPIs for the product to measure performance and contribution to business goals and strategy.  

• Guide and empower the product engineering team to scope, plan and deliver work, applying established delivery methodologies (e.g. agile methodology) and best practices (e.g. reusability).  

• Collaborate with category marketing to drive adoption and consumption of product capabilities, inclusive of identifying specific product experience enhancements intended to drive acquisition and expansion.  

• Execute a five-year product roadmap for assigned product category that is in alignment with the division’s global strategy and market trends.  

• Lead product development processes from ideation to launch, working closely with engineering and operations.  

• Effectively partner with operations and engineering for product development execution to the Customer Requirements Documentation (CRD).  

• Oversee testing and validation of new products to ensure they meet quality and performance standards.  

• Manage entire product category lifecycle, from introduction to exit.  

• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to discuss cost structures and explore alternative options to optimize product development costs without compromising quality.  

• Work closely with engineering teams to assess the feasibility of proposed solutions and prioritize features based on technical constraints and business objectives.  

• Define clear product scopes, outlining features, functionalities and deliverables to meet customer needs and expectations.  

• Develop technical product content and SKU information to support sales and marketing efforts.   

Product and Technology Optimization  

• Manage SKU rationalization and portfolio management for assigned products.  

• Identify and evaluate technical requirements and optimization across products.   

• Identify and address product certification requirements necessary for compliance and marketing acceptance.  

Market Research, Analysis and Insight Utilization 

• Utilize data analytics to continuously re-evaluate product performance and customer satisfaction, adjusting as necessary to meeting evolving market demands. 

• Capture, analyze and standardize product finding to drive continuous improvement and maintain consistency in product data.  

Customer Engagement, Testing and Training 

• Establish and implement field tests and demo plans to maximize product impact and validations.  

• Partner with training and engineering teams to develop and deliver product training materials, covering operation, service, maintenance and repair. 

• Manage trademark registration process for new products to protect intellectual property rights and prevent infringement.

• Plan and conduct field tests with customers prior to product launch to gather feedback, identify potential issues, and validate product functionality.  

• Coordinate and oversee material testing processes to ensure product quality, compliance and durability.  

What You Will Bring to Graco 

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Engineering, or a related field. 

• 3+ years of experience in product development and management. 

• Proven track record of successfully managing products from concept to launch.  

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and manage complex projects. 

• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with experience reporting to senior leadership. 

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a data-driven approach to decision-making. 

• Technical aptitude with the ability to understand complex engineering concepts.  

• Ability to travel approximately 20% of the time, both domestic or international. 

Accelerators 

• Global industrial manufacturing experience and knowledge. 

• MBA or advance degree preferred.  

• Bilingual English & Spanish preferred.

• Fluid and material management equipment product development knowledge.