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Dir., Technical Product Management

Dir., Technical Product Management

MerckRichmond, VA, US
1 day ago
Job type
  • Full-time
Job description

Senior Product Manager

Location : US Remote / Hybrid / On-site as required by manufacturing engagement

Reports to : Head of Manufacturing Systems

Grade : Senior / R5-equivalent

About the role :

We are hiring a Senior Product Manager to lead strategic development of our Integrated Printing and Plastic Manufacturing system a mission-critical platform that orchestrates complex, configurable manufacturing across printing and plastics lines. This senior leadership role requires deep domain fluency across both industrial software and automation / controls. You will set the product vision, align multi-year strategy with executive priorities, and partner closely with manufacturing leadership, engineering, and operations to deliver capabilities that materially improve throughput, quality, flexibility and cost-to-serve for highly customized manufacturing requirements.

Why this role matters :

  • The platform drives end-to-end execution of complex custom orders : quoting / configuration, planning and scheduling, production execution, quality, and fulfillment.
  • Your leadership will reduce waste, shorten lead times, lower TCO, and enable new commercial models for custom and low-volume production.
  • You will operate at the intersection of executive strategy, software delivery, control systems engineering and shopfloor operations shaping the technical and operational trajectory of the business.

Key responsibilities :

Product vision, strategy & leadership

  • Set and continuously evolve the multi-year product vision and strategy for the Integrated Printing & Plastic Manufacturing system, ensuring alignment with executive priorities and plant-level objectives.
  • Own the product roadmap, balancing strategic investments (e.g., automation integration, configurators, advanced scheduling) with tactical delivery and technical sustainability.
  • Develop and defend high-value business cases and investment priorities to senior stakeholders and the executive team.
  • Stakeholder engagement & influence

  • Act as the senior product leader and primary point of contact for manufacturing leadership, engineering, commercial teams, supply chain, quality, IT, and external partners / vendors.
  • Lead stakeholder engagement strategies, facilitation of governance forums, and executive-level decisioning to align priorities and resolve trade-offs.
  • Serve as product champion in executive discussions, articulating risks, dependencies and expected outcomes.
  • Technical ownership : software + automation / controls

  • Provide technical leadership across software, integrations and automation / controls; translate shopfloor realities into robust digital and control solutions.
  • Drive architecture-level decisions and integration approaches across MES / MOM, ERP, PLM, IIoT platforms, PLC / SCADA, vision / inspection systems and robotics.
  • Ensure solutions meet functional, performance, reliability, safety and security requirements appropriate for industrial environments.
  • Requirements definition & systems design

  • Lead scoping, requirements definition, and prioritization for large, cross-cutting initiatives (configurable BOMs, dynamic routing, nested work orders, advanced scheduling, in-line inspection and feedback loops).
  • Produce system design inputs, models and prototypes; evaluate alternative designs and trade-offs with technical SMEs.
  • Own requirements baselines, change control and acceptance criteria, ensuring delivered solutions map to expected outcomes.
  • Delivery, adoption & benefits realization

  • Lead cross-functional delivery programs (software, controls, integrations, data / analytics, automation vendors), ensuring disciplined program governance and predictable delivery.
  • Drive release planning, deployment, user acceptance, and adoption across plants; partner with change management to embed new ways of working with operators and supervisors.
  • Define, measure and report product KPIs and benefits realization (e.g., OEE, lead time, yield, scrap rates, order-to-ship lead time, TCO), iterating until outcomes are achieved.
  • System & architecture governance

  • Ensure compliance with enterprise architecture, security, data governance, safety and regulatory requirements; manage risks from integrations and on-prem / edge control systems.
  • Collaborate with Infrastructure, Cybersecurity and Architecture teams to define integration patterns and operating models for edge-cloud solutions and vendor-supplied automation.
  • People & capability development

  • Mentor and coach product managers, product owners and feature managers; build product management capability within manufacturing and digital teams.
  • Help define hiring needs, competency development and team structure to scale the product function.
  • Required experience & skills :

  • 7+ years product management experience with progressive seniority; 5+ years leading complex enterprise / manufacturing systems or industrial software products.
  • Strong hands-on experience spanning software systems (MES / MOM, ERP integrations, cloud / edge) and automation / controls (PLCs, SCADA, robotics, vision systems).
  • Deep domain knowledge of manufacturing processes including : production planning, tooling / changeovers, nested BOMs, quality inspection, material handling.
  • Proven track record owning end-to-end product lifecycle for large, complex systems and delivering measurable business outcomes.
  • Demonstrated ability to create and defend business cases and lead benefits realization at scale.
  • Expertise in requirements management for multi-stakeholder initiatives; comfortable negotiating priorities and baselining requirements.
  • Strong systems thinking, architecture awareness and experience working with software engineering and control systems teams.
  • Excellent stakeholder management, executive communication and facilitation skills; experience engaging at C-suite and shopfloor levels.
  • Data-driven mindset with experience defining and tracking product KPIs and using data for prioritization.
  • Experience with safety, security and regulatory considerations in industrial environments.
  • Desirable :

  • Prior experience deploying MES, PLM, CPQ or production configurators in custom-manufacturing contexts.
  • Understanding of industrial networking, MQTT, edge compute and cloud integration patterns.
  • Experience with advanced scheduling / optimization engines, digital twins or simulation-driven design.
  • MBA or advanced technical degree.
  • Education :

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing or equivalent experience. Advanced degree preferred.
  • Behaviors and competencies :

  • Strategic and systems thinker who balances long-term vision with pragmatic execution.
  • Influential leader who builds trust across functions and drives consensus.
  • Comfortable with ambiguity and rapid learning in technical and operational domains.
  • Customer-centric, empathetic to operators and planners while holding teams accountable to outcomes.
  • Analytical, metrics-driven, and iterative in approach.
  • What we offer :

  • A senior, high-visibility role that shapes the future of manufacturing capability and commercial growth.
  • Cross-functional engagement with senior business leaders, engineers and plant managers.
  • Competitive compensation, benefits and opportunities for professional development.
  • How to apply :

    Please submit your CV and a cover note (max 500 words) describing a complex manufacturing product or system you led end-to-end, the measurable outcomes achieved, and why you're excited about this senior role.

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