Product Manager - Professional Paint

About the position

Graco manufactures and markets premium equipment to move, measure, control, dispense and spray a wide variety of fluid and powder materials. The Contractor Equipment Division (CED) makes sprayers that apply paint to walls and other structures, with product models for users ranging from do-it-yourself homeowners to professional paint contractors. The division is expanding to accommodate increased demand and growth driven by an investment in new products and innovative ideas. The Product Manager will manage the full product lifecycle for the assigned product category, collaborating with divisional marketing, sales, engineering, and operations to execute on a 5-year product roadmap. This role requires a blend of technical knowledge, market insights, strategic thinking, and project execution skills to ensure alignment of the product category to customer needs and divisional goals.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Requirements

• 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.

Nice-to-haves

• Global industrial manufacturing experience and knowledge.
• MBA or advance degree preferred.
• Bilingual English & Spanish preferred.
• Fluid and material management equipment product development knowledge.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Stock purchase plan
• 401(k)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Career development opportunities