Datacolor has been empowering color professionals and companies to get color right for more than 50 years. As a leader in global color management with relationships in over 100 countries, we know the work we do impacts people far and wide. The world's leading brands, manufacturers, creative professionals and consumers rely on Datacolor's innovative technology and solutions to consistently achieve the right color, especially in industries where color matters the most: Textile & Apparel, Paint & Coatings, Plastics, Photography, Design and many others. Datacolor is publicly traded and headquartered in the United States with a global presence that encompasses a sales, service and support network serving customers throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia, along with 15 worldwide operation and production facilities. This combination has given the company an intimate understanding of its core markets and how they depend on color, enabling Datacolor to provide cost-effective solutions to manage color globally throughout its customers' workflows - enabling them to realize their vision, save time, improve quality, reduce costs, and excite their customers. Datacolor colleagues enjoy a positive culture based on the core values of Customer Focus, Execution, Ownership, Teamwork, Learning, Passion and Ethics.
Position Description
We are looking for a highly collaborative, influential, and experienced Hardware Product Manager to manage and grow our hardware business. This is a highly visible and critical role within the Industrial Business Group. This role offers an exciting career opportunity for a self-starter to manage a sizable portfolio, challenge the status quo, innovate for the future, and work in a dynamic environment alongside talented individuals and customers. The position reports to the Vice President of Product & Market Management.
The Hardware Product Manager's primary purpose:
Manage and grow the hardware portfolio (includes benchtop and portable spectrophotometers) within the Industrial Business Group.
Become the trusted authority, surrogate customer, and product evangelist of the portfolio within the organization.
Define, support, and provide clarity for the overall portfolio and roadmap for both current and new innovative solutions across existing and new industries.
This is an excellent role for someone who is "hands-on" in nature and genuinely loves immersing themselves into the customer workflows, getting deep into the product specifications, brainstorming ways to help the customer "do-it-better", prioritizing requirements, kicking off the project, and supporting win-win outcomes for both the customer and company.
Specific Responsibilities
The Hardware Product Manager's responsibilities will include but not be limited to:
Product Strategy and Vision:
Understand Datacolor's strategic and competitive position and deliver hardware products that are aligned with the company's mission.
Define the core hardware portfolio strategy, roadmap, and business case, and drive the business decisions on projects to start, change, or terminate.
Become the trusted authority of the portfolio and provide guidance and recommendation on decisions related to portfolio and competition to Leadership and key stakeholders based on sound analysis.
Requirements Gathering and Analysis:
Serve as target customer and surrogate user via deep understanding of customer needs, pain points, and competitive offerings and platforms.
Comb through product backlogs, conduct thorough market research, gather customer insights, and translate findings into well-defined product requirements and prioritized specifications.
Define the best products to build for users with the right features and roadmap tradeoffs to deliver the core business strategy and capture this information in MRD (Market Requirements Document).
Product Development and Ownership:
Communicate as the product evangelist the relevant product details of the MRD, rationale, and priority to partner teams including engineering, program management, marketing, sales, and applications.
Serve as an active product owner with solid understanding of the stage gate process, maintain continued and open dialogue with development and commercial partners through the various stage gates, and raise any gaps in the product or expectations early in the product development process.
Oversee and support the end-to-end product development process, including ideation, prototyping, testing, and release.
Prioritize problems that may arise during development, testing, or production according to business opportunities and requirements.
Cross-functional Leadership:
Collaborate closely with cross-functional and global teams throughout the product development process to ensure successful production and deployment.
Define the go-to-market strategy, create training materials, assist in roll-out activities, and drive prompt coordination with other teams to execute the tactics.
Keep stakeholders, including senior management, informed about product progress, changes, challenges, and successes through regular updates.
Product Lifecycle Support from Cradle to Grave:
Define key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure product and commercial success.
Drive diligent competitive analysis, product benchmarking, and sensing of competitive offering.
Monitor product performance, gather user feedback, and analyze data to identify areas for improvements and drive iterative enhancements.
To be successful in this role, you must exhibit the following strengths or deep knowledge in:
Stage Gate Process
Well-defined and articulated Market Requirements
Life Cycle Management
Customer and Market Knowledge
High Accountability and Ownership
Business and Financial Acumen
Strong Communication and Analytical Skills
Highly Collaborative and Independent
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in marketing, business, or STEM-related technical discipline.
Minimum 7-10+ years of experience in Product Management, Product Marketing, Technical Marketing, Program Management or Product Applications Support related to hardware.
Completed Product Management certifications or coursework from accredited institution.
Experience in spectrophotometers, technical measuring instruments, and/or industrial products that are used in laboratories, production, or research highly desired.
Deep experience with workflows in color management across one or more industries (textile, paint and coatings, plastics, automotive, print and packaging) highly desired.
Six Sigma certification: Green Belt or Black Belt highly desired.
Noted expectations of the role
This role is based in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and is hybrid. Employees are in the office Tuesdays and Wednesdays but may need to be in the office more to support key product initiatives or be close to products and engineering resources for collaboration.
Able to lift, carry, transport 15-20 lbs. with relative ease.
Able to travel both domestic and international (15 - 25% of time).
Compensation
Competitive salary, incentive and benefits will be offered, commensurate with the role and the final hire's experience. Base salary will be commensurate with the final hire's relevant education, skills, experience and professional network as well as location and is anticipated at an annual rate in the range of $120,000 to $130,000, plus bonus.
Equal Opportunity and DEI
Company is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. Further, the company strives to create a diverse, welcoming, equitable and inclusive environment for all applicants, employees, client companies and partners.
Disclaimer
The job description above is intended to set forth the general nature of the work that will be expected of the person who takes on this role. The job description is not, however, meant to be construed as an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities required for this role. From time to time, all personnel may be required to perform duties outside their normal responsibilities as needed.