Company / Location Information
A.O. Smith is a global leader applying innovative technologies and energy-efficient solutions to products manufactured and marketed worldwide. The company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of residential and commercial water heating equipment and boilers, as well as a manufacturer of water treatment products for residential and light commercial applications. A. O. Smith is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with approximately 12,000 employees at operations in the United States, Canada, China, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Primary Function
As a Product Manager at AO Smith, you will bring cross-functional leadership and strategic thinking to our product management team, driving product innovation, market expansion, customer satisfaction, and ensuring growth by supporting P&L requirements. This role offers a unique opportunity to influence the company's growth trajectory and shape the future of water heating solutions while playing a strategic role in setting the vision for a specific product in the segments. This role will report to a Senior Product Manager or Portfolio Director. Duties including but are not limited to gathering and prioritizing product and customer opportunities, defining the product vision, and working closely with engineering, sales, marketing, and support teams to ensure revenue, profitability, and customer satisfaction goals are met.
Responsibilities
Leadership & Product Management
1. Playing a key role in developing and implementing a strategic vision and action plan for the given product within a segment.
2. Contribute to the development and execution of comprehensive product strategies, roadmaps, and go-to-market plans aligned with business objectives and market opportunities.
3. Perform product life cycle management to maximize product line profitability. Create detailed business, marketing and product requirements and maintain the product plan for all channels served by the product.
4. Develop and present business cases for new products, current product plans, and ensure the execution of product launches and their success to the market ensuring profitable growth to the Segment P&L.
5. Perform qualitative and quantitative research with existing and prospective customers, assimilate customer and market requirements while driving strategic focus on VoC with Marketing and Sales partners.
6. Conduct in-depth market research, competitive analysis, and customer insights to identify emerging trends, market gaps, and opportunities for product differentiation.
7. Monitor market and technological developments and incorporate information into the overall corporate product portfolio strategy.
8. Mentor and coach junior product managers, providing guidance on best practices, technical knowledge, and industry trends.
9. Other responsibilities may be assigned as needed and managed by Portfolio Director.
Innovator
1. Drive continuous product improvement and innovation by staying updated on industry trends, technological advancements, and customer feedback.
2. Develop new product roadmap opportunities by partnering with customers, sales, and marketing to understand market needs.
Business Partner
1. Responsible for delivering profitable growth to the organization within your product.
2. Serve as the product leader for the given product throughout the organization both internally and externally.
3. Serve as core team member on product development projects within our AOSNPD lean product development process.
4. Influence the work with cross-functional partners to create, develop and maintain product sales & service support materials.
Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree, preferably in a technical or business related field
• 5+ years of related work experience, 1-2 years leadership experience
Additional Qualifications:
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and negotiate effectively at all levels of the organization.
• Strong influential and team management skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate cross-functional teams to deliver exceptional results.
• Prior experience in plumbing, HVAC, or a related field, in retail and/or wholesale channels is desired.
• Ability to read and understand technical documentation such a blueprints, electrical schematics, and product specifications is desired.
• Core competencies include: Strategic Thinking, leading a team, managing others, executive presentation skills, ability to prioritize, data-driven decision making, delegating, financial acumen, customer engagement, customer relationships, relationship focused, cross-functional leading, influencing others, managing ambiguity, managing and understanding KPI’s, and product lifecycle management.
We Offer
Competitive compensation package and comprehensive benefits plans which include medical and dental insurance, company-sponsored life insurance, retirement security savings plan, short- and long-term disability programs and tuition assistance.
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ADA Statement & EEO Statement
In developing this job description care was taken to include all competencies needed to successfully perform in this position. However, for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) purposes, the essential functions of the job may or may not have been described for purposes of ADA reasonable accommodation. All reasonable accommodation requests will be reviewed and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. We consider all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity and expression, marital or military status.
We also provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state and local law.