Job Title: Product Manager (Seals, Springs, Implantables)

Reports to: Head of Marketing

The Global Product Manager (PM)– is responsible for defining and executing the global product roadmap strategy, ensuring it meets customer needs, it is competitive, and drives business growth. The role requires leadership skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to collaborate cross-functionally with diverse teams both internal and across multiple regions. PM is responsible for management of the current BSE product lines (seals, springs, implantables) overseeing the lifecycle of a product (or a portfolio of products) from idea creation, and product development to spanet launch and beyond, ensuring that the product meets spanet needs, aligns with the company’s global strategy, and drives business growth.

The key responsibilities of this role are:

1. Global Product Strategy Development & Product Management – PM is responsible to define the global product strategy and processes working directly with the Head of Product Marketing to support the company’s goals while developing and articulating a global product strategy that aligns with the company’s vision, business goals, and spanet needs.
2. Market Research and Analysis – PM will conduct regular competitive analysis to understand the spanet landscape, including SWOT, differentiation and unique value proposition of BSE, to ensure clear product positioning and brand messaging
3. Product Launch and Go to Market Strategy– Develop and execute a comprehensive go-to-spanet strategy working directly with the Head of Product Marketing while ensuring alignment with Marketing and Sales to deliver a successful product rollout.

Cross-functional collaboration – Work well across teams by collaborating with engineering, spaneting, sales, legal, and regional teams to ensure alignment and successful product delivery across spanets.

Essential and Major elements within the key responsibilities:

Global Product Lines Strategy Development:

• Define global product strategy based on the overall company’s short and long-term strategy
• Develops product Roadmap by creating and managing the existing and future product roadmap, prioritizing features, enhancements, and innovations to drive long-term product success, while capitalizing on existing core competencies to support identifying faster revenue streams
• Primary steward of product development, shaping and testing to support product development via implementing and improving the PDP process via Stage Gate process.
• Collaborate with Sales and Business Development to prioritize projects based on strategic importance, revenues, timing and company core competencies and resources to ensure long-term and short-term product deliverables and on time and complete launches.
• Uses Lifecycle management to oversight and manage product lifecycle from ideation to retirement, ensuring continuous improvements and timely updates.
• Implement the VOC and PDP learnings into the new product development ideas and launches, including overseeing product improvements and consistently delivering and aligning with spanet needs.
• Leads PDP pre-stage (Stages 1-3) and Go to Market (stage 5), collaborating with business development and supports remaining stages working with Engineering, project management, and other cross-functional teams as needed
• Cost Management – collaborates with cost accounting, engineering, and operations to manage costs and improve margin while maintaining product quality and competitiveness and ensure profitability
• Manages current product portfolio by segment, category and industry to ensure product profitability, cost management and lifecycle

Market Research and Analysis:

• Monitor industry trends and competitor activity and work with sales and business development teams to develop SWOT analysis to confirm the value proposition by segment and category
• Conduct regular competitive analysis to understand the spanet landscape, emerging trends, and opportunities for product differentiation.
• Value Proposition: develop a clear and compelling unique value proposition that resonates with the target segments and highlights the product’s unique selling points. Ensure that the product is differentiated from competitors in terms of features, relevance, and pricing.
• Customer Insights & VOC - gather and analyze customer feedback and data to understand usage patterns, satisfaction, and areas for improvement across different regions and product segments
• Performance Metrics - monitor and track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as spanet share, revenue, and customer satisfaction to evaluate the product’s success globally
• Create consistent messaging, branding, and positioning for the products and segments across all regions and industries, working with Marcom team to communicate while allowing for localization to suit specific spanets.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to align strategic product road with business development efforts and overall strategic goals for the company
• Work with cross-functional teams (sales, engineering, customer support, operations) to ensure VOC of customer is captured addressing any concerns and issues that arise

Product Launch and Go to Market Strategy

• Develop and execute a comprehensive go-to-spanet strategy while ensuring alignment with Marketing and Sales to deliver a successful product rollout.
• Product launch planning: Lead global product launches, ensuring alignment with spaneting, sales, and regional teams to deliver a successful product rollout.
• Go-to-Market Strategy: Develop and execute comprehensive go-to-spanet strategies that include commercialization packages from conception to roll-out for new product introductions and monitor existing product categories to enhance commercial toolbox, distribution, promotions, and channel strategies for different spanets, products and segments.
• Collaborates with Marcom to represent the technical voice of our product branding and consistent branding and messaging
• Market Adaptation: Ensure that the product is globally adapted to meet local requirements, including language, compliance, and customer preferences.
• Partners with Business Development teams to ensure the development of the necessary training and enablement tools they need to generate leads, to develop campaigns, design lives, and other materials, or events that can help sales and business development efforts.

Cross-functional collaboration – Works well across teams by collaborating with engineering, spaneting, sales, legal, and regional teams to ensure alignment and successful product delivery across spanets

• Bridge Global and Regional Teams: Act as a liaison between global headquarters and regional teams to ensure that the product strategy and execution are consistent while accounting for local spanet dynamics.
• This role is the main stakeholder of the R&D team and product shaping and will influence and define internal testing and data collection to support product growth.Customer-Centric Development - Ensure that the product meets customer needs by regularly gathering feedback, conducting focus groups, and analyzing customer data.
• Feedback Loop - Maintains a continuous feedback loop with customers, sales teams, and regional partners to identify areas for product

Education Level and Skill Set to perform in this position:

• Degree in relevant technical or business degree; MBA a plus but not required.
• Demonstrated track record of product development; from spanet/customer engagement to shape product/solution development
• Strong technical aptitude, presentation skills and interpersonal soft skills.
• Ability to network and build your personal brand across Bal Seal department level VPs, as this is a highly visible role within the organization.
• Possess an open and analytical mindset; a change agent who is able to challenge the status quo and influence process and practice.
• Ability to travel up to 30 on a global level.
• This role is located in our Foothill Ranch offices
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Power Point and Excel including handling of pivot tables.

Key Areas for Results Measurement:

• Profitability of respective product and segment lines and its contribution to overall company major metrics:
  1. Top line growth – EBITDA – Free Cash Flow
  2. COGS
  3. Meets/exceeds BSE target of product launches on both NPI and New Opportunities from existing categories
• Delivers on product spanet share growth to meet BSE targets for new product and new revenues introductions
• Continuous Improvement - Use performance data and spanet insights to refine business development strategies, ensuring continuous growth and improvement.
• Personal Growth and development.

Prior Experience Desired

• At least 4 years of:

• Demonstrated track record of product development and product management; from spanet/customer engagement to shaping product/solutions to ultimately drive revenue within a product family.
• Demonstrated experience and track record in the following areas:
  • Driving product and solutions through a global sales and business development team on a B2B level.
  • Training experience, proposal and presentations development
  • Market expertise in the component product lines, understanding customers and needs for spanet expansion
  • Product management experience of high-profile programs tied to mission-critical industries within Medical, Aerospace and Defense, Diversified Industrial, Power T&T
  • At least five years of technical experience in the related fields and B2B technical experience of component level design in different applications solutions

Kaman is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other protected characteristics protected by law. Kaman and all its related companies fully endorse equal opportunity for all.

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