What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director, Product Management position at ifm?
Brief Description
ifm is seeking a proven, visionary leader to further competitively advance our US Product Management Team. This position jointly ensures our competitiveness where customers demand world-class products and services. ifm significantly invests in research and development and its market launch strategy to provide the best products and consultation services globally to serve its existing and future customers.
The Director, Product Management elevates a highly experienced team of Product Managers by further fostering critical and strategic thinking to drive product strategy, development, commercialization, and lifecycle management across assigned portfolios. The Director ensures that product decisions are data-driven, market-aligned, and executed in collaboration with Engineering, R&D, Manufacturing, Sales, and Global Product Management (Germany). This position also serves hands-on as the strategic and operational owner of the IO Link product line.
This position reports to the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Development
Required
Company Culture
Learn more about ifm
Benefits
ifm efector, inc., headquartered in Malvern, PA, has earned the distinguished Top Employers certification for 2020 and 2021 in North America for our outstanding people practices. ifm efector is the US subsidiary of ifm electronic gmbh, a global company with over 7,500 employees in 95 countries serving 174,000 customers worldwide. Our core business is the development and production of sensors and controls for industrial automation and process applications.
"Exceptional success can only be achieved when the employees believe in the company and when they know that they are treated in a fair and honest way." -ifm philosophy
ifm is a privately-owned company whose success can be attributed to three guiding principles: Employees First, Customer Loyalty, and Safe Growth. With a supportive and collaborative culture, ifm welcomes new ideas and fosters honest communication and trust. Distinguished by their individual capabilities and contributions, every employee plays a role in the success of our business, so that we may provide innovative solutions to meet and exceed our customer’s business needs. ifm is dedicated to ensuring employees are engaged, enabled, and empowered to realize their full potential in a positive, diverse, and inclusive work environment filled with meaning and a shared sense of purpose.
“We have amazing products, but best of all we have amazing people. This is a core value of our success.” - Roger Varma, CEO, ifm efector.
Deemed an essential business during the 2020 global pandemic, ifm has maintained successful operations both in-person for production and distribution roles, and remotely for sales and other corporate departments. A significant number of employees have returned to the office with exceptional precautions in place, as the primary focus remains the health and well-being of our employees. As a leader in innovation ifm continues to leverage an array of business technologies to cultivate the customer relationship, especially in cases where on-site visits are not yet feasible.
ifm efector, inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability or handicap, marital or protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other category protected under applicable federal, state or local law.
ifm is seeking a proven, visionary leader to further competitively advance our US Product Management Team. This position jointly ensures our competitiveness where customers demand world-class products and services. ifm significantly invests in research and development and its market launch strategy to provide the best products and consultation services globally to serve its existing and future customers.
The Director, Product Management elevates a highly experienced team of Product Managers by further fostering critical and strategic thinking to drive product strategy, development, commercialization, and lifecycle management across assigned portfolios. The Director ensures that product decisions are data-driven, market-aligned, and executed in collaboration with Engineering, R&D, Manufacturing, Sales, and Global Product Management (Germany). This position also serves hands-on as the strategic and operational owner of the IO Link product line.
This position reports to the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, and further develop an existing team of Product Managers to strengthen strategic thinking, customer focus, and cross-functional execution.
- Set clear expectations, guide prioritization, and ensure alignment between team initiatives and company strategy.
- Foster a collaborative, innovative environment that supports continuous improvement and knowledge sharing.
- Develop and maintain product strategies and roadmaps for assigned product lines, ensuring alignment with company goals and market needs.
- Serve as the strategic owner of the IO-Link product line, including market analysis, roadmap creation, competitive positioning, and feature prioritization.
- Lead market research efforts to identify customer needs, technology trends, and new product opportunities.
- Collaborate with Engineering, R&D, and Manufacturing to drive new product development from requirements through validation.
- Ensure products meet customer needs, quality expectations, and regulatory requirements.
- Oversee product launch planning with Sales and Marketing, including promotional materials, sales enablement, forecasting, and demo strategies.
- Manage the full lifecycle of assigned product lines, including IO-Link: introduction, maturity, performance monitoring, and end-of-life decisions.
- Evaluate customer feedback and field performance to drive iterative improvements and updates.
- Drive pricing strategies in collaboration with Sales and leadership to ensure competitiveness and profitability.
- Partner with Sales to support large customer projects, key account opportunities, and proof-of-concept engagements.
- Coordinate priorities and product plans with Global Product Management (Germany) to ensure alignment and successful global execution.
- Represent assigned product lines at industry events, internal meetings, and customer visits as required.
- Exhibit improvement of product management processes, including roadmap planning, requirements development, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Ensure adoption of Agile/Lean methodologies to enhance efficiency and product quality.
- Model a data-driven approach to strategic decisions using analytics and customer insights.
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, marketing, business, or related field.
- 6 years of product management experience, including leadership responsibilities where career development of direct reports was clearly demonstrated
- Proven ability to understand and communicate industrial automation and sensor technologies.
- Demonstrated significant role in success of bringing new products to market and managing full product lifecycles.
- Proven strategic thinking, analytical ability, and communication skills as individual and leader
- Demonstrated ability to build strong cross-functional relationships and influence without authority.
- Continue to self-evolve via feedback and business needs by continuously learning and demonstrating self-improvement as a leader.
- Advanced degree (MBA or technical Master’s). and/or related certifications.
- Experience with global product management organizations in industrial automation/process industries
- Hands-on background working with IO-Link, digital communication technologies, PLCs, or automation networking.
- Familiarity with Agile/Lean development methodologies.
- Ability to travel up to 25–30%, including international travel.
Company Culture
Learn more about ifm
Benefits
- Top-tier medical plan with no deductible, plus voluntary dental and vision plans
- Company-paid Long-Term Disability and Short-Term Disability, and other insurances
- 401K program with 100% company match of up to 6% of pay after six months
- Eleven paid holidays per calendar year
- 15 paid vacation days and 5 days paid sick time
ifm efector, inc., headquartered in Malvern, PA, has earned the distinguished Top Employers certification for 2020 and 2021 in North America for our outstanding people practices. ifm efector is the US subsidiary of ifm electronic gmbh, a global company with over 7,500 employees in 95 countries serving 174,000 customers worldwide. Our core business is the development and production of sensors and controls for industrial automation and process applications.
"Exceptional success can only be achieved when the employees believe in the company and when they know that they are treated in a fair and honest way." -ifm philosophy
ifm is a privately-owned company whose success can be attributed to three guiding principles: Employees First, Customer Loyalty, and Safe Growth. With a supportive and collaborative culture, ifm welcomes new ideas and fosters honest communication and trust. Distinguished by their individual capabilities and contributions, every employee plays a role in the success of our business, so that we may provide innovative solutions to meet and exceed our customer’s business needs. ifm is dedicated to ensuring employees are engaged, enabled, and empowered to realize their full potential in a positive, diverse, and inclusive work environment filled with meaning and a shared sense of purpose.
“We have amazing products, but best of all we have amazing people. This is a core value of our success.” - Roger Varma, CEO, ifm efector.
Deemed an essential business during the 2020 global pandemic, ifm has maintained successful operations both in-person for production and distribution roles, and remotely for sales and other corporate departments. A significant number of employees have returned to the office with exceptional precautions in place, as the primary focus remains the health and well-being of our employees. As a leader in innovation ifm continues to leverage an array of business technologies to cultivate the customer relationship, especially in cases where on-site visits are not yet feasible.
ifm efector, inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability or handicap, marital or protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other category protected under applicable federal, state or local law.