Associate Product Manager

Job title:  Associate Product Manager, US 

Reports to:  Global Product Manager 

Location:  Waterford, MI (on-site with travel) 

Salary:  Dependent on Experience 

Contract:  Permanent, Full-time 

Role Summary 

STI is building a dedicated product management function to take direct ownership of our product portfolio, voice of the customer, and launch discipline. The Associate Product Manager (US) is the second hire into this new function and a key partner to the Global Product Manager. The role is the engine behind the portfolio: it runs the structured field intelligence pipeline in the US market, prepares the business cases that drive stage gate decisions, and coordinates the cross-functional work that turns approved programs into successful launches. This is a high-visibility seat for someone ready to step into product management on a growing, deliberately built team. 

Key Responsibilities 

Voice of the Customer and Field Intelligence 

• Run the US field intelligence pipeline across trade shows, rep firms, top distributors, specifying engineers, installers, and support. 
• Capture, structure, and synthesize field signal into opportunity briefs and product direction inputs. 
• Build durable relationships with US channel partners so insight reaches the portfolio instead of evaporating between the booth and the office. 
• Monitor competitor moves, regulatory shifts, and end-user trends and surface their portfolio implications. 

Business Case Preparation 

• Build decision-ready business cases for US-led programs: market sizing, customer evidence, unit economics, channel fit, and strategic alignment. 
• Own the business inputs for each stage gate in your portfolio of programs, drafted to the standard the Global PdM and Engineering can decide against. 
• Drive intake and scoring of new ideas in the US market using the agreed strategic filters. 
• Translate raw field signal into structured product opportunities that connect to growth targets. 

Launch Coordination and Commercialization 

• Coordinate US launch readiness across Engineering, Marketing, Sales, and Operations so launches land on committed dates. 
• Own rep firm and distributor enablement for new product introductions: training, collateral inputs, FAQs, and field readiness. 
• Partner with Marketing on commercial assets, positioning, and channel communications for US launches. 
• Track post-launch performance and feed early signal back into the portfolio review cadence. 

Cross-functional Collaboration 

• Work day-to-day with Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Operations, and Customer Service to keep programs aligned and decisions current. 
• Partner closely with the Associate PdM, EMEA, so US and EMEA signal feed a single global portfolio, not two parallel ones. 
• Bring market evidence and customer signal into every stage gate; help leadership see real tradeoffs, not status updates. 
• Communicate clearly and concisely with technical and commercial audiences alike. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree required. Concentration in business, engineering, marketing, or a related discipline is preferred. 
• 2-5 years of relevant experience in product management, product marketing, business analysis, channel management, or technical sales support. Early-career product managers and senior analysts ready for a product trajectory are encouraged to apply. 
• Exposure to the US rep firm, distributor, integrator, or specifying engineer channel is a strong plus. Experience in life safety, fire, security, or comparable regulated industrial categories is preferred but not required. 
• Strong synthesis skills: able to turn unstructured field signal into clear, evidence-backed business cases and recommendations. 
• Comfortable in cross-functional environments, working with Engineering, Marketing, Sales, and Operations without owning any of them. 
• Solid quantitative and analytical skills. Comfortable with unit economics, pricing logic, and ROI framing. Proficiency with Microsoft Office is required. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication. Can write a tight business case and a clear launch readout. 
• AI-fluent or actively building AI fluency. Comfortable using modern tools to accelerate research, drafting, and analysis. 
• Willingness to travel within the US for trade shows, customer visits, and rep meetings. 
• Curious, organized, and able to build trust quickly at all levels of the organization. 

What Success Looks Like in the First Year 

• A structured US VoC pipeline is in place and feeding the portfolio on a regular cadence. 
• Business cases for US-led programs are decision-ready at each stage gate, with clear evidence and tradeoffs visible. 
• Launches you coordinate land on committed dates with rep and distributor channels prepared to sell, support, and service. 
• The Global Product Manager is freed to lead strategy and the global portfolio because intake, research, and case prep are running without them. 
• Field insight is no longer anecdotal. Decisions trace back to evidence. 

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other duties as required to meet the needs of the company and its customers.