Product Manager

Eden Prairie, MN

DriSteem designs and manufactures humidity control, water treatment, and evaporative cooling systems to meet the unique requirements of health care, industrial, process-critical, commercial, and residential applications worldwide. DriSteem’s reputation as the humidification industry leader is the result of over 50 years of product excellence, innovation, and responsive customer service. 

DriSteem currently has an opening for a Product Manager.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Product Manager is responsible for driving product market share growth, and the strategy, roadmap, planning, marketing, and execution required to achieve desired results throughout the product life cycle. The Product Manager continuously analyzes market and competitive conditions and identifies and promotes points of product differentiation and unique value based on customer demands. This hands-on role spans strategic to tactical activities and provides cross-functional coordination—bridging between engineering, business systems, sales, and marketing.

The Product Manager works independently, with input from their manager, to ensure that assigned and related products support the company’s overall strategy and that product revenue, margin, and customer satisfaction goals are met. The Product Manager is responsible for the support and evolution of existing and new technologies.

Product Managers will support and document market share performance and long-term strategy behind assigned products along with their competitive positioning, roadmaps, and forecasting.  Product Managers promote the voice of the customer inside the business, championing testing the product, talking to users, and getting user experience feedback first-hand from reps, engineers, contractors, and end-users. 

Research and Analysis

  • Research and analyze market conditions, share, competitors, and customer trends.
  • Be an expert on the market and the competition and define how to position products for success.  
  • Understand and monitor market pricing conditions.
  • Articulate market requirements and product growth opportunities.
  • Perform market research and intelligence gathering to determine customer requirements and business opportunity relative to product enhancements, product line extensions, new technologies, new markets, and applications.

Product Planning & Management

  • Execute and develop product vision and strategy and champion products within the organization from the highest levels of executive leadership to development and implementation teams.
  • Document, communicate, and adapt product roadmaps to ensure long-term industry leadership through the continuous flow of product innovation and improvement within the framework of the company’s long-term strategic direction.
  • Develop plans for assigned products that document positioning strategies (i.e. price, education, advertising, promotion), financial performance, market forecast and product life cycle.
  • Manage in-life product performance: sales, margin, and P&L performance, conducting extensive numerical analysis using company data to drive ongoing improvement in sales and profitability.
  • Assist with/guide value engineering efforts.
  • Ensure field communication of all product modifications, application issues, or product problems by working closely with technical support, sales, and engineering.

Product Marketing

  • Define product positioning, key benefits, and target customer; acting as an internal and external evangelist for your product offering.
  • Provide sales team with tools and technical expertise to enable sales of product. Including printed and electronic promotional material, product training, and relevant technical papers.
  • Review product data to ensure that the field force is kept up to date on new developments regarding the company’s or competitors’ products.
  • Work with marketing communications to develop and execute product communication plans and promotional campaigns to generate product awareness and demand.
  • Prepare and present technology and product training materials for internal and external product training seminars, conference, trade shows, articles, discussion groups, and online forums.

Product Development

  • Independently investigate, define, and document product requirements and business cases with input from Manager.
  • Assure development projects are properly scoped, customer requirements are clearly defined, and that results will meet specifications of the market and DriSteem manufacturing environment.
  • Support execution of product development plans leading approval, beta release, training, and communication of product changes and their impact on associated customers and internal operations, systems, and processes.

Product Support

  • Act as the lead resource for the rest of the organization when deep product expertise is required.
  • Manage product-related feedback and inquiries from users and ensure that key feedback and requests are seamlessly integrated into ongoing product planning and development.
  • Work with tech support on escalated field cases, working cross-functionally to achieve resolution. 
  • Advise the management team of significant field issues and/or product issues. 

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Supports continual compliance with ISO 9001 standards and procedures.
  • Maintain positive work atmosphere by acting and communicating in a manner so that you get along with customers, clients, vendors, co-workers, and management. 
  • Complies with any/all company safety and health rules and policies and promotes safe work practices. Reports any safety concerns to supervisor/manager.
  • Ensures compliance with departmental guidelines and company standards.
  • Travel up to 15% of time.
  • Significant model shop/lab/factory interface up to 10% of time.
  • Performs related work as apparent or assigned.

EXPERIENCE

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing or Engineering.  Master’s degree advantageous.
  • Minimum 6 years relevant product management/marketing experience in the industrial, commercial, or institutional HVAC field.
  • Sufficient technical experience to deal effectively with basic thermodynamics, psychrometrics, and water chemistry.

KEY QUALITIES AND SKILLS

  • Deep understanding of DriSteem product technology and/or the HVAC systems they operate within. 
  • Strong business, strategic thinking, planning & financial analysis skills.
  • Self-motivated with positive attitude, proven leadership, and teamwork skills to work cross-functionally to achieve targeted business results.
  • Excellent presentation, written and verbal communications skills.
  • Strong analysis/synthesis, organizational and creative problem-solving skills.
  • Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; participating in professional societies.

A GREAT PLACE TO WORK FOR ALL!

At DriSteem, our employees are our most important resource. That’s why we offer comprehensive benefits and unique perks. 

We care about your health by providing… 

  • A comprehensive health insurance plan 
  • Dental and vision insurance 
  • Flexible spending account 
  • A progressive wellness program for you and your spouse (including incentives) 

We care about your well-being by providing… 

  • PTO and holiday pay 
  • Flexible work schedule 
  • Dress for the day (casual dress code) 
  • Free coffee and popcorn 
  • Employee discounts from our parent company – Aprilaire products 
  • Cell phone discount

We care when you need it most by providing… 

  • Company-sponsored short- and long-term disability plans 
  • Employee assistance program 
  • Identity theft protection 
  • Bereavement pay 

We care about your financial wellness by providing… 

  • 401(k) with company match and generous profit sharing
  • Free use of Spectrum Advisors – Financial Planning
  • Three types of life insurance coverage 
  • Scholarship awards 

We care about your growth by providing… 

  • Tuition reimbursement program 
  • Learning and development opportunities 

We care about our community by… 

  • Giving back to a local charity through fundraising 

Qualified candidates may send a resume to Human Resources, 14949 Technology Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 or email recruiting@DriSteem.com.  Fax:  952-229-3202.

EOE