Business Title: Senior Product Manager
Reports to: Global Vice President of Engineering
Leadership Scope: Individual Leader
Company Info: With a heritage of nearly 120 years, we aren’t just a company; we are a brand of trust. But more than anything, we are a collection of individuals who, together, give Grote Industries a decisive competitive advantage. At Grote, our shared vision is clear – to meet the needs of the customers we serve. We accomplish that mission every day by following a set of core values that makes us who we are.
Innovation has been the hallmark of Grote Industries from the start. From durable, easy to see stop lights to the latest in LED lighting technology, Grote has been leading the way in advanced vehicle system solutions from early in the last century right up to today. With these innovations, Grote has helped millions of people throughout North America and the world benefit from the innovation and design excellence of Grote products.
Position Summary: The Senior Product Manager will own the strategy, lifecycle, and commercial performance of one or more product categories within Grote's commercial vehicle portfolio. This is a hands-on, cross-functional leadership role — the right candidate will be equally comfortable reviewing a product specification, facilitating a cross-functional roadmap review, analyzing margin performance, or enabling the sales team with competitive intelligence.
This role requires deep familiarity with physical product environments — electrical systems, wiring harnesses, and lighting applications in transportation are preferred backgrounds. The ideal candidate brings rigorous product thinking to a hardware-centric world, without defaulting to software frameworks that do not translate to our category.
Position Duties: Product Strategy & Portfolio Management
- Own the product roadmap for assigned categories, aligning priorities with corporate strategy, margin targets, and market opportunities.
- Conduct ongoing portfolio analysis — identifying products to accelerate, rationalize, or retire based on performance data and strategic fit.
- Translate voice-of-customer and field intelligence into actionable product requirements.
- Partner with engineering to define product specifications, manage tradeoffs, and hold the line on scope.
- Support the Stage-Gate process with well-prepared business cases, market analyses, and go/no-go recommendations.
Financial Accountability
- Track and report on gross margin, contribution margin, and revenue performance by SKU and category.
- Lead or support pricing decisions, considering cost structure, competitive positioning, and channel dynamics.
- Identify and build the case for cost-reduction and value-engineering opportunities across the product line.
- Participate in annual and multi-year planning, providing category-level inputs to financial models and operating targets.
Competitive & Market Intelligence
- Maintain current knowledge of the competitive landscape, including product specifications, pricing, channel strategy, and emerging entrants.
- Develop and maintain competitive cross-reference and interchange tools for use by the sales team.
- Monitor regulatory and compliance developments (FMCSA, SAE, FMVSS, DOT, and related standards) and assess impact on the product portfolio.
- Track market trends in commercial vehicle electrification, lighting technology, and connected vehicle systems.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Sales Enablement
- Serve as the subject matter expert and primary resource for product questions from sales, customer service, and key accounts.
- Develop training materials, product guides, and competitive tools that enable the field to sell confidently and accurately. Work closely with engineering, operations, supply chain, and quality to move products from concept through commercialization.
- Represent product management in cross-functional forums; bring clarity to prioritization decisions and trade-offs.
Requirements: The ideal candidate will have a bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Marketing, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience, along with a minimum of five years of product management experience in physical or hardware-based product categories. Candidates should have a strong background in electrical systems, wiring harnesses, or vehicle lighting products within the transportation, commercial vehicle, automotive, or related industrial markets. The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience managing products throughout the full product lifecycle, from market research and product definition through launch, growth, and end-of-life management. Strong analytical and financial acumen is essential, including experience developing pricing strategies, margin analyses, SKU profitability assessments, and business cases. This role requires close collaboration with engineering teams to define product requirements and support new product development, as well as exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills to effectively communicate with technical teams, customers, sales organizations, and executive leadership. The position is based on-site in Madison, Indiana, and requires the ability to travel approximately 50% of the time.
Preferred qualifications include experience with LED lighting, signal lighting, warning systems, or other commercial vehicle electrical products; familiarity with industry regulations and standards such as DOT, FMVSS, SAE, and FMCSA; and knowledge of OEM, fleet, and aftermarket distribution channels. Experience conducting competitive market analysis, supporting sales enablement initiatives, leading value engineering or cost reduction (VAVE/MPV) programs, and contributing to long-term product strategy and roadmap development is also highly desirable.
