Product Development Manager

Job Summary:

The Product Development Manager leads a team of Technical Project Leads and Product Engineers responsible for executing New Product Development & Introduction (NPDI) programs and providing technical customer support for products within Vertiv's Power Switching & Distribution business. This role is accountable for the technical output, development velocity, and issue-closure discipline of the team which directly impacts quality and time-to-market execution for the product portfolio.

In addition to day-to-day team leadership, the Product Development Manager serves as a strategic partner to the Director of Engineering and Product Line leadership, aligning engineering execution with the multi-year product roadmap, new product development and introduction (NPDI) milestones, and ongoing product support. Operating in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment, this leader collaborates closely with Product Management, Procurement, Quality, Operations, PMO, and Service organizations to deliver power switching and distributions solutions for critical infrastructure applications.

Business Unit Job Summary:

The Power Switching & Distribution Product Line within the Power Management Business Unit is responsible for managing the global portfolio of product and distribution offerings to best serve the customers in the critical infrastructure market. Key activities include launching new products and services, managing the existing portfolio of products and services, and executing end of production and service. The team operates in a global and cross-functional environment and has frequent interactions with customers, sales, engineering, marketing, and operations.

Responsibilities:

• Product Development & Project Execution
• Oversee the technical execution of new product development (NPD) projects from requirements definition through design, validation, industrialization, and market launch.
• Ensure Technical Project Leads drive requirements development, work breakdown, and Agile-based task planning with appropriate rigor and cross-functional alignment.
• Drive cross-discipline trade-off decisions and technical problem resolution across complex power systems.
• Translate detailed technical plans into simplified summaries for executive tracking and decision-making.
• Product Documentation & Issue Resolution
• Ensure the team creates and maintains high-quality technical documentation including specifications, user manuals, submittal drawings, application notes, and design records.
• Drive structured root cause analysis and corrective action for field and factory issues, holding the team accountable for decisive closure-not indefinite analysis.
• Coordinate across engineering, manufacturing, quality, procurement, and field service to eliminate repeat failures and improve product reliability.
• Talent & Organization Development
• Directly manage a team of Product Engineers and Technical Project Leads / Engineers, providing clear goals, accountability structures, performance management, and workload prioritization.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Attract, develop, and retain top engineering talent aligned with Vertiv's High-Performance Culture objectives.
• Cross-Functional Partnership & Process Improvement
• Collaborate with operations, supply chain, quality, and manufacturing engineering to ensure seamless design-to-production transitions.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives, best practices, and DMAIC methodologies, including Pugh analysis, Design of Experiment, design and application FMEA, process capability study and root cause analysis.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related technical discipline; Electrical Engineering is preferred
• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience, including 3+ years in a people leadership or management role.
• Demonstrated experience managing engineers across product development and product sustainment functions.
• Experience managing geographically distributed engineering teams, including international development centers.
• Track record of delivering products on time, on budget, and meeting performance specifications.
• Strong communication and organizational skills, with the ability to summarize technical data and program status for executive and non-technical audiences.
• Experience with Agile development methodologies in a hardware product environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (Excel, PowerPoint, PowerBI), Smartsheet, and other business applications.
• Excellent communications skills - written & verbal.
• Up to 10% Travel

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