Product Manager

Company Summary

Established in 1951, Big Joe is a customer-driven North American material handling equipment company. We distribute innovative products for in-between-handling applications, purpose-built counterbalanced lithium-ion forklifts, and market-leading autonomous solutions. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, we provide engineering expertise, customer service, aftermarket parts, and warranty support to our extensive dealer network and customers.

Our company is experiencing rapid growth and is concentrating on cutting-edge technologies such as integrated lithium-ion forklifts and autonomous mobile robots. We are proud to be Powering Progress in the material handling industry.

Position Summary

The Product Manager owns the full cradle to grave product lifecycle and serves as the primary expert and central point of contact for their product portfolio. This role is pivotal to the organization, bridging Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Operations, IT, and other teams through clear, proactive communication. By combining customer insights, market data, and hands-on experience, the Product Manager sets the strategic direction for the product line and drives the launch and ongoing support of offerings that succeed in the market by consistently exceeding customer expectations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1) Be the Bridge to Engineering

• Gather the “voice of the customer” directly from end customers, dealers and internal coworkers to ensure the team has clear actionable insights.
• Partner with coworkers to shape the product vision and define detailed requirements that reflect customer needs and market expectations.
• Monitor new product development projects and support Engineering in trade-off decisions
• Support Special Engineering Requests (SERs) by gathering necessary input for Engineering

2) Be the Bridge to the Market

• Deliver marketing support by shaping product messaging, defining unique selling points, and providing accurate technical data.
• Coordinate end customer field testing and collection of actionable feedback to inform product improvements and future development
• Assist Sales, Marketing, Aftermarket and Training activities, including trade shows, dealer events, webinars, etc.
• Provide on-the-spot support for internal teams and dealers to remove obstacles and keep projects moving forward

3) Manage Projects

• Oversee the commercial launch of new products, ensuring that cross-functional teams understand objectives and have clear accountability
• Build and drive go-to-market plans and ensure key deliverables for product launch are met
• Monitor & control product phase-in/phase-out processes

4) Be the Product Expert

• Support internal teams, dealers and customers by providing responses and answers to product-related questions.
• Facilitate communication with internal teams and dealers as needed
• Conduct competitive benchmarking & develop resources with Sales Enablement to strengthen market positioning.
• Develop materials that help internal and external stakeholders understand Big Joe’s products, capabilities, and value

5) Help Develop Winning Strategy

• Perform market analysis to identify emerging trends, threats & opportunities that inform our product strategy.
• Monitor product health: sales, market share, margin and warranty performance
• Balance internal & external business factors to help prioritize how resources are used

Experience and Education

• 5 years of material handling industry experience (Sit-down counterbalanced forklift experience preferred), or greater experience in a similar industry.
• Demonstrated technical aptitude and experience relevant to material handling (e.g. machinery, fluid power, electrical power systems, embedded controls and automation)
• Preferred education: Bachelor’s or higher in an Engineering discipline.
• Preferred experience with:
• New product development
• Project management
• Product and/or brand marketing
• Public speaking and presentation
• Direct interaction with customers/customer service