Senior Product Manager

Responsibilities

• Own the product strategy, portfolio roadmap and lifecycle plans for assigned automotive product categories, including brake pads and rotors, filters, steering systems, mountings and bushings.
• Translate market trends, customer needs, competitor developments and regulatory changes into clear product priorities, specifications and commercial opportunities.
• Develop and present business cases for new products, product upgrades, localisation, supplier changes and end-of-life decisions, including demand, pricing, margin, investment, risk and return considerations.
• Lead product feasibility studies, concept reviews, design reviews and technical validation from initial requirement through production launch and post-launch evaluation.
• Set product requirements and acceptance criteria, and approve specifications, technical drawings, material selections, test plans and engineering changes before production.
• Establish and govern the product development roadmap, milestones, priorities and decision gates, ensuring that projects meet agreed timelines, quality standards, cost targets and business objectives.
• Work closely with Sales, Purchasing, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain and Operations to convert customer requirements into commercially viable and technically compliant products.
• Engage key customers, distributors and suppliers on technical requirements, product positioning, performance issues, improvement opportunities and long-term product plans.
• Evaluate supplier capabilities, quotations, samples and technical proposals, and support supplier selection, negotiation and development from a product and commercial perspective.
• Monitor product performance, quality trends, and customer feedback; initiate corrective actions or product improvements where required.
• Drive value engineering, standardisation and cost-optimisation initiatives while protecting product performance, safety, quality and customer requirements.
• Ensure products comply with applicable automotive, safety, environmental and market-specific regulations and standards, and maintain the necessary technical and approval records.
• Maintain disciplined product configuration and change control, including specifications, drawings, bills of materials, revision history, validation evidence and end-of-life documentation.
• Identify and manage portfolio risks such as obsolete technologies, supply disruption, single-source dependency, quality exposure and regulatory non-compliance, with appropriate mitigation plans.
• Provide senior-level recommendations to Management on portfolio investment, product rationalisation, pricing, resource priorities and strategic partnerships.
• Coach Product Managers and Product Engineers and promote consistent product-management practices.
• Any other reports/duties assigned by the Management.

Qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Product Management, or a relevant discipline.
• At least 8-10 years of relevant experience in product management, product engineering or product development within the automotive or related manufacturing industry, including at least 3 years in a senior or team-lead capacity.
• Strong knowledge of automotive products, manufacturing processes, technical drawings, product validation and industry-specific regulations and standards.
• Demonstrated experience managing a product portfolio and leading products from business case and specification through development, launch, improvement and end-of-life.
• Proven ability to lead complex cross-functional projects, manage competing priorities and influence senior stakeholders, customers and suppliers.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and negotiation skills.
• Able to work independently, exercise sound judgement and make recommendations where information may be incomplete, or priorities may conflict.