Director, Product Managerment

A Career at HARMAN

As a technology leader that is rapidly on the move, HARMAN is filled with people who are focused on making life better. Innovation, inclusivity and teamwork are a part of our DNA. When you add that to the challenges we take on and solve together, you’ll discover that at HARMAN you can grow, make a difference and be proud of the work you do every day.

Introduction: A Career at HARMAN Automotive

We’re a global, multi-disciplinary team that’s putting the innovative power of technology to work and transforming tomorrow. At HARMAN Automotive, we give you the keys to fast-track your career.

· Engineer audio systems and integrated technology platforms that augment the driving experience

· Combine ingenuity, in-depth research, and a spirit of collaboration with design and engineering excellence

· Advance in-vehicle infotainment, safety, efficiency, and enjoyment
 

About the Role

The Car Audio Brand Experience Team creates innovative meaningful Branded Audio consumer experiences to make a positive impact on people’s lives with products, services, and technologies.

This role will lead the brand experience scope and planning, at the feature and brand + customer experience, product, and feature roadmaps and business model, for customers in their assigned region.  He or she is responsible for formalized ideation, consumer studies, validation, market and competitive analysis, and the resulting prioritization of experience features at the hardware, software, and feature level.  These roadmaps are organized and viewed from two perspectives:

1. Planning feature deliveries for experience packages of hardware, software and consumer-centric features into production-oriented, vehicle installed experiences, to be presented as in-region brand + customer proposals by you, the Brand Owner, and supporting teams.

2. Planning and translating the successful delivery and handover of the underlying ~80% reusable assets, specifications, and documentation for these customer + brand experience bundles in-region, from domain and asset teams, to customer project teams, for production program integration and validation, within the automotive environment, with market leading speed and quality.

This role will serve as the primary planning, feature validation, prioritization business analysis, and risk evaluation interface for in-region brand + customer experience packages, with internal and external stakeholders (both up and downstream), across global teams.  Additionally, the role will work closely with consumer insights, benchmarking, marketing, controlling, the Brand Owner, Brand Technical Lead,  Brand Delivery Manager and Business Analysts to insure a complete go to market path for each brand + customer package in-region, and these represent a healthy business model from which the Harman customer teams can build a customer proposal, and eventual RFQ or equivalent negotiations.

What you will do

• Follow the Brand Owner’s overarching Brand Experience Precedent, Framework and Business Model to lead the brand experience scope and planning for multiple brand + customer combinations and adaptations in-region, including brand + customer experience product, feature roadmaps, and business model.
• Support Harman customer teams in-region, in building proposals and eventual negotiations.
  • Act as local Brand Ambassador to translate the Brand Owner experience vision, development, customer relationship, business model, and direct plus cross-functional teams to define, match, and deliver compelling brand experience product bundles with customer partners
  • Serve as single Point of Contact for local customer and CAM teams for the brand – Support the jointly developed customer engagement strategy on pursuits
  • Represent & Promote brand and experience both internally and at the customer - build relationships, support tech day events, present brand and customer proposals
• Formalize ideation, engage internal research and benchmarking teams, and conduct consumer studies, feature discovery and validation, and market and competitive analysis, in target region(s) to prioritize experience features at the hardware, software, and feature level. 
  • Note:  while the Regional Brand Product Manager’s role is focused in-region, reusable features and assets developed with global teams are in-scope for the role to insure efficiency at the overall SBU global Brand Owner level.
• Drive the CAM, Build Creation Teams, and Brand Project Manager to insure feature deliveries for experience packages of hardware, software, and consumer-centric features into production-oriented, vehicle-installed experiences and internal and external demonstration events in-region.
• Co-Create (with the CAM) and present in-region customer + brand proposals (including customer demonstrations) with oversight from the Brand Owner and in collaboration with supporting teams, for brand + customer combinations in-region.
• Collaborate with Release Train Engineer (RTE), System Architect, and Product Owners as they translate your feature epics, user journeys, use cases, and technical requirements into detailed requirements at the sprint level.
• Influence and collaborate on the delivery plans and roadmaps of reusable assets developed by domain and cross-brand asset managers; incorporate these into your feature level roadmaps.
• Translate feature and asset deliveries to customer project teams via active teaching, facilitation of internal demonstrations, and by insuring proper document/specification deliveries from upstream teams to insure production program integration and validation within the automotive environment with the global teams and stakeholders.
• Support the overall team that builds, tests, and delivers Brand Features to Project Teams, with market leading speed and quality
• Oversee the creation of internal documentation for brand experience features and brand + customer adaptations through Brand Experience concept freeze and approval (PDM)
• Serve as the primary interface for feature planning, validation, prioritization, business analysis, and risk evaluation for internal and external stakeholders on the global team, for 10-15 feature and customer + brand roadmaps.
• Develop, Curate, and Manage 10-15 feature and customer + brand roadmaps across products in a bundle, at the level of feature, product, and bundle.
• Collaborate closely with consumer insights, benchmarking, controlling, the Brand Owner, Brand Technical Lead, Brand Delivery Manager, and Business Analysts to validate and prioritize features leading up to and including pre-PI alignment, grooming, and approval, and larger activities in PI planning and execution.
• Ensure all features within a customer + brand bundle have a clear go-to-market strategy (bundling, pricing, sales, messaging) and fit within the Brand Experience package, for customers in-region, and these represent a healthy business model.
• Participate in ART-level events (PI Planning, System Demos, Inspect & Adapt), and Manage the feature backlog that addresses customer + brand experience packages in-region.
• Engage with Product Marketing for feature input to create customer-facing assets for customer + brand combinations in-region
• Drive development of demo cars integrating brand experience package and features in-region.

What You Need to Be Successful

• Bachelor degree in Engineering and Business or related demonstrated technical expertise
• 15+ years of combined brand, audio, product, and business related experience.
• 8+ years in Product Management
• A mature approach toward indirect leadership, influence, and soft skills: building trust and long term internal team relationships to influence consistent, positive outcomes.
• Functional knowledge of automotive infotainment and audio systems.
• Demonstrated acumen in business case development, program management, make/buy, commercial, and product bundling/sales strategy, feature ideation, and consumer validation.
• Ability to communicate advanced and complex concepts and ideas persuasively and concisely, internally and externally, up to the executive level.
• A "whatever-it-takes" attitude using diplomatic leadership skills within a collaborative teamwork environment to accomplish the necessary results.
• Experience indirectly leading and managing teams to drive time critical projects to completion.

Bonus Points if You Have

• A combination of Engineering and Business Degrees (eg. Ba ENG + MBA)
• Functional knowledge of AGILE methodologies at the ART level
• Strong recommendations from automotive industry colleagues
• Automotive Business & Engineering Landscape Knowledge
• Passion for the power of brand as a unifying concept for bundles of experience products
• Passion for acoustics and sound reproduction

What Makes You Eligible

• Be willing to travel up to 25%, domestic and international travel.
• Be willing to work in the Novi or Garching office

• Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment

What We Offer

• HARMAN FlexConnect Program, offering a flexible hybrid work environment that fosters stronger collaboration, meaningful connections, and innovation through a minimum of three in-office days per week.

• Access to employee discounts on world class HARMAN/Samsung products (JBL, Harman Kardon, AKG etc.)
• Inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages career development opportunities
• Flexible work schedule with a culture encouraging work life integration and collaboration in a global environment
• On-site opportunities to focus on personal well-being and development such as, onsite café, fitness center, weekly massage, fitness classes, and other onsite events promoted by our employee resource groups
• Professional development opportunities through HARMAN University’s business and leadership academies
• Internal talent management leadership acceleration programs
• “Be Brilliant” employee recognition and rewards program

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HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.