To make sure we build what the market actually needs. A great product that misses the customer is a failed product. You make sure that never happens.
THE WHAT
You own market-fit for our portfolio (e.g. Launch, or Satellites). You don't just write requirements – you make sure the right product gets built, for the right reasons, every time.
You ensure:
- the segment's customer needs, applications, and competitive landscape are understood before they become a surprise
- every product idea is tested for feasibility and market-fit before a single resource is committed
- qualified products keep performing in the field – and if they don't, you already have the next move ready
You don't manage a roadmap. You own a market.
Your tasks in detail and by priority:
- Maintain a current, first-hand picture of customer needs, applications, and the competitive landscape in your segment: You engage directly with the market - whether through customer conversations, input from Sales, or your own research - and you know when a desk is enough and when it isn't. → High Performance: Stay current. Stay sharp. No stale assumptions.
- Translate customer needs into clear product requirements and a sequenced roadmap with gate milestones: The roadmap is jointly owned with Strategy and Engineering – you stress-test it, you don't rubber-stamp it. → Accountability: Own the roadmap. No vague requirements, no unmanaged surprises.
- Turn every product idea – from R&D, market opportunity, or customer request – into a structured concept brief, run feasibility checks with engineering, and pitch it to the Product Committee: → Togetherness: Built with Engineering and BD, decided as a committee – never alone.
- Write and own the PRD, define functional gate exit criteria, and decide on spec changes when requirements are changing: You're informed when a gate is missed and step in fast when the requirement itself has to change. → Candor: Flag it early. Decide it fast. No silent drift.
- Identify new product opportunities or addressable market segments that become viable as new technologies mature - and decide which ones are worth pursuing. R&D doesn't push technology on you – you pull it when it's ready. → Accountability: You decide. You own the call.
- Review field-insight reports monthly with the Product Owner and feed learnings into the next product generation: → Candor: Real field signal, not filtered good news.
- Bring genuine curiosity and energy to your segment: You enjoy the breadth of trade shows, customer dialogue, and new product ideas as much as the depth of a well-built roadmap. → Playfulness: Curiosity is part of the job, not a distraction from it.