POSITION SUMMARY:
The Product Manager’s primary objective is to help profitably grow our robot sales and market share in Americas. As a member of MEAU's Industrial Automation Business Unit, the Product Manager will be part of a rapidly growing division that is poised to address customers’ growing automation needs. The Product Manager will lead the Robotics division to accomplish significant growth. MEAU has an extensive portfolio of high-performance, high-value robots designed to address small to medium payload applications and when combined with the rest of MEAU’s automation product portfolio (PLC, servo, HMI, VFD, etc.) make a compelling value proposition.
Position is located: Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. HQ at Vernon Hills, Illinois (Greater Chicago Area)
POSITION DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Be the primary author the company’s Robotics marketing plan. Establish objectives/goals for the product, craft strategies to accomplish the goals, and execute these strategies through well-crafted tactics.
- Influence parent company’s actions by leveraging personal relationships, persuasive arguments, and data driven analysis producing favorable outcomes that allow Mitsubishi Electric to effectively compete in North America.
- Develop close and effective relationships with corporate management personnel, peers, and personnel from other functions such as sales, service, Marcomm, advertising, and corporate legal Work closely with the Business Development department to ensure a cohesive development approach to our growth.
- Prepare insightful executive summary reports of our market share position using data from the RIA on a quarterly basis.
- Manage product lifecycle, pricing, ancillaries, options, and software to ensure that the product remains competitive in the marketplace.
- Help Distributors and Systems Partners with joint marketing activities and supports the sales team with customer visits and presentations.
- Collaborate with Marcomm to create marketing initiatives, including advertisements, collateral creation, marketing communications (email, web, and print), product launch activities, coordination/assistance, case studies, and other marketing activities to increase lead counts and drive sales.
- Support the company at events, including sales/distributor meetings and tradeshows.
- Conduct marketing research on current and new products to ensure that the voice of the customer is captured and passed along to the product development group.
- Serve as internal and external PR spokesperson for Mitsubishi Robotics - Be the robot advocate.
- Counsel in order to accomplish goals
SUPERVISORY / MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS
- 25%+ travel within USA and travel to Japan one or two times a year
BENEFICIAL EDUCATION, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- MBA preferred
- Other FA products knowledge and experience will be helpful.
PHYSICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, COGNITIVE REQUIREMENT
- Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds (demos)
- Must be able to travel to offsite assignments and uphold the stress of travelling
- Must be able to work effectively in telecommuting or remote work
- Ability to recall facts and/or details (memory)
- Recognize social or professional behavior clues
- Ability to wear face coverings for significant amounts of time
- Tedious detail work (written or verbal)
- Ability to meet tight deadlines
- Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work
- Ability to organize information and prioritize working activities (flexibility)
- Ability to communicate clearly and present information to large groups effectively
Required Skills
Required Experience
ESSENTIAL EDUCATION, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering – (BSEE, BSME) – or equivalent experience
- A minimum of 5 years' experience in robotics
- Extensive knowledge of the robotics market is essential. This knowledge can be a combination of knowledge and experience from: operations, engineering, sales, project management, management, or marketing. Candidates with experience working with robot manufacturers, systems integrators, end users, or robot ancillary equipment provider will be given preference.
- Significant network of contacts, and ability to network in the defined market.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and “presence” to deal effectively with senior-level contacts
- Excellent communication skills, including presentation skills
- Ability to learn MEAU products and recommend technical applications to meet customer needs
- Computer proficiency – Microsoft Office
- Able to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Must be able to write/present speeches and effectively present information to top management, customers, and peer groups