Associate Technical Product Manager

About the Role

The Associate Technical Product Manager (APM) assists with the development, technical support, and lifecycle management of rugged computers and associated accessories across targeted markets. This role partners closely with Senior Leadership, Product Managers, Technical Support, Engineering, Operations, Sales, and Marketing to ensure tablet products meet customer needs, business goals, and quality standards.

Responsibilities

• Manage the product life cycle, plan strategically about product positioning, roadmap, and future market expansion, and execute tactical activities related to product development and sales (e.g., product accessories, packaging, branding).
• Gather and analyze customer feedback, usage data, and support trends.
• Conduct competitive analysis on tablet hardware, ecosystems, and accessories.
• Participate in customer interviews, field visits, and usability testing.
• Help identify unmet customer needs and emerging market opportunities.
• Assist in scope definition, tradeoff analysis, and feature prioritization.
• Gain a deep understanding of assigned market segments.
• Support creation of product messaging, positioning, and internal training materials.
• Identify and prioritize critical customer needs for current and future products using industry experience.
• Collaborate with internal and external resources to generate compelling market requirements documents (MRD) for new product development.
• Perform market research and competitive analysis, identify competitive advantages and key differentiators, and work with marketing to position and message the product.
• Work with the project manager and project engineer to validate and revise the MRD and provide input and approval of the product technical specification (PTS).
• Participate in product design reviews and project phase signoffs, giving approval to proceed when appropriate.
• Generate the Product Validation Test (PVT) to evaluate how well the product satisfies critical customer needs identified in the MRD.
• Work with the Sales & Marketing team to develop and implement a company-wide go-to-market plan, ensuring all areas of the company understand the product positioning, key benefits, and target customer.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree in business, engineering, computer science, or a related technical field or 4+ years of experience in a technical field or as a product manager managing technical products.
• Basic computer skills, including knowledge of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the ability to interact with MRP and CRM systems.
• Experience in the rugged mobile computing and/or field data collection industry is strongly desired.
• A unique blend of business and technical savvy.
• A general understanding of computer hardware architecture and functionality.
• Experience with product management and product development methodologies is strongly desired.
• Experience with tablet computers, mobile devices, or hardware products.
• Understanding of Windows, Android, or embedded systems.
• Understanding of hardware concepts such as displays, batteries, CPUs, connectivity, and accessories.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills to effectively engage with diverse audiences (customers, sales, marketing, engineering, management, etc.).
• A high level of creativity to generate innovative solutions to market problems.