Director of Product Management

The Director of Product Development will align existing and emerging technology with business goals for assigned Bastian Software product offerings. Director of Product Development will organize and lead product managers in coordinating with the software division for the development and release of standard software offerings as either standalone products or as standard software components to be utilized as part of our software implementations. The position requires day-to-day interaction with multiple teams to ensure progress on the overall product development and implementation into customer applications. Activities included defining market requirements, product requirement documents and packaging the features into product releases. The Director of Product Development works closely with Director of Software Development, key customers, product architects and development, software operations, marketing, sales, and support to develop and manage new product releases and upgrades to customers. The Director of Product Development maintains the product road map, creates concept documents, business and use cases for new services, features and functions to support customer demands, growth strategies and profitability targets. The Director of Product Development will ultimately guide the Exacta product through market analysis, product development, sales readiness, and support.

Job Functions

• Participate as part of the software division management team aiding in the execution of software activities, goals, and project execution
• Execute assigned projects or goals based on strategic initiatives or business needs
• Lead group of other product managers ensuring consistency across all product management activities
• Define and communicate the Exacta Product Management Strategy and Roadmap
• Work with senior management, marketing, consulting, sales, R&D, support, customers, and engineering to define a clear vision for the Exacta product line.
• Obtain vision and strategy approval from the Product Steering Committee (PDSC).
• Assist in developing a strategy for how Exacta fits within Bastian Solutions' go-to-market strategy and products and services - Pricing, Promotion, Place, and Positioning.
• Create strategies driven from industry trends, through leadership, market data, and metrics
• Maintain and clearly communicate the product roadmap for both major and minor releases.
• Ensure the technology stack for Exacta is consistent with all other software offerings within Bastian.
• Coordinate with R&D teams to align completed R&D functionality into the Exacta product offering where applicable.
• Work with Sales, Operations, Customer Support/Satisfaction departments to gather feedback from clients on the Exacta product. Incorporate feedback into the overall strategy of the Exacta product line.

Release Planning and Management

• Work with Consulting, Sales, and Project Management to align the product roadmap's major releases with both proposed and active project timelines.
• Work with Director of Software Development to plan branching and merging strategies to allow projects to utilize stable validated releases as a baseline before applying customizations to the customer release branch.
• Be immersed within the software development engineering teams to understand detailed technology concepts, limitations, and trends.
• Advocate for customer experience during the development life-cycle.
• Work closely with architects and technology leads, directly engaging with internal and external software development teams;
• Continuously track and prioritize defects, relative to ongoing feature development;
• Manage release development as projects.
• Utilize Azure DevOps for maintaining a back log of work.
• Work closely with QA to ensure test case code coverage is as close to 100% as possible.
• Work with QA Manager to define a metric to measure current test case code coverage of a major release. Increase coverage of major release testing with every release.
• Ensure all test cases for a release are automated for full regression testing.
• Work with QA manager to define metric to measure current code coverage of automated test cases. Improve metric year over year.

Formally prepare internal and external Release documentation.

• Ensure marketing and sales materials are comprehensive of complete offering and updated with each release.
• Including re-usable demonstrations, standard proposal content, updates to corporate presentations, catalogues, and websites.
• Standard pricing models should be maintained for the product.
• Capabilities must be clearly documented for internal use and sales presentations.
• Ensure internal configuration documentation is complete and available for every release.
• Work with the training department to ensure both internal and external training materials are comprehensive, complete, and available with each release.
• Define, plan, and communicate for Product End-of-Life - including decremented features during the product life, support plans, and possible upgrade paths for existing clients.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and advise various internal, partner, and customer teams on the needs and requirements of target markets;

Travel Requirements

30% overnight travel (Travel expenses paid by Bastian Solutions)

• Bastian Solutions is willing to relocate candidates to Louisville, KY or Indianapolis, IN.

Preferred Skills and Required Qualifications

• Experience in management of company resources
• Experience in software, industrial automation, or technically related fields a plus
• Demonstrated experience in setting company strategies and policies
• A bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, business management (or equivalent experience).
• MBA strongly preferred
• Strong problem-solving skills along with excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to effectively interface on a technical level with customers
• Must have experience with cross-functional teams that include engineering, sales, and marketing staff
• Must be eligible to work in the USA long term without sponsorship.

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About Bastian Solutions

Bastian Solutions, a Toyota Advanced Logistics company, is an independent material handling and robotics system integrator providing automated solutions for distribution, manufacturing, and order fulfillment centers around the world. Our team specializes in consulting, system design, project management, maintenance, and installation, while sourcing the best equipment and automation technology. We take great pride in providing exceptional service and flexibility to our customers.

In addition to exciting work at a growing company, we offer the following benefits:

• Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with a company match
• Vacation/Holiday Pay
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Flexible Work Schedules
• Volunteer Work
• Professional Associations, Conferences and Subscriptions
• Company Meetings & Events

Bastian Solutions does not work outside recruiting agencies. No solicitation phone calls please.