Manager Product Development

Job Summary:

The Manager of Product Development will serve as a strategic leader for the Warfighter Systems business. The primary responsibility of this role is to drive the overarching Soldier Systems portfolio strategy by defining a unified, multi-year portfolio roadmap that aligns customer operational needs, customer budgets, technology evolution, and business priorities. Works as the customer advocate translating customer needs into portfolio level requirements and informing investment decisions across multiple product lines. 

The manager will lead Product Manager(s) and/or Product Specialist(s) responsible for discrete product lines, ensuring that each product strategy aligns with, and contributes to, the broader Soldier Systems portfolio strategy. 

The role includes developing subject matter expertise across technologies such as image intensification (I²), thermal imaging, edge/compute processing, augmented reality (AR) displays, soldier borne power solutions, and tactical radios, providing strategic guidance and architecture direction for integrated and discrete solutions within the portfolio. 

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead or support customer engagement, requirement capture, briefings, and proposal strategy and development.
• Lead the Soldier Systems portfolio strategy, unifying product roadmaps and long-term capability evolution.
• Oversee portfolio lifecycle decisions, investment planning, business cases, and value-based pricing for key initiatives.
• Manage a small team to deliver cohesive product and portfolio strategies, product plans, roadmaps, business cases, marketing collateral, and other work products in support of strategy development, execution, and maintenance.
• Partner with Business Development, Engineering, Program Management, Operations, and Marketing to drive innovation and competitive positioning.
• Translate customer needs and market problems into clear requirements, MVP definitions, coordinated development plans, and differentiated value propositions.
• Provide competitive insights, technology assessments, and architectural guidance to ensure aligned, future ready solutions.
• Monitor engineering execution, manage risks with PEMs, and establish and cascade production cost targets.
• Participate in cross functional project reviews and ensure alignment with strategic and operational objectives.
• Collaborate across Twenty-Six Defense business units to leverage technologies and advance the portfolio’s growth and impact.

Requirements Education/Certificates/Licenses and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in business or technical major
• 12+ years of experience with night vision technology, optics or other Soldier-borne technologies
• 3+ years of management experience
• Demonstrated ability to create/evaluate business cases, assess financial return (ROI/NPV), and inform portfolio level investment decisions across multiple product lines.
• Experience conducting market, competitive, and technology assessments to shape multi year strategic roadmaps and prioritize portfolio opportunities.
• Experience with face-to-face customer interactions and building customer relationships
• Ability to obtain a security clearance 

Preferred:

• Bachelor's degree in Optical / Systems/ Mechanical / Electrical / Software Engineering or related field
• MBA or equivalent
• Familiarity with electro-optic military technology
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced, high-stakes environment
• US Government Secret Security Clearance, preferred
• Military service/background

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong communications and interpersonal skills coupled with an appreciation and interest in growing the Warfighter Systems business unit is required. 
• Enjoys working with people, developing relationships and sharing knowledge
• Strong business acumen with the ability to integrate financial insights, market trends, and competitive assessments into strategic portfolio recommendations
• Ability to translate complex operational needs into portfolio aligned architectural requirements and cross product investment priorities

Travel/Physical:

• 25% or more travel is anticipated to Twenty-Six Defense and customer locations/engagements worldwide 
  
• On-site support to the Roanoke, VA facility is preferred

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