Director Product Management, Product

Position: Director Product Management, New Product Growth
POSITION OVERVIEW:

Exostar is building a product growth function to test and launch new products on its network of aerospace and defense buyers and suppliers and adjacent market segments. The Director, New Product Growth leads that function. You will be responsible for sourcing and managing a funnel of growth ideas then leading those ideas through launch and initial commercial execution.  You’ll run prioritized ideas through customer discovery, solution ideation, prototyping, and pilot testing, and recommend to the executive team whether each idea should continue, change direction, or stop.

The role is accountable for expanding the Exostar network and revenue through evidence-based, new product recommendations. You will lead a team of discovery Product Managers and Product Designers working in collaboration with Engineering.

Responsibilities:
Your day if you join us:

Portfolio and Process:
Own the innovation portfolio and the stage-gate process: frame and size each idea, validate it with customers, determine viability of business model, take it to a funding gate, and scale what clears.

Portfolio Management:
Apply strategic portfolio management, including capital (R&D) investment allocation and product lifecycle management, to decide where to invest, continue, or stop.

Gate Decisions:
Set gate criteria for each idea before work starts, such as named pilot buyers, a specification customers say beats their current approach, and willingness to pay tested in conversation. Recommend continue, change direction, or stop based on the evidence.

Customer Discovery:
Lead discovery with both sides of the market: prime contractors and Tier 1 buyers on one side and established and new-to-defense suppliers on the other. Conduct interviews, surveys and experiments to identify problems worth solving, ideate solutions and test willingness to pay, and turn what you learn into a product investment recommendations.

Voice of Customer:
Run voice of market and customer programs, including customer advisory boards and early adopter programs, and use them to inform idea selection and gate decisions.

Two-Sided Market Strategy:
Develop strategies for building both sides of a two-sided network, including how to attract the first buyers and suppliers, how to establish a vibrant business community, and how participation on one side drives the other.

Team Leadership:
Hire, lead, and develop discovery Product Managers and Product Designers. Direct a small group of engineers, both full-time employees and contractors, and set measurable goals for each person.

Engineering Partnership:
Work with Engineering leadership to evaluate technical feasibility of ideas, inform and leverage portfolio technology and support the progression from idea through product development to new product introduction.

AI in Product Growth:
Use AI to speed up discovery, analysis, and prototyping, and find where AI-enabled capabilities can create new value on the network. Set norms for how the team uses AI and checks its output.

Budget Discipline:
Manage the innovation budget, including research, travel, expert advisors, and tools, within budget caps released at each gate.

Regulatory Context:
Understand the regulatory context that shapes defense sourcing, including CMMC, export controls, controlled data handling, and supplier qualification requirements, and reflect it in product requirements.

Cross-Functional Launch:
Work with Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Security, Operations, Legal and Finance to both validate ideas and then introduce new products.

Executive Reporting:
Report results to the CPO, the executive team, and the board, including what was learned from ideas that were stopped

Qualifications:

You are a great fit for this role if you:

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