Product Line Manager – HVAC & Thermal Systems

Aplin has partnered with a global manufacturer of advanced HVAC and thermal-management solutions to recruit aProduct Line Leaderfor its Technology and Product Development team.

Reporting to the Global Director of Product Lines, the Product Line Leader will oversee the execution and governance of the technical roadmap and product lifecycle for an assigned product line.

Serving as an important link between Technology and Product Development, Product Management, Manufacturing and regional business units, this individual will ensure products continue to meet customer and market requirements while achieving established performance, cost and margin objectives.

This position is well suited to an engineering or product-development professional who understands HVAC or thermal systems and can lead complex, cross-functional initiatives within a global organization.

The Opportunity
The Product Line Leader will translate product and market priorities into actionable technical plans, coordinate roadmap execution and maintain visibility over product changes across the global portfolio.

The successful candidate will bring together technical, commercial and manufacturing perspectives to support product competitiveness, manage competing priorities and make informed recommendations balancing performance, cost, schedule and customer requirements.

Key Responsibilities
Product Roadmap and Lifecycle Management

• Develop, maintain and execute the technical roadmap and release schedule for the assigned product line.
• Align roadmap priorities with the strategic direction established by Product Portfolio Management.
• Translate market and customer requirements into clearly defined technical and product-development plans.
• Monitor key milestones, deliverables, schedules and dependencies.
• Provide portfolio visibility through structured reporting, dashboards and governance reviews.
• Identify risks to roadmap execution and establish appropriate mitigation or contingency plans.

Product Performance and Competitiveness

• Support product-cost optimization initiatives in collaboration with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Commercial teams.
• Conduct and support product benchmarking, performance analysis and continuous-improvement initiatives.
• Partner with Product Portfolio Management to ensure alignment on customer requirements, value propositions and margin objectives.
• Evaluate and recommend trade-offs involving technical feasibility, product performance, cost, timing and market requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve product performance, competitiveness and profitability.

Cross-Functional Product Leadership

• Coordinate activities across Product Management, Engineering, R&D, Commercial and Manufacturing functions.
• Lead weekly product-line meetings focused on execution, scheduling, cost management and issue resolution.
• Coordinate R&D deliverables associated with minor design changes and product enhancements.
• Draw upon internal centres of excellence and technical specialists to develop solutions and secure required resources.
• Lead the cross-functional resolution of technical and operational challenges.
• Influence decisions and maintain accountability across functions without relying on direct reporting authority.

Product-Change Governance

• Maintain visibility over product changes initiated by regional business units.
• Ensure proposed changes are properly documented, reviewed and aligned with the global product strategy.
• Evaluate and communicate the effect of product changes on functionality, performance, cost and regulatory compliance.
• Maintain clear records of significant decisions, trade-offs and supporting rationale.
• Protect the consistency and technical integrity of the global product line.

Qualifications

• Five to eight years of relevant experience in HVAC, thermal systems, engineered equipment or a closely related industry.
• Experience in product management, systems engineering, product development, engineering program management or industrialization.
• Demonstrated success working across engineering, commercial and manufacturing functions.
• Experience coordinating complex initiatives within a global, matrixed organization.
• Knowledge of air-cooled and water-cooled chillers, heat pumps or related thermal-management technologies is strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, HVAC Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• MBA or equivalent business education is considered a strong asset.

Technical Knowledge

• Strong understanding of HVAC systems, thermodynamics and…