Product Manager (Hybrid- Aberdeen, Maryland

Product Manager - Mixed Signal and xG Product Lines Fairwinds Technologies | Products and Technical Services Division

• Role Type:
  Full-time product leadership role supporting defense-focused hardware, software, and networked communications products
• Reports To:
  
  Products and Technical Services leadership
• Product Scope:
  Mixed Signal product line and xG product line
• Primary Accountability:
  Own product strategy, requirements, roadmap, release definition, customer discovery, productization, and lifecycle execution

Fairwinds Technologies is seeking a technically fluent, customer-focused Product Manager to own and manage the roadmap, requirements, and lifecycle for two strategic product families: the Mixed Signal product line and the xG product line. This role will translate defense customer needs, funded R&D outcomes, engineering capabilities, and market opportunities into clear product requirements, release plans, product packaging, and go-to-market readiness.

The ideal candidate understands how to turn advanced communications, RF, SDR, electronic warfare, resilient networking, and military 5G/NTN concepts into fieldable products for Department of Defense and federal customers. This is a hands‑on product management role for someone who can work with engineers, program managers, business development, customers, OEM partners, and leadership to move products from concept to prototype, demonstration, release, sustainment, and scale.

• Mixed Signal Product Line: RF/RFFE products, SDR platforms, DSP/FPGA-enabled systems, channel emulation, SATCOM and EW-enabled applications, Wide Band/Narrow Band SDR, RF combiners, radio-head concepts, and future AI-enabled comms/EW capabilities.
• xG Product Line:
  Tactical 4G/5G/6G, non-terrestrial networks, MANET bridging, secure networking, network services, ruggedized terminals, mission modules, gateways, Tactical NTN Hub and NTN-MiFi concepts, and dedicated military 5G service concepts.

• Own and maintain product vision, roadmap, MRD/PRD, release definition, product requirements, value proposition, success metrics, and lifecycle plans across both product lines.
• Translate military user needs, DoD modernization priorities, funded R&D objectives, field feedback, and business capture opportunities into prioritized product requirements and release plans.
• Partner with Mixed Signal engineering on RF front ends, SDR hardware, DSP/FPGA firmware, embedded software, channel emulator applications, SATCOM/EW overlays, V&V, qualification, documentation, and product reuse.
• Partner with xG engineering on secure 4G/5G/6G, NTN, RAN/core, MANET integration, SD-WAN, ruggedized terminals, mission modules, gateways, cyber requirements, deployment playbooks, and lab/field validation.
• Define product configurations, minimum viable release criteria, acceptance criteria, security criteria, support model, training needs, documentation needs, and sustainment requirements before product launch.
• Partner with Sales and Business Development Team for customer discovery with warfighters, program offices, integrators, primes, OEM partners, and internal capture teams to validate operational value and improve product-market fit.
• Partner with Sales Engineering for field demonstrations, lab trials, beta releases, operational pilots, customer feedback loops, and transition plans from prototype or R&D artifact into repeatable SKU, service, or product package.
• Prioritize IR&D and customer-funded product work based on mission relevance, business value, technical readiness, schedule risk, reusability, and return on investment.
• Support pricing, licensing, packaging, product collateral, demo scripts, competitive positioning, proposal inputs, and sales enablement for defense and federal customers.
• Maintain a disciplined product operating cadence with engineering, program management, capture, finance, quality, configuration management, cybersecurity, manufacturing, and support stakeholders.

• 5+ years of product management, technical program management, systems engineering, product strategy, or product development experience in defense, communications,…