The Associate Product Manager partners with the Product Director, Operations & Sales to define the strategy, roadmap, and feature definition for products and/or product lines. They are the champion of a product and lead cross-functional teams from a product's conception through to its launch. Strong thought leadership is required, coupled with strong communication skills.
What You’ll Do
Product Strategy & Market Insight:
- Become the product category expert for the larger Decorative Surfaces offering of the Genesis-Funder offering, including TFL, HPL, 2D/3D foils, edgebanding, printed papers.
- Supporting to translate voice of customer (VOC) inputs, buying behavior, and perceived value into clear product requirements and business cases.
- Build and maintain a competitive and trend radar—pricing, décor direction, texture, format, and sustainability claims; track competitor launches/discontinuations and identify gaps.
Product Development Process:
- Drive projects through the Product Development Process (PDP).
- Own cross-functional timelines (SharePoint tasks), risks, and decision logs; ensure samples, data sheets, marketing assets, and SKU setup are complete for launch.
- Participate in the Commercialization Strategy efforts with Sales/Marketing to accelerate adoption, distributor onboarding, training, and A&D specification pull-through.
Décor Stewardship & Color/Finish Integrity:
- Serve as a steward of the décor/decorative surface offering: manage collections, families, and cross-material matches.
- Review color/texture matches across substrates; provide actionable feedback to suppliers and internal teams for color accuracy across surfaces.
- Ability to pass a color-acuity assessment (e.g., Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue or similar).
Business & Portfolio Management:
- Monitor and track lifecycle performance (adoption, spec wins, service levels, returns); drive cost-outs and SKU rationalization while protecting market coverage.
- Manage vendor programs within the Genesis-Funder portfolio; coordinate qualification, quality, and commercial terms.
Field, Customer & Spec Engagement:
- Partner with Regional Sales Managers (RSMs) on opportunity reviews, line reviews, spec packages, and conversion playbooks.
- Maintain a sample and literature library; ensure fast, accurate sampling to the A&D community and key OEMs.
- Attend relevant trade shows/events to identify trends and gather VOC; present product stories tailored to each audience.
Required Qualifications:
- BS degree (Business, Engineering, Materials/Design, or related).
- 3–6 years in product management/marketing or adjacent industrial/commercial role (surfaces, laminates, furniture, millwork, building materials, or adjacent preferred).
- Demonstrated project ownership within a stage-gate or PDP environment; on-time delivery of cross-functional milestones.
- Strong analytical skills (advanced Excel or equivalent) for business cases, margin/cost modeling, and forecasting.
- Excellent communication—able to distill complex technical and commercial info for executives, sales, and specifiers.
- Detail orientation under speed; organized and process-driven with comfort in fast-paced environments.
- Color acuity sufficient to evaluate décor/finish matches (willing to complete a color-vision test).
