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Product Manager, Power Tools

CA - La Mirada

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Opportunity Snapshot

This is an opportunity to join an organization bringing an innovative, fresh approach to product management while working closely with R&D, and use your background in the power tool or construction industry to play an influential role between the two areas. None of our competitors has done more over the past five years in terms of product management, marketing and brand development, and you can see the results in the market. At Makita career growth comes the old fashioned way, by merit, leadership and results, but you'll interact with people all over our organization (as well as with end users, distributors and vendors), giving you plenty of opportunities to showcase your skills.

Your role will be to manage a range of products (power tools) for the US, developing and maintaining productive relationships among professional users, engineers, dealers and others. You will need a track record of success in product management and an understanding of professional construction channels; the ideal candidate will have experience with power tools, distribution channels, construction knowledge along with product management experience. Quick question for you - click here

You'll need a demonstrated ability to manage multiple (up to 20) concurrent activities and projects with competing priorities. You'll also need solid communication skills, including the ability to write clear, compelling marketing copy as well as oral presentation skills .

Makita is a worldwide leader in the professional power tool industry. Over the past 95 years we've built a reputation for using the finest raw materials, the most advanced manufacturing equipment, and the most rigorous quality testing in the industry. Headquartered in La Mirada, CA, Makita USA has been bringing Makita's best-in-class engineering advantage to professional power tool users in America since 1970.

The Requirements

The ideal candidate for this position will come from the power tool, building and construction industry or related field. Although product management knowledge is key, your background working in a sales, marketing or operations position in the industries listed could provide you with the foundation needed to excel in this role. Additionally, to be a good fit for this opportunity you will have:

A bachelor's degree from a college or university; we also will consider non-degreed candidates with significant and relevant experience.
A background in the power tool industry or building materials and/or construction industry. Quick question for you - click here
Current, up-to-date knowledge of industry trends, end-users, and competitor landscape of the power tools and/or construction industry.
Product management knowledge understanding positioning, strategy and the ability to implement solutions to address market and users pains.
Solid reasoning abilities in problem solving and planning, including an ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions best suited for the users, dealers and company.
The ability to communicate effectively through all channels and coordinate among multiple stakeholders in a stage-gate type of environment.
A creative and entrepreneurial outlook.
Exceptional presentation skills, including the ability to participate and contribute in group environments while presenting and answering questions.
A genuine enjoyment of working with power tools and a high degree of comfort demonstrating the tools in the field before professional users while articulating the benefits.

You also will need to be willing and able to travel at least 30% of the time to be out in the marketplace working with Sales, meeting with distributors, and interacting with users at job sites to get input and insights.

If you are a confident self-starter with a passion about power tools, you could be just the person we are looking for.

The Role

Reporting to the Vice President of Marketing, you will join a team that includes other Product Managers. In a nutshell, you will assume responsibility for thoroughly understanding of your product portfolio, construction applications and tool requirements, related accessories, distribution/ market, and then leveraging that understanding to develop timely new products, create plans to sustain current products and deliver new innovative solutions that achieve sales objectives and strategically position Makita in a leadership role in the US market.

You'll serve as the "voice of the customer" to translate trade user's needs and segments, as well as understand applications and uses, business and construction trends, methods and requirements, competition, channels of distribution and product and price management.

The segment is in one of the most competitive ones in the industry. You'll play a leadership role coordinating among Sales, Engineering, other internal Makita groups, dealers and distributors, and professional users. On the one hand, you'll need to understand the users' goals and pains, from how the tools are used throughout the day to how they are stored overnight. On the other hand, you'll take the science behind the engineering and work to commercialize it. You'll create a strategic plan for the product portfolio and then drive all aspects of executing on the plan.

As you might expect, your activities also will include:

Maintaining and leveraging solid knowledge of competitors' products.
Managing the overall product development process from ideation to product launch.
Driving market and competitive analysis to define clear product differentiation and positioning.
Understanding product life cycles to create planning processes and timelines, monitor workflow and milestones, and ensure deadlines are met.
Leading and supporting cross-functional research/development teams that may include engineering, sales, marketing, logistics, purchasing, outside research firms and others to develop new products and promotional tactics, and to refresh existing ones.
Product marketing to include training materials, promotional activity, conceptional POS development as well as owning the initial product launch.
And more.

Why Makita

Impact at the hub -- as the first point of customer contact for our internal teams, you will help drive the evolution of the organization. At the same time, this is not carte blanche to reinvent the company; you'll need to present well considered ideas and plans, and convince the organization to invest in them.
Moving and shaking -- if you're the person we're looking for, you thrive on keeping a lot of balls in the air at once. One day you may coordinate product testing, run reports, plan a campaign and develop marketing collateral, and the next you may oversee a photo shoot, work with engineers or call on a distributor.
Career development -- the breadth of this role means that, most likely, you'll be developing new skills; for example, you will evaluate, select and negotiate with vendors regarding accessories for the tools. As we grow -- developing new products, exploring new markets -- we'll be looking for proven players to step up.
Reputation and momentum -- visit any construction site and you're sure to encounter a variety of Makita tools. We are highly respected in the professional user community because of the quality and performance our tools deliver. We continue to lead the industry with the introduction of high quality, innovative tools. You'll be able to leverage both our reputation and momentum in your efforts.
Excellent compensation -- in addition to a competitive salary and bonus incentive program, we offer one of the most generous benefits packages in our industry, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance; 401(k) and profit sharing plans; vacation time; tuition reimbursement, and more. We'll also provide the tools you need to succeed, such as a company car, gas card and more.

Keys to Success

To excel in this role you will bring a strong sense of ownership, your creativity and results-oriented drive to move good ideas to action quickly. We'll also look to you to achieve your goals independently while keeping the VP in the loop. You also will need to be able to influence and motivate a variety of people, both internally and externally. Quick question for you - click here

It's a demanding, fast-paced environment with an aggressive team that gets things done. If this sounds like the right mix of challenge and opportunity for you, and you meet the minimum qualifications, we want to hear from you!

About Makita

Makita owes its reputation for manufacturing and distributing outstanding quality power tools to the drive and determination for excellence that began 95 years ago as a manufacturer of electric motors. In 1958 we introduced our first electric tool, and today we are one of the world's largest power tool manufacturers, with seven manufacturing facilities globally and a selection of more than 350 superior and innovative tools.

Believing that the motor is the heart of any power tool, we take great pride in our motor expertise. We spare no expense in producing the most powerful, efficient and best performing motors available for each tool, carefully selecting only the best quality raw materials, employing the most advanced manufacturing equipment in the world, and using the most stringent manufacturing processes and quality control in the industry. To make certain that our quality standards are upheld, constant testing is performed during machining and assembly processes, including a final run-test under power before leaving the factory to ensure optimum performance.

Our success comes not only from producing top quality tools, but also from our unparalleled customer service. From our customer service representatives to our extensive sales team to our R&D group, we are dedicated to delivering complete customer satisfaction.