Product Manager – Physical Products

ProFound People; Sydney; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

ProFound People Pty Ltd in Sydney is seeking a seasoned Product Manager to own a portfolio of physical hardware products from concept through manufacturing and launch. This role demands end-to-end accountability, cross-functional collaboration with engineering, and hands-on leadership in a fast-paced, in-house production environment.

The successful candidate will balance strategic direction with delivery, ensuring products meet market needs while navigating technical and manufacturing challenges.

Qualifications

• Experience managing physical hardware products end-to-end.
• In-house manufacturing experience desired.
• Ability to balance strategy and hands-on execution.

Responsibilities

• Own a portfolio of mechanical and electromechanical products.
• Lead from market insight through engineering, tooling, testing to manufacturing and launch.
• Set timelines and targets with engineering, balancing commercial and technical risks.
• Work in a fast-moving, high-ownership environment.

Skills

Product management

Hardware products

End-to-end ownership

Stakeholder management

Engineering collaboration

Job description

Product Manager - Physical Hardware - Sydney

I’m partnering with an established Australian business that designs, engineers and manufactures its own products, and they’re bringing in a seasoned Product Manager to own a product portfolio end to end. This is not a digital product, it’s physical hardware, designed and made here in Australia.

This is a true cradle-to-grave product role, not a front-end commercial one. You’ll take a portfolio of mechanical and electromechanical products from market insight and concept, through engineering, tooling and testing, and into manufacturing and launch. Because they build in their own factories, the job doesn’t stop at a supplier handover, you stay with the product all the way to the shelf.

What makes this one worth a look:

• It’s a step up. They’re lifting the level of the team and want someone who can run a portfolio autonomously, not someone who needs close direction.
• A real balance of strategy and delivery, roughly a quarter of your time on where the portfolio is heading and the rest hands-on, executing. Expect a mix of enhancing existing products and genuine new product development.
• You own the timeline. You set the targets and work with engineering to balance commercial reality against technical risk, rather than building every plan yourself.
• It’s a roll-your-sleeves-up environment. Fast-moving, high-ownership and far from fully resourced, so you’ll back your judgement and drive things through the business rather than wait for perfect conditions.

You’ll likely suit this if you:

• Have managed physical products end to end, ideally made in-house rather than fully outsourced to contract manufacturers.
• Pair real commercial and market instinct (spotting the opportunity and backing a direction with conviction on partial data) with the credibility to work shoulder to shoulder with engineers through design and testing.
• Know the manufacturing fundamentals, tooling, assembly, testing, quality, and structured development such as Stage-Gate.
• Can build a business case and think in pricing, margin, cost and lifecycle.

Industry background is flexible, the key is hands-on physical-product development inside a manufacturing business.