Senior Product Manager, Defence

Vaisala; Vantaa; On-site; EUR 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaisala, a global leader in measurement instruments, seeks a Senior Product Manager, Defense, to own the modular tactical surface weather offering. You will align product strategy with market needs, manage multi-product priorities, and guide go-to-market across defense customers.

You will collaborate with sales, partners, and Vaisala Xweather to deliver winning solutions and validate customer problems, then translate insights into a compelling business case and roadmap.

Qualifications

• Experience in defense industry, defense forces, or similar applicable industry.
• Substantial leadership/management experience with product strategy and lifecycle ownership in B2B/B2G.
• Ability to craft a compelling high-tech product vision with a solid business case.
• Strong market sizing, segmentation, and pricing sense.
• Proven track record turning complex initiatives into clear, prioritized plans.
• Eagerness to understand customers and define new solutions.
• Excellent communication and collaboration across a global matrix organization.
• Willingness to travel up to 50 days per year.

Responsibilities

• Own the WE2 Defense surface weather offering and drive its product creation and go-to-market.
• Translate strategy and insights into portfolio priorities and actionable plans.
• Collaborate with sales, customers, partners and internal experts to shape winning solutions.
• Estimate market potential and crystallize findings for internal decision makers.

Skills

Defense industry experience

Product leadership

Strategic product vision

Business judgement

Roadmapping & prioritization

Customer discovery

Communication & collaboration

Travel availability

AI tools curiosity

Job description

We are looking for a Senior Product Manager, Defense to join the Products and Technologies team in the Weather, Energy and Environment (WE2) business area. The position is located at Vaisala headquarters in Vantaa, Finland.

Vaisala is a global leader in measurement instruments and intelligence helping industries, nations, people, and the planet to thrive. From predicting hurricanes to optimizing renewable energy production, our technology is used where it matters the most – from data centers, windfarms and laboratories to airports, the Arctic and even the surface of Mars. For a second year running, Vaisala got recognized in TIME Magazine's World's Best Companies in Sustainable Growth 2026 study. Our team of close to 2,500 experts and 62 nationalities around the world is committed to taking every measure for the planet. Driven by our shared purpose, curiosity, and pioneering spirit, we stay ahead and make a difference. At Vaisala, you don't have to fit in to belong.

Weather doesn’t stop for conflict. Defense forces have historically been at the forefront of weather technology, driving innovation that eventually reaches civil meteorology. Vaisala has multiple decades of experience in supplying critical weather measurement equipment, systems and solutions to defense and security organisations globally, and most of our defense customers are NATO members and allies. Now that the ground is shifting, meaning European defense investment rising and tactical requirements changing faster than they have in a generation, being present where the most demanding applications happen, from defense to space and aviation, is how we stay at the leading edge of our field. We have created this role to meet that moment: to decide what Vaisala's tactical surface weather offering should become, and then to lead its creation.

What’s your role?

As the Senior Product Manager, Defense, you will create the future vision for a modular and scalable tactical surface weather offering, covering both measurement devices and system elements, and lead product creation and go-to-market from the product management perspective. You will report to the Director, Weather Observation Systems.

The role is larger than just one product. You will own the WE2 Defense surface weather offering as a whole, and establish priorities and steer development initiatives across multiple product lines. You will work closely with the Head of Sales, Defense Meteorology, translating segment strategy, customer insights, and commercial opportunities into product and portfolio priorities. In close collaboration with Vaisala Xweather, you will shape winning solutions that bring together our complementary capabilities in new and impactful ways. You will utilize your product management and business development experience to learn and validate the customer problems, estimate associated market potential, and eventually crystallize the findings in an actionable format for both internal decision makers as well as other product leaders.

Second, you will have your own products to manage. In addition to inheriting a proven platform that multiple NATO members and allies globally rely on, you will collaborate with our customers, partners and experienced internal experts, and lead the creation, as well as go-to-market, of the next generation category leading product.

What will you bring?

• Experience from the defense industry, defense forces, or other similar applicable industry
• Substantial experience in product leadership/management, including ownership of a product's strategy, business case and lifecycle in a B2B or B2G market, preferably both
• A demonstrated ability to create a winning high-technology product vision, backed by a solid business case and a realistic view of what technology can do
• Strong business judgement: market sizing, segmentation, competitive analysis, pricing logic, and the discipline to flag-out unrealistic proposals
• A track record of turning complex or ambiguous initiatives into clear, prioritized plans, and the confidence to argue your case in architecture and long-term planning forums
• Eagerness to understand customers and excitement about defining something new that does not yet exist
• Excellent communication, collaboration and facilitation skills, and credibility to influence peers across a global matrix organization
• Ability to travel for up to 50 days annually
• Curiosity and a growth mindset to explore, learn, and apply AI tools in your daily work. We expect everyone at Vaisala to actively discover how AI can enhance their work

For additional information

please contact Timo Kerola, Director, Weather Observation Systems (tel. [phone]).

Learn more about Vaisala’s defense meteorology offering at Defense Meteorology | Vaisala.

Ready to take every measure for the planet?