Applications Product Lead

Vector Recruitment Ltd; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Equity

Job summary

Vector Recruitment Ltd. in Bristol is seeking an Applications Product Lead to sit with robotics engineers, autonomy specialists and defence customers, shaping what products should exist.

You’ll probe real-world problems, guide experiments, and translate findings into strategic product direction. The ideal candidate has engineering or science background with experience in applying technology to customer needs, including tests, trials and validation programs.

Qualifications

• Engineer or scientist background with hands-on tech experience.
• Experience moving into applications engineering, systems engineering, technical consultancy or related roles.
• Ability to translate customer requirements into product direction.

Responsibilities

• Meet customers to understand real-world technical problems.
• Define customer trials, demonstrations, PoCs and technology validation programmes.
• Design tests to evaluate competitor products and technologies.
• Translate customer requirements into product direction.

Skills

Customer engagement

Requirements gathering

Technical questioning

Experiment design

Job description

Robotics, Autonomous Systems, Sensor Fusion & Advanced Navigation

Bristol area | Hybrid Working | Equity | Salary Negotiable | Significant Growth Opportunity

Most breakthrough technologies don't fail because the technology doesn't work. They fail because nobody proves where they create the most value.

The company we're supporting has developed a fundamentally new sensing platform built around photonics, MEMS and inertial sensing technology, enabling next-generation positioning and navigation in GPS-denied environments.

The technology is real. The engineering team is exceptional. Early customer engagement is already underway.

The next stage is accelerating the highest-value opportunities and building the evidence needed to turn customer interest into product adoption. Not through PowerPoint. Not through market reports. Through engineering, testing, customer discovery and evidence.

This Is not a Product Management role! We're not looking for somebody to maintain a roadmap. We're looking for somebody who can sit in a room with robotics engineers, autonomy specialists, navigation experts and defence customers and hold their own.

Somebody who can understand difficult technical problems, ask intelligent questions, challenge assumptions and then determine what evidence is required before the business invests further time and resources.

You won't be selling finished products, you'll be helping determine what products should exist in the first place.

Applications Product Lead - What You'll Actually Be Doing

You'll spend time:

• Meeting customers and understanding real-world technical problems
• Evaluating where existing navigation, positioning, inertial sensing and sensor fusion technologies fall short.
• Investigating robotics, autonomous systems, defence, aerospace and unmanned systems applications.
• Defining customer trials, demonstrations, proof-of-concepts (PoCs) and technology validation programmes.
• Designing tests to evaluate competitor products and technologies
• Analysing sensor performance data and test results
• Working with engineers to determine what should be built next
• Translating customer requirements into product direction
• Identifying opportunities worth pursuing and killing weak opportunities early

Some weeks you'll be discussing autonomy architectures with robotics teams. Other weeks you'll be benchmarking sensors, defining test methodologies or proving whether a competitor's performance claims are actually true.

Application Product Lead - The Sort Of Person We're Looking For

You'll have started your career as an engineer or scientist, developing, designing, testing or commercialising technology before moving into applications engineering, systems engineering, technical consultancy, advanced technology consultancy, product strategy or customer-facing engineering roles.

Experience gained within advanced technology consultancies, engineering consultancies, defence technology businesses, robotics companies, sensor fusion organisations, navigation companies, autonomous systems developers or deep-tech product development environments would be particularly relevant.

You enjoy understanding how complex systems work and when somebody makes a technical claim, your first instinct is to ask: "How do we prove that?"

You enjoy working with customers, but you're equally comfortable working with data, hardware, test rigs and engineering teams.

You'll be equally comfortable discussing technical architecture with engineers, designing experiments to validate performance claims, analysing test results, and engaging customers to understand where the technology creates the greatest value.

You may come from Defence, Robotics, Autonomous Systems, Navigation & Positioning, Inertial Navigation, Sensor Fusion, Advanced Sensing, Aerospace, Deep-Tech Product Development, Technical Consultancy or Advanced Technology Consultancy.

Applications Product Lead - Why This Opportunity Is Different

Most product roles start with a product.

This one starts with a platform technology that could change how autonomous systems, robotics and next-generation navigation systems understand motion and position.

You'll help determine:

• Which markets matter
• Which applications deserve investment
• Which technical claims can be genuinely defended
• Which opportunities should be accelerated
• Which should be abandoned

You’ll be joining at a stage where your decisions can materially influence the future direction of the company.