Associate Product Line Manager

Molex; Eden Prairie (MN); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Retirement plan

Paid vacation and time off

Job summary

Molex in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is seeking an Associate Product Line Manager for their Optical Connectivity team. In this position, you will help in driving growth by working on innovative fiber optic connectivity products for major cloud providers, ensuring higher speeds and reliability.

You will collaborate with engineering, sales, and other departments to define product requirements and oversee development from concept to launch. The role offers a salary range of $100,000 to $130,000 annually.

Qualifications

• Experience in product lifecycle management activities.
• Experience supporting business and financial activities.
• Experience with market research and competitive analysis.

Responsibilities

• Monitor hyperscale and cloud data center trends.
• Collaborate with teams to capture product requirements.
• Assist in managing the product lifecycle from concept through launch.

Skills

Market and technical acumen

Effective communication skills

Collaboration across teams

Curiosity about product and market

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, or related discipline

Job description

Your Job

We are seeking an Associate Product Line Manager to join our Optical Connectivity team focused on driving profitable growth in the data center market. In this role, you will work on cutting‑edge fiber optic connectivity products that enable the world's largest cloud providers to achieve higher speeds, lower latency, and greater network reliability.

As an APLM, you will partner with the Product Line Manager, engineering, manufacturing, and sales to support key customers by defining product requirements, managing the development process, and executing successful deployments in the field. This is an opportunity to gain deep expertise in optical interconnect technology while contributing to products that power the global internet.

In this role, you will be responsible for controlling the P&L, understanding the market space, supporting the development of the product roadmap, and completing training and marketing initiatives.

Location

This is an onsite role based at either our Hudson, Wisconsin or Eden Prairie, Minnesota locations.

VISA Sponsorship

VISA sponsorship is NOT available for this role.

What You Will Do

• Market & Technology Research – Monitor hyperscale and cloud data center trends, optical networking standards, and competitor offerings to shape our product roadmap and direction.
• Requirements Definition – Collaborate with customers, engineering, and manufacturing teams to capture detailed product requirements for fiber optic interconnects, ancillary products, and cabling systems.
• Roadmap Execution – Assist in managing the product lifecycle from concept through launch, including prototype evaluation, testing, and production readiness.
• Pricing Strategy – Work alongside Product Manager to define and create strategic pricing strategies, ensuring pricing is maintained in the system.
• Technical Documentation – Prepare and maintain product specifications, application notes, and competitive comparison materials.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration – Coordinate with engineering, operations, and program management teams to ensure timely product delivery and quality.
• Customer Engagement – Support technical discussions with hyperscale customers, addressing application requirements and integration considerations.
• Performance Tracking – Analyze product performance data and field feedback to identify improvements or next‑generation features.
• Product Marketing – Develop an actionable strategy for creating promotional content focused on product developments to ensure customer awareness.
• Product Training – Collaborate with Molex Sales & Marketing to deliver product overview trainings to global sales, end customers, and distribution partners.
• Travel – Travel as needed to meet with customers and gain a better understanding of technical challenges, collaboratively working towards solutions that exceed expectations.

Basic Qualifications

• Experience contributing to product and lifecycle management activities, such as NPI tracking, specification documentation, and product readiness support.
• Experience supporting business and financial activities, including forecasting inputs, pricing data, and financial reporting.
• Experience coordinating across cross‑functional teams (engineering, sales, operations, manufacturing) to gather inputs, track assigned actions, and support execution.
• Market and technical acumen, with experience supporting competitive analysis, market research, and data gathering to inform product decisions.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly communicate within the team and with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated curiosity and desire to build product, industry, and market knowledge while growing toward increased scope and ownership.
• Willingness and ability to travel approximately 10‑20% of the time in support of customers, product activities, and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in engineering, business, or a related discipline.

What Will Put You Ahead

• Understanding of fiber optic applications and products.
• Experience in a B2B environment.
• Experience developing technical marketing collateral.
• Familiarity with data center architectures and networking technologies.

Compensation

We anticipate paying $100,000 – $130,000 per year. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form.

All compensation ranges are estimates determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower based on each candidate’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Benefits

Our goal is for each employee and their families to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength – focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave, and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria are set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy, or guideline, and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please see additional information for E-Verify requirements (for Illinois, see optional details).