Director of Product Management

Tempo Communications; Vista (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Tempo Communications, based in Vista, California, seeks a hands-on Director of Product Management who will personally own a product category and drive its roadmap, pricing, and financial results. You will lead three Product Line Managers and report directly to the CEO, shaping what Tempo builds and how success is measured.

The role combines strategic portfolio leadership with day-to-day execution, including customer discovery, business cases, pricing decisions, and post-launch results.

Qualifications

• Eight or more years in product management or product line management for physical products, such as test and measurement equipment, instruments, electrical/electronic hardware, or professional tools.
• Current, direct ownership of a product line, category, or portfolio. You personally make product and roadmap decisions and are accountable for business outcomes; your experience cannot be limited to overseeing product managers who own the work.
• Demonstrated ownership of product financials, including pricing, margin, portfolio rationalization, and/or P&L responsibility.
• A track record of building and defending business cases, prioritizing development investments, and explaining the results of products you launched—including decisions you would repeat and decisions you would change.
• Experience with a formal stage‑gate or phase‑gate product development process, including responsibility for the evidence and decisions at key gates.
• Strong market sizing, segmentation, competitive analysis, and customer discovery skills.
• Ability to interpret SKU‑level margin and mix, price realization, launch results, and other business data to guide decisions.
• Technical and commercial credibility to work directly with Engineering and overseas contract manufacturers on requirements, trade‑offs, prototypes, and first‑article reviews.
• Experience managing or mentoring product managers, plus willingness to travel approximately 25–30%.

Responsibilities

• Own a product category and its results, including roadmap, P&L, pricing, margin, mix, and portfolio health.
• Make and defend product decisions from customer problems to launch and lifecycle management.
• Use SKU-level data to guide investment, reposition, or discontinue.
• Build a multi-year roadmap grounded in customers and the market.
• Size markets, assess segments and competitors, and explain underlying assumptions behind recommendations.
• Develop business cases with clear financials, risks, and outcomes.
• Prioritize the development funnel based on strategic fit and financial merit.
• Own Tempo’s NP&SI stage‑gate process for your category and ensure deliverables.
• Collaborate with Engineering and manufacturing on requirements and prototypes.
• Deliver launches with Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Operations, and channel partners.
• Review post-launch performance and capture lessons.

Skills

Product management

P&L ownership

Pricing & margins

Stage-gate/process

Customer discovery

Roadmapping

Financial analysis

Vendor/manufacturing coordination

People leadership

Job description

The Opportunity

Tempo Communications makes the test, measurement, and tooling products technicians rely on to install, test, and maintain communications networks and utility infrastructure across copper, fiber, PoE, and underground utility locating. Our brands include Tempo, Paladin Tools, and KingFisher.

We are an independent, closely held, owner-led company of approximately 130 employees, headquartered in Vista, California, with operations in Wales, Hungary, and Australia. Our customers are the technicians in the field. Our promise is simple: Find it. Fix it. Prove it.

This Is a Hands-On Product Leadership Role

We are looking for a product leader who still wants to own products—not someone whose work is limited to directing other product managers. The Director of Product Management will personally own a product category, including its roadmap and financial results, while leading three Product Line Managers responsible for other parts of the portfolio. You will report directly to the CEO and help determine what Tempo builds, what we invest in, and how we measure success.

The right person may be a Senior Product Manager or Product Line Manager ready to step into broader portfolio leadership, or an experienced director who genuinely wants to return to direct product ownership. Whatever your current title, you should be able to point to a product line or portfolio you personally own today and explain the decisions and business outcomes for which you are accountable.

This role combines strategic portfolio leadership with day-to-day execution: customer discovery, roadmap choices, business cases, pricing and margin decisions, product requirements, launch readiness, and post-launch results. If you enjoy staying close to customers, engineering, sales, and the numbers—and want your decisions to make it into the market—this role offers the authority and pace to do that.

What You Will Own

• 1. Personally own a product category and its results
  • Directly manage a product line or category within Tempo’s portfolio—Location & Markers, Fiber Test & Measurement, Copper & PoE, or Tools—with accountability for its roadmap, P&L, pricing, margin, mix, and portfolio health.
  • Make and defend product decisions yourself, from customer problem and requirements through prioritization, launch, and lifecycle management.
  • Use SKU-level performance, price realization, revenue, margin, and product vitality data to identify where to invest, improve, reposition, or discontinue.
• 2. Build a roadmap grounded in customers and the market
  • Spend time with technicians, installers, distributors, sales teams, and other users to understand real workflows and unmet needs; use interviews, ride‑alongs, field observations, and product feedback to shape decisions.
  • Bring meaningful depth in relevant products and channels, ideally communications infrastructure, fiber, utility locating, electrical contracting, test and measurement, or professional tools.
  • Build a multi-year roadmap that connects customer needs, competitive position, technology direction, commercial opportunity, and the company’s investment priorities.
  • Size markets, assess segments and competitors, and clearly explain the assumptions behind recommendations.
• 3. Make disciplined investment and development decisions
  • Build and defend business cases with clear assumptions, financial analysis, risks, and expected outcomes.
  • Prioritize the development funnel based on strategic fit and financial merit; recommend both which projects to fund and which to stop.
  • Own Tempo’s NP&SI stage‑gate process for your category, ensuring each gate has defined deliverables, evidence, accountable owners, and a real go/no‑go decision.
  • Work directly with Engineering and manufacturing partners to define requirements, manage trade‑offs, review prototypes and first articles, and resolve issues through launch.
• 4. Deliver launches and measurable commercial outcomes
  • Partner closely with Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Operations, and channel partners to bring products to market.
  • Own results against plan—including revenue, margin, launch performance, and product vitality—not just project schedules or launch dates.
  • Ensure application notes, sales tools, product information, and training materials are ready to support adoption and channel execution.
  • Review post‑launch performance, capture lessons, and use evidence to improve future decisions.
• 5. Lead and develop the broader product team
  • Lead and develop three Product Line Managers across the rest of the portfolio.
  • Coach the team on customer discovery, product strategy, market analysis, business cases, prioritization, and commercial accountability.
  • Set clear expectations and review performance while remaining personally accountable for execution and results in your own category.

What You Bring

Required experience

• Eight or more years in product management or product line management for physical products, such as test and measurement equipment, instruments, electrical/electronic hardware, or professional tools.
• Current, direct ownership of a product line, category, or portfolio. You personally make product and roadmap decisions and are accountable for business outcomes; your experience cannot be limited to overseeing product managers who own the work.
• Demonstrated ownership of product financials, including pricing, margin, portfolio rationalization, and/or P&L responsibility.
• A track record of building and defending business cases, prioritizing development investments, and explaining the results of products you launched—including decisions you would repeat and decisions you would change.
• Experience with a formal stage‑gate or phase‑gate product development process, including responsibility for the evidence and decisions at key gates.
• Strong market sizing, segmentation, competitive analysis, and customer discovery skills.
• Ability to interpret SKU‑level margin and mix, price realization, launch results, and other business data to guide decisions.
• Technical and commercial credibility to work directly with Engineering and overseas contract manufacturers on requirements, trade‑offs, prototypes, and first‑article reviews.
• Experience managing or mentoring product managers, plus willingness to travel approximately 25–30%.

Preferred experience

• Communications infrastructure, fiber optics, utility locating, electrical contracting, or adjacent technical markets.
• Prior experience as a technician, installer, or field engineer, or substantial time observing customers using products in the field.
• Two‑step distribution and/or product‑line integration following an acquisition.
• Structured customer preference or pricing research (e.g., conjoint, MaxDiff, Kano, or price‑sensitivity analysis), with judgment about when formal research is worth the investment.
• Comfort using AI‑assisted research and analysis tools.

How We Will Evaluate Your Fit

We will focus on the work you personally owned and the outcomes you can demonstrate. Be ready to discuss:

• A product line or portfolio you own now: your decision rights, responsibilities, financial measures, and what you personally do versus delegate.
• A roadmap or development funnel you prioritized, including the criteria and financial analysis, a project you funded that performed well, and a project you stopped or changed.
• A business case you built and the actual commercial results after launch.
• A customer or technician observation that changed a product requirement, roadmap decision, or investment.
• How you work directly with Engineering, Sales, and channel partners to move from customer need to product launch and results.
• What attracts you to a role that combines direct portfolio ownership with leadership of a small product team.

If your recent roles have focused primarily on leading a product management function or managing other product managers, we are still interested in understanding your fit. We will ask whether returning to hands‑on product and portfolio ownership is what you want in your next role, and we will consider your answer alongside your experience.

Candidates will be evaluated on job‑related qualifications, demonstrated product ownership, technical and market expertise, business results, and interest in the hands‑on responsibilities of this role.

Why Tempo

• Direct access to the CEO and meaningful influence over product and investment decisions.
• A strong portfolio of established brands, loyal customers, and opportunities across fiber and utility locating.
• The ability to see decisions turn into products used by technicians, with a practical focus on customer value and commercial results.
• A company with the structure to support disciplined execution and the speed to make decisions without unnecessary layers.
• Potential to grow into broader product executive responsibility as the portfolio and business evolve.

Location, Compensation & Benefits

This is a full‑time, on‑site position based at Tempo’s headquarters in Vista, California. The Director of Product Management is expected to work in person at the Vista office; this role is not remote or hybrid. The position also requires approximately 25–30% business travel.

Base salary range: $180,000–$220,000, plus an annual performance bonus. The range reflects Tempo’s good‑faith estimate of the base salary it expects to pay for this position at the time of hire. Placement within the range depends on job‑related experience and qualifications. The bonus is a meaningful component of total compensation. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k), and paid time off.

Tempo Communications is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.