Director, Product Management

CalAmp; Carlsbad (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

CalAmp is seeking a Director of Edge Devices Product Management to lead strategy for rugged telematics hardware and edge software platforms. You will own the roadmap for fleet vehicle devices, gateways, sensors, and edge platforms, coordinating with engineering, manufacturing, and sales to deliver reliable, cost-effective solutions at scale.

The role demands deep expertise in embedded hardware, firmware, and data pipelines, with a track record of launching hardware products in industrial

Qualifications

• 10+ years in product management, with hardware/IoT focus.
• 5+ years leading teams of product managers.
• Experience launching hardware products in B2B/industrial space.
• Strong fluency in embedded systems, telemetry, and data platforms.

Responsibilities

• Own multi-year hardware product vision, strategy, and roadmap for telematics devices and edge platforms.
• Translate customer needs into hardware/firmware requirements across data acquisition, connectivity, and edge processing.
• Lead cross-functional execs across HW, firmware, cloud, manufacturing, supply chain, sales, and support.
• Drive field validation, pilots, certification, launch readiness, and lifecycle management.
• Define OEM-focused programs, private-label configurations, and provisioning workflows.
• Monitor product success metrics: activation, installation, telemetry quality, warranty, and margin.

Skills

Product management

Hardware & IoT

Leadership

Embedded systems

Edge computing

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

MBA

Tools

CAN bus

J1939

RP1226

LTE/5G

Job description

Role Overview

The Director of Edge Devices Product Management will lead the strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle management for connected hardware and software products serving commercial fleet, transportation, logistics, construction, field service, asset-intensive customers, and Industrial Equipment OEMs. This leader will define and deliver rugged, scalable, and cost-effective telematics devices, vehicle and equipment gateways, accessories, sensors, and edge-connected solutions that collect high-quality vehicle and machine data and enable fleet safety, compliance, maintenance, utilization, sustainability, asset productivity, equipment uptime, and operational efficiency use cases.

This role sits at the intersection of hardware, firmware, embedded systems, wireless connectivity, cloud platforms, data pipelines, customer operations, OEM partner requirements, and go-to-market execution. The ideal candidate is a product leader who can translate real-world fleet and industrial equipment problems into differentiated hardware capabilities, balance performance and cost trade-offs, and partner deeply with engineering, supply chain, operations, sales, support, customers, and equipment manufacturers to bring reliable products to market at scale.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy and Roadmap

• Own the multi-year hardware product vision, strategy, and roadmap for fleet vehicle telematics devices, gateways, asset trackers, sensors, accessories, and related edge platforms.
• Define product requirements based on customer needs, market trends, competitive analysis, regulatory requirements, fleet workflows, and business priorities.
• Prioritize roadmap investments across new product introductions, platform refreshes, cost reductions, reliability improvements, feature expansion, and end-of-life planning.
• Establish clear product positioning and value propositions for fleet operators, channel partners, Industrial Equipment OEMs, equipment dealers, upfitters, and internal commercial teams.
• Build product strategies that support both aftermarket installations and OEM-embedded programs, including factory-fit, dealer-installed, and private-label telematics models.

Hardware, Firmware, and Platform Definition

• Translate fleet, vehicle, and industrial equipment use cases into detailed hardware and firmware requirements covering vehicle and machine data acquisition, GNSS performance, cellular connectivity, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, sensor interfaces, power management, diagnostics, I/O, edge processing, and over-the-air updates.
• Guide product decisions involving OBD-II, J1939, CAN bus, RP1226, BLE, Wi-Fi, LTE Cat-M, LTE Cat-1, 5G, GNSS, accelerometers, battery performance, antennas, ruggedization, environmental requirements, equipment controller interfaces, auxiliary I/O, and machine sensor integrations.
• Partner with engineering to define scalable architectures that support vehicle gateways, asset tracking, video telematics, driver identification, maintenance, compliance, EV, mixed-fleet use cases, industrial equipment monitoring, remote diagnostics, and OEM equipment data services.
• Ensure hardware products deliver reliable telemetry, accurate signals, robust installation experiences, and consistent operation across diverse vehicle classes, industrial equipment types, duty cycles, vibration profiles, power environments, and field conditions.
• Define capabilities for OEM-focused programs such as embedded telematics modules, equipment gateway variants, service tool compatibility, white-label configurations, provisioning workflows, and secure device identity management.

Customer Discovery and Market Insight

• Engage directly with fleet customers, Industrial Equipment OEMs, equipment dealers, installers, drivers, technicians, service organizations, operations leaders, and partners to identify pain points and validate product requirements.
• Use field observations, pilot results, telemetry data, support trends, win/loss analysis, and competitive intelligence to inform product decisions.
• Represent the voice of the customer in executive planning, roadmap reviews, engineering trade-off discussions, and launch readiness decisions.
• Understand Industrial Equipment OEM business models, including factory integration, dealer service networks, equipment lifecycle management, warranty analytics, remote diagnostics, utilization reporting, and aftermarket service revenue opportunities.

Execution, Launch, and Lifecycle Management

• Lead cross-functional execution from concept through requirements, business case, development, validation, certification, pilot, launch, scale, and end-of-life.
• Partner with program management to manage milestones, risks, dependencies, and decision points across hardware, firmware, cloud, manufacturing, supply chain, support, and go-to-market teams.
• Drive field validation, beta programs, installation readiness, firmware release planning, quality gates, and launch criteria.
• Coordinate OEM program readiness across hardware configuration, firmware baselines, manufacturing test processes, documentation, service support, provisioning, certification, and partner launch timelines.
• Own lifecycle decisions including SKU rationalization, cost optimization, component obsolescence, warranty performance, returns analysis, and product refresh planning.

Business Ownership and Commercial Enablement

• Develop business cases that balance customer value, revenue potential, gross margin, bill of materials cost, certification cost, development effort, operational complexity, and long-term platform leverage.
• Partner with sales, marketing, finance, and operations on pricing, packaging, launch plans, sales enablement, competitive positioning, and customer adoption.
• Support strategic customer engagements, RFP/RFI responses, OEM partner discussions, executive briefings, reseller enablement, and industry events as the product expert for telematics hardware and connected equipment solutions.
• Partner with business development and sales to structure OEM programs, including product variants, minimum order quantities, branding, data ownership expectations, support models, commercial terms, and long-term lifecycle commitments.
• Define and monitor product success metrics including attach rate, activation rate, device reliability, installation success, telemetry quality, warranty rate, margin goals, OEM program penetration, and customer retention and satisfaction.

Leadership and Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of product managers responsible for hardware and software platforms, accessories, integrations, and adjacent telematics capabilities.
• Build strong operating rhythms for roadmap planning, market research and trends, prioritization, executive communication, and cross-functional decision-making.
• Create a culture of customer obsession, technical rigor, data-informed decision-making, accountability, and high-quality execution.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of product management experience, including significant ownership of hardware, software, IoT, telematics, automotive, industrial equipment, OEM, or connected-device products.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience, including hiring, coaching, and developing product managers or cross-functional product leaders.
• Demonstrated success launching commercially successful hardware products from concept through scale in B2B, SaaS-enabled, subscription, or connected-device business models.
• Strong technical fluency in embedded systems, firmware, vehicle data, wireless connectivity, device-to-cloud architectures, telemetry quality, and hardware development trade-offs.
• Experience working with engineering, firmware, supply chain, manufacturing, operations, support, sales, marketing, finance, legal, and executive stakeholders.
• Ability to communicate complex technical and business topics clearly to customers, executives, engineering teams, and commercial audiences.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, product management, business, or a related technical field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep experience in fleet vehicle telematics, connected vehicle platforms, commercial transportation, logistics technology, field service, construction equipment, Industrial Equipment OEMs, heavy equipment, powered assets, or asset tracking.
• Familiarity with regulatory and certification requirements such as FCC, CE, ISED, PTCRB, carrier approvals, ELD and Tachograph related ecosystem needs, safety standards, and regional connectivity requirements.
• Experience with automotive, commercial vehicle, and equipment data standards including CAN, OBD-II, J1939, RP1226, diagnostic trouble codes, engine hours, odometer, fuel, EV battery data, PTO, seatbelt, harsh events, collision detection, auxiliary sensor data, and equipment controller signals.
• Experience in video telematics systems, including AI on the Edge
• Experience managing vendor relationships, ODM/OEM partnerships, contract manufacturers, component suppliers, and third-party data or integration partners.
• Experience supporting OEM-embedded or factory-fit connected equipment programs, including requirements alignment, partner governance, device provisioning, private-label configurations, and long-term product support commitments.
• BS Electrical Engineering or related technical discipline
• MBA or advanced technical degree preferred but not required.

Success Measures

• Clear, durable hardware roadmap aligned to customer needs and company strategy.
• Successful launch of reliable, differentiated telematics and connected equipment hardware products at target cost, quality, and schedule.
• Improved device activation, installation success, telemetry completeness, field reliability, OEM program adoption, gross margin, and customer satisfaction.
• Strong cross-functional alignment across product, engineering, operations, supply chain, support, sales, marketing, and executive leadership.
• High-performing product team with clear ownership, strong execution discipline, and measurable business impact.