Product Manager

Sterling Engineering; Rosemont (IL); Remote; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Bonus potential

Medical Insurance

401k

Job summary

Sterling Engineering in the Chicago Suburbs is seeking an experienced Product Manager to drive portfolio strategy, optimize product offerings, and harness market insights to shape scalable decisions. The role focuses on market research, competitive analysis, and data-driven recommendations across a broad manufacturing product line.

Experience with durable, rugged, or tooling products is highly valued. Collaborate with engineering, sales, and operations to align product roadmaps with business

Qualifications

• Minimum 4+ years in Product Management, preferably within a manufacturing or consumer/retail product environment.
• Proven experience with product innovation, competitive research, and product gap analysis.
• Experience managing or supporting a diverse portfolio of products rather than a limited number of individual SKUs.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate product data into business recommendations.
• Experience influencing internal product decisions rather than solely responding to customer-specific requests.
• Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills.
• Experience with durable, rugged, industrial, tooling, or other highly functional products is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead product innovation initiatives through market research, product gap analysis, and competitive analysis.
• Evaluate competitor products, features, pricing, and positioning to identify opportunities for portfolio improvements.
• Own and analyze product data to develop actionable insights and recommendations.
• Help shape internal product strategy based on market trends, competitive intelligence, and portfolio performance.
• Identify product enhancements and opportunities that can be implemented across a broad customer base.
• Partner with engineering, sales, marketing, operations, and other internal teams to support product development and strategy.
• Drive continuous improvement across a diverse and growing product portfolio.
• Balance market opportunities with business objectives to support scalable product decisions.

Skills

Product Management

Product innovation

Competitive research

Portfolio management

Job description

Title

Product Manager

Location

Chicago Suburbs, remote until new office is open in 2027!

Hire Type

Direct hire

Compensation

$100-120k

Bonus/ Incentives/ Stock Options

Annual Bonus potential

Benefits

Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k

Must have Skill Set

• 4+ years of Product Management experience
• Experience with product innovation, gap analysis, and competitive research
• Retail manufacturing experience managing a broad product portfolio
• Strong analytical skills with experience using product data and market insights

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Product Manager to help drive product innovation, competitive positioning, and portfolio strategy for a growing manufacturing organization. This role will focus on analyzing market and competitor data, identifying product gaps, and using insights to guide scalable product decisions across a broad portfolio.

The ideal candidate has experience managing multiple products within a retail manufacturing environment and is comfortable using data and market research to influence product strategy. Experience with durable, rugged, tooling, industrial, or similar products is highly preferred.

Job Duties

• Lead product innovation initiatives through market research, product gap analysis, and competitive analysis
• Evaluate competitor products, features, pricing, and positioning to identify opportunities for portfolio improvements
• Own and analyze product data to develop actionable insights and recommendations
• Help shape internal product strategy based on market trends, competitive intelligence, and portfolio performance
• Identify product enhancements and opportunities that can be implemented across a broad customer base
• Partner with engineering, sales, marketing, operations, and other internal teams to support product development and strategy
• Drive continuous improvement across a diverse and growing product portfolio
• Balance market opportunities with business objectives to support scalable product decisions

Qualifications

• 4+ years of Product Management experience, preferably within a manufacturing or consumer/retail product environment
• Proven experience with product innovation, competitive research, and product gap analysis
• Experience managing or supporting a diverse portfolio of products rather than a limited number of individual SKUs
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate product data into business recommendations
• Experience influencing internal product decisions rather than solely responding to customer-specific requests
• Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills
• Experience with durable, rugged, industrial, tooling, or other highly functional products is a plus

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.