Product Development Manager

Are you inspired by challenging the status quo? Do you thrive in collaborative environments that drive results? If so, Gates could be for you.

Gates is a leading manufacturer of application-specific fluid power and power transmission solutions. We push the boundaries of material science to engineer solutions that continually exceed customer expectations.

Let's simplify it, think belts and hoses. Found in motorcycles, conveyor belts, cars, tractors, blenders, vacuum cleaners, bicycles, & 3D printers just to name a few. Because why not do it all?

Job Summary

The Product Development Manager will be responsible, along with the Global Product Manager, for the success of our Fluid Power Digital and Internet of Things product portfolio. The expectation is that this role will become the core execution engine for the product portfolio. This role is responsible for translating the overarching digital strategy set by the Product Manager into prioritized development work, owning the product lifecycle from initial product/feature definition through final deployment. The ideal candidate is a strategic executor who maintains a deep understanding of user needs, technical feasibility, and business value, ensuring the engineering team maximizes value delivery while contributing insights back up to the Product Manager’s strategic vision. The ideal candidate will seamlessly bridge between business and technical teams, spanning both digital and IOT technologies.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Product Strategy Contribution & Focus

• Roadmap Execution: Own the delivery of features and milestones defined in the product roadmap, working closely with the Product Manager to ensure technical work remains aligned with strategic business outcomes.
• Data-Driven Insight Generation: Define and monitor key product usage metrics (e.g., conversion rates, feature adoption, retention) and conduct in-depth multi-variate testing and quantitative analysis to provide data-backed insights to the Product Manager.
• Customer & UX Focus: Maintain a deep understanding of the user journeys, UX/UI best practices, and customer pain points, turning those insights into clearly defined features that enhance the digital and IOT experience.
• Competitive Analysis: Track features and emerging technologies within the competitive landscape. Identify opportunities and threats to help influence and strengthen our product vision.
• Business Alignment: Understand the product’s contribution to overall business KPIs (e.g., digital revenue, cost reduction, customer lifetime value) and prioritize work that maximizes that value within the Product Manager’s guidelines.
  
  

Agile Execution & Delivery (Product Owner Focus)

• Backlog & Prioritization Authority: Act as the owner of the Product Backlog, grooming, refining, and prioritizing all items (features, bugs, tech debt) to ensure the development team is always working on the highest-value items.
• Requirements Translation: Translate strategic epics and feature requirements from the Digital Product Manager into detailed, technical-ready User Stories with clear, unambiguous acceptance Criteria.
• Development Liaison: Serve as the primary, accessible source of truth for the engineering team, ensuring zero ambiguity about requirements, and making rapid decisions on scope, sequencing, and implementation. Lead the technical team through planning, execution, and review to ensure high team velocity, exceptional product quality, and continuous process improvement.
• Quality Assurance: Accept completed product features, verifying that we deliver our customers the desired functionality delivered over an exceptional experience.
  
  

Technical Partnership & Stakeholder Management (Shared Focus)

• Technical Feasibility: Partner closely with Engineering Leads and Architects to understand technical constraints, dependencies, and necessary trade-offs, ensuring the product is built with stability and scalability in mind.
• Stakeholder Communication: Manage the communication of delivery progress, sprint goals, and technical risks to internal stakeholders and the Product Manager, maintaining high transparency.
  
  

Requirements And Preferred Skills

• Background in Product Development, Software Development, Product Management, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5 - 7 years of experience in a related field, with experience within an engineering, IOT and/or a digital environment (Mobile, Web).
• Deep expertise in bringing product features and new products from conception to market
• Proven experience using product analytics tools to drive prioritization and measure feature success.
• Strong technical aptitude with the ability to converse effectively with engineers about technical trade-offs and system architecture.
• Experience in the hydraulics market desired, but not required
• English Profesional Proficiency
  
  

WHY GATES?

Founded in 1911 in Denver, Colorado, Gates is publicly traded on the NYSE. While we might operate in a vast amount of time zones we operate as 'One Gates' and have a common goal of pushing the boundaries of materials science. We invest in our people, bringing real-world experience that enables us to solve our customers' diverse challenges of today and anticipate those of tomorrow.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Gates is an Equal Opportunity and is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of race, sex, color, religion, age, disability, pregnancy, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, genetic information, marital status, or any other consideration defined by law.