Strategic Product Manager

PerkinElmer is seeking a Strategic Product Manager - TEA to serve as the full strategic and commercial owner of product segment within the analytical instrument business units. This is a purpose-built strategic leadership role. Reporting to the VP Materials Characterisation, the Strategic Product Manager holds end-to-end accountability for the product segment's roadmap, commercial positioning, pricing strategy, and P&L contribution. This role is structurally protected from operational distraction. Day-to-day portfolio execution - quality escalations, SKU management, supply chain issues - is managed by a dedicated Operations Product Manager. This design ensures the Strategic Product Manager can focus entirely on what creates long-term value: the evidence-based product strategy, NPI business cases, and commercial positioning that drive revenue growth and durable competitive differentiation. The Strategic Product Manager leads a small team of NPI PMs and an Operations PM. They set the strategic direction, govern NPI programme commercial readiness, and are the primary product authority for their segment within the VP Product Line's team. We are offering a hybrid working contract split between home and our offices in High Wycombe.

Responsibilities Product Strategy & Roadmap

• Define and own the 3-5 year product roadmap for the assigned product segment - prioritisation, sequencing, and investment trade-off decisions across instruments, consumables, and software
• Develop rigorous NPI business cases: market sizing, competitive positioning, financial modelling, and customer value quantification - to a standard that supports VP and CTO gate approval
• Own gate progression for all NPIs within the segment from concept through commercial launch approval
• Translate Market Requirements Documents from Strategic Segment Managers into specific product requirements and R&D briefs
• Drive the long-term technology roadmap in close collaboration with R&D leadership - ensuring the portfolio maintains competitive and technical leadership in priority markets

Voice of Customer & Market Intelligence

• Build and maintain a structured VOC programme for the product segment - a minimum of 20 in-depth customer conversations per year, focused on requirements validation, competitive intelligence, and pricing research
• Work in partnership with Strategic Segment Managers to ensure segment-level market requirements are understood and prioritised across the product segment's key end markets
• Monitor the competitive landscape continuously - new instrument introductions, pricing moves, partnership activity - and translate intelligence into positioning and roadmap responses

Pricing & Financial Performance

• Own global base pricing strategy for the product segment - setting, communicating, and periodically reviewing instrument and consumable pricing with VP Product Line approval
• Manage the product segment's P&L contribution in partnership with the VP - tracking revenue, gross margin, and portfolio profitability against AOP targets
• Support AOP planning with NPI revenue projections, volume forecasts, and portfolio investment requirements

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop NPI PMs and the Operations PM within the product segment team - setting clear role expectations, performance objectives, and development plans
• Coach NPI PMs to develop strong business case skills, customer interviewing capability, and commercial programme discipline
• Build a team culture focused on customer insight, strategic rigour, and commercial accountability
• Ensure clean handoffs between NPI PM (launch responsibility) and Operations PM (ongoing portfolio execution) - maintaining role clarity and avoiding scope creep

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Partner with the VP Product Line on portfolio investment prioritisation, AOP planning, and executive gate reviews
• Work closely with R&D to translate commercial requirements into technically feasible product specifications, maintaining a clear PM/R&D boundary
• Collaborate with the Sr. Director, Strategic & Commercial Marketing to ensure segment intelligence inputs are incorporated into roadmap and positioning decisions
• Engage with Regional Product Managers to ensure field market intelligence is incorporated into product and launch planning

Requirements

• 10-15+ years of experience in product management, product strategy, or commercial leadership in analytical instrumentation or scientific equipment
• Demonstrated experience owning a product roadmap and leading NPI programmes through full commercialisation
• Direct technical knowledge of the relevant product segment (e.g., atomic spectroscopy, chromatography, materials characterisation) and its key application markets
• Strong financial acumen - experience managing product line P&L, building NPI business cases, and setting pricing strategy
• Proven track record of leading and developing small product management teams
• Ability to travel 25-30% for customer visits, conferences, and internal reviews
• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Engineering, or a related scientific discipline

Preferred

• Advanced degree (MSc, PhD) in a relevant scientific discipline
• Experience in a structured stage-gate NPI environment
• Experience working in a matrixed organisation alongside segment marketing, technical, and regional commercial functions
• Strong executive presence - ability to present product investment decisions clearly to senior leadership and major customers

#J-18808-Ljbffr