Manufacturing Solutions Product ManagerRole type: Individual Contributor (IC)
Reports to: Product Leadership
Travel: As needed for customer engagement and industry events
Location: MULTIPLE STATES (East Coast)
The RoleAs a
Manufacturing Solutions Product Manager you will define and drive ToolsGroup's market-facing product direction for manufacturing.
This is a
hybrid role combining:
- Product strategy and roadmap
- Industry solution definition (templates, workflows, use cases, service offerings)
- Direct customer engagement
You will
own the manufacturing POV, ensuring that real-world planning workflows are translated into product direction, reusable solution patterns, and differentiated capabilities across the platform.
What You'll Do1) Define Manufacturing POV & Use Cases- Define ToolsGroup's perspective on manufacturing planning in an AI-first world
- Map "day-in-the-life" workflows across:
- Production planning and scheduling
- Supply and inventory decision-making
- Aftermarket/service parts planning
- Identify high-value decision workflows (e.g., constrained supply balancing, prioritization, exception management, available / profitable to promise)
2) Drive Cross-Solution Templates & Patterns- Define standardized manufacturing solution templates spanning:
- Production planning / MPS
- Capacity-aware supply planning
- Inventory and service level trade-offs
- Ensure templates are:
- Productizable by horizontal PMs
- Deliverable by Professional Services
- Create repeatable assets (demo flows, ROI narratives, configuration patterns)
3) Translate Workflows into Product Direction- Translate manufacturing workflows into:
- Clear problem statements
- Prioritized product requirements
- Measurable outcomes
- Influence roadmap priorities across multiple product areas
- Ensure alignment between product investments and real customer needs
- Prioritize ecosystem investments such as adapters and key partners.
4) Drive Decision-Centric, AI-First Capabilities- Define how agentic AI and automation apply to manufacturing planning:
- Scenario-based decision support
- Exception-driven workflows
- Assisted or autonomous planning actions
- Partner with engineering and data science to shape AI-driven workflows, not just features
5) Partner Across Product, GTM, and Services- Work closely with:
- Product Managers (demand, supply, inventory, platform)
- Engineering, UX, and Data Science
- Professional Services and Customer Success
- Sales and Product Marketing
- Shape value propositions and key go to market investments
- Act as manufacturing SME in customer and prospect engagements
6) Lead Customer Engagement & Validation- Engage directly with manufacturing customers and design partners
- Lead:
- Discovery workshops
- Use case validation
- Feedback loops into product
- Ensure solutions reflect real-world constraints and trade-offs
What You BringExperience- 7+ years in one or more of the following:
- Product management for supply chain / manufacturing software
- Manufacturing or supply chain planning roles (production, materials, supply planning, operations)
- Experience with:
- Production planning, MPS, or APS
- Supply chain planning systems (e.g., Kinaxis, OMP, o9, SAP IBP, etc.)
Product & Domain Capability- Ability to translate complex workflows into clear product direction and requirements
- Strong understanding of:
- Manufacturing constraints (BOMs, capacity, lead times)
- Multi-site and multi-echelon supply networks
- Comfortable operating in ambiguity and defining structure
Customer & Communication Skills- Strong customer-facing presence:
- Can lead discovery and challenge assumptions
- Can engage both practitioners and executives
- Clear written and verbal communication across abstraction levels
AI / Modern Product Mindset- Comfortable using AI tools to accelerate product work (research, prototyping, specification)
- Interested in applying AI to redefine planning workflows (not just feature delivery)
Ways of Working- Strong cross-functional collaboration without authority
- Outcome-oriented and data-driven
- Hands-on and execution-focused
Success MetricsSuccess will be measured by:
- Adoption: Increased usage of manufacturing solutions across customers
- Reusability: Standard templates adopted across implementations
- Time-to-value: Faster deployment and realization of customer outcomes
- Business impact: Contribution to win rates, expansion, and customer value
- Customer outcomes: Improvements in service levels, inventory, and planning efficiency
