Product Manager
Company: Pivotal Systems
Department: Product Management / Customer Solutions
Reports to: [VP of Product / Chief Product Officer / VP of Operations]
Location: Fremont, CA
Travel: Up to 25-30% domestic and international
Employment Type: Full-time, Exempt
Position Summary
Pivotal Systems is seeking a Product Owner for our Gas Flow Controllers to serve as the voice of the customer and technical owner of the product throughout its lifecycle.
This role will work directly with customers to define product requirements, technical specifications, and roadmap priorities while partnering with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Service, and Sales to ensure successful product development, release, field performance, and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary product contact for key customers and translate customer needs into product requirements and roadmap priorities.
- Define and maintain technical specifications, product requirements, acceptance criteria, and customer-specific configurations.
- Manage the product backlog and prioritize development based on customer needs, platform strategy, cost, and engineering capacity.
- Represent the customer in design reviews, prototype evaluations, qualification activities, and product release decisions.
- Lead product lifecycle activities from concept and NPI through release, revision, obsolescence, and end-of-life.
- Own the customer-facing response to field issues, including escalation, containment, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and closure.
- Partner with Engineering and Quality on 8D, FMEA, failure analysis, and corrective actions.
- Drive customer and field feedback into global factories through ECR/ECO, BOM, revision, work instruction, and test procedure changes.
- Work with Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to ensure consistent product performance across global sites and contract manufacturers.
- Track product performance, customer satisfaction, cost, margin, quality, and roadmap status.
- Support Sales and account teams with technical presentations, proposals, and customer discussions.
- Align cross-functional teams across R&D, Operations, Quality, Service, Supply Chain, Sales, and global manufacturing.
Required Qualifications
- BS in Engineering, Physics, or related technical field; MS or MBA preferred.
- 8+ years of experience in product management, product ownership, applications engineering, or customer-facing technical roles for hardware or electromechanical products.
- 3+ years of experience owning a product line, roadmap, or major product platform.
- Proven experience defining technical requirements and specifications directly with customers.
- Experience taking hardware products from concept through release and managing the full product lifecycle.
- Experience managing field issues and driving root-cause and corrective action using 8D and FMEA.
- Working knowledge of NPI, ECR/ECO, BOMs, configuration control, and revision management.
- Experience working with global factories or contract manufacturers.
- Strong technical knowledge of instrumentation, sensors, electromechanical systems, fluid control, or pressure control.
- Strong customer communication, technical writing, presentation, and cross-functional leadership skills.
- Ability to travel domestically and internationally.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in semiconductor capital equipment, subsystems, or other high-precision products.
- Familiarity with gas delivery, flow control, mass flow measurement, or verification systems.
- Experience working directly with semiconductor fabs, OEMs, or subsystem customers.
- Knowledge of SEMI standards and ISO 9001.
- Experience with product tools such as Jira, Aha! or Product board.
- Experience with PLM/ERP and CRM systems, such as Arena, Agile, Windchill, SAP, or Salesforce.
- Experience with product pricing, cost targets, and profitability.
- CSPO, Pragmatic Institute, Lean/Six Sigma, or PMP certification is a plus.
Key Competencies
Customer focus, technical depth, product ownership, structured problem solving, commercial awareness, clear communication, and cross-functional leadership.
Compensation and Benefits
[Base salary range] plus [bonus/equity]. Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k), paid time off, and additional company benefits.
