Harman

About the Role

As a Harman Car Audio Business Lead, you will join the Car Audio Business Unit within the Automotive Division at HARMAN International. You will partner with a team dedicated to defining, designing, and developing emerging sound system architectures, products, and experiences.  

You will work in a fast-paced environment, in conjunction with Harman’s innovation and technology team, research and UX design team, and our world-class Engineering, Purchasing, Sales, and Marketing teams.  Based on emerging market needs and consumer behaviors, you will define the overall product strategy, families, roadmaps, business model, development, and launch plans for a future generation of Harman-branded sound systems, based on an entirely new system approach and architecture.  You will use these outcomes to manage component-level product managers and delivery leads in their roles defining and delivering on component product strategies and roadmaps for our global markets.

Your Team

You will grow and directly manage a ~50+ member Product Management Scope Team + New Product/Platform Engineering Delivery team over the next 18 months, responsible for delivering this new product to market.  You and your team will also be expected to lead with influence and work with additional cross-functional team members drawn from all relevant functions within the business in a matrix organization.  This team will be empowered and aligned around company objectives. Excellent communication and leadership skills will be key to success.

In the Business Lead Role, you will be responsible for consumer-centric, OEM partner-empathic, new system definition and roadmaps, which will service our entire car global audio portfolio. You will be required to create compelling and differentiated system propositions based on product fit:  market needs, consumer segments, customer fit, and technical feasibility; aligned to co-developed component product strategies and roadmaps, while ensuring system performance delivery via the overall and component product roadmaps, from ideation to end of life.  You will cultivate and nurture ongoing product maturation and fit new technologies, architectures, consumer demands, and customer requirements, to keep our house of brands, branded systems, and non-branded business relevant, desirable, and profitable now and in the future.  You will develop and maintain a business view ensuring target profitability for these new systems. 

This position will require a close partnership with HARMAN customer groups. With a focus on being the voice of the customer, you will be responsible for anticipating market needs and ensuring requirements are fed into the global management framework. You will play a key role in crafting and supporting customer pitches and partner relationship management. Both Global and Regional insights will be critical in driving success. The successful candidate will be highly organized and skilled at inspiring and driving their team, prioritizing activities to meet deadlines, and removing noise to effectively communicate with executive management.

What You Will Do

• Identify gaps and generate new ideas contributing to improved consumer experience while addressing OEM partner pain points and needs, meeting Harman's business goals, and maturing our brand promises.

• Find and define OEM-winning system, product, and brand value proposition opportunities that differentiate HARMAN from our competitors and increase revenue and margins.

• Define and translate Proofs of Concept, consumer insights, customer feedback, and technology roadmaps into cohesive branded system definitions and support component productization, marketing, and partnership work streams, with a rolling 2-3-year iterative product roadmap and release calendar

• Manage structured review of branded system concepts with the objectives defined by the 2-3-year plan. Adapt to and manage change as a key strategic direction of the company, and respond rapidly to market opportunities that arise.

• Deliver overarching system and individually branded system-level MRD and PRDs with prioritized features and corresponding justification

• Translate product strategy into detailed requirements and prototypes

• Work closely with engineering teams to deliver quick time-to-market and optimal resources

• Analyze appropriate market data and extract technology, system architecture, and product trends for Harman, and define necessary system requirements including performance, content, features/products, pricing, and SOP timing.

• Leverage technologies within and outside of HARMAN to develop lasting and winning relationships to benefit the unique nature of the diverse HARMAN business.

• Develop the core value proposition, brand and system positioning, and messaging for the Harman house of branded systems, the individual branded systems used by our OEM partners, and those targeted for new pursuits.

• Identify the Go-To-Market strategies for all branded audio systems (10-15 individual brand activations at major OEMs)

• Create buy-in for the branded system vision, both internally and with key external partners

• Drive branded system early development (ideation, MRD/PRD, PoC, pre-RFQ, pre-development)

• Support pursuits and RFQs, product development, and launch, including working with engineering, marketing, public relations team, executives, and other product management team members

• Develop sales tools and collateral, leveraging our marketing teams

• Brief and train the sales force at quarterly sales meetings and dedicated training sessions

• Define branded system cost targets in cooperation with the customer groups and component product management colleagues

• Recommend list pricing, with accompanying competitive and margin analysis (high-level business case generation in cooperation with our finance teams)

What You Need

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, or Business Degree with practical sound domain experience.

• 10+ years of sound system hardware and software architecture, design, and development experience

• 10 + years of product management experience. Demonstrated success with B2B or B2B2C products

• 3+ years of automotive experience and agile-based technology development/delivery experience.

• 3+ years of wearable and connectivity module architecture and product development experience.

• Demonstrated success or strong demonstrated aptitude for meshing multiple information streams (B2B customer voice, consumer insights, internal business targets, and new technologies into distinct brand promises), into system-level strategies and proposals, while leveraging underlying platform or business efficiencies.

• Knowledge and curiosity to stay abreast of market trends across industries

• Strong customer orientation through credibility with the customer as a trusted, collaborative, and productive partner.

• Experience working in a matrix, global, cross-functional organization by collaborating with key stakeholders in sales, product operations, marketing, and engineering.

• Proven record of developing product and marketing strategies and effectively communicating recommendations to senior leadership

• Solid technical background and hands-on experience in software development. Automotive experience is an advantage

• Appreciation for UX and design

What is Nice to Have

• Master’s Degree in Engineering, Business Administration

• Entrepreneurial experience

• 3+ years of experience working in the sound software domain (voice, audio, noise management).

• Senior Pre-Sales or Business development experience

• Experience with branded audio system design, definition, and development

What Makes You Eligible

• Be willing to travel up to 50%, domestic and international travel

• Be willing to work in an office in the Novi, MI office (up to 25% domestic and international travel). 

• Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment

What We Offer

• Access to employee discounts on world-class HARMAN/Samsung products (JBL, Harman Kardon, AKG, etc.)

• An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages career development opportunities

• Flexible work schedule with a culture encouraging work-life integration and collaboration in a global environment

• On-site opportunities to focus on personal well-being and development such as on-site café, fitness center, weekly massage, fitness classes, and other onsite events promoted by our Employee resource groups

• Professional development opportunities through HARMAN University’s business and leadership academies

• Internal talent management leadership acceleration programs

• “Be Brilliant” employee recognition and rewards program

• Scholarship programs for employee family members