Manager- Product Management USA

First Solar reserves the right to offer you a role most applicable to your experience and skillset.

Basic Job Functions:

• As part of the Global Product Management team, the Manager - Product Management will lead the PV module products life cycles.
• The candidate develops and promotes a competitive product roadmap through deep customer relations, understanding of the market trends, and definition of product requirements.
• Primary Relationships (Internal): Research and Development, Sales & Operations, Business Development, Marketing, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality & Reliability, Performance and Prediction, Legal, Global Customer Support Services.
• Primary Relationships (External): Customers, Independent Engineers, Laboratories, Industry Working Groups, Regulatory Authorities.

Education/Experience:

• Education: An undergraduate degree in engineering is required. A Master of Science and/or MBA is preferred.
• Professional Experience: Minimum ten (10) years of professional experience including minimum three (3) years in a leadership role. Experience in a rapidly growing, publicly traded organization is preferred.
• Functional Experience: Minimum five (5) years of product management experience that includes a total system application scope with demonstrated leadership alignment and successful product outcomes as direct result of candidate's product management contributions.
• Industry Experience: Ideally the candidate should have a background in the Solar Industry with designated experience from companies that are known for their exceptional product management skills in the industry. Other relevant sectors include renewable energy and the high-tech sector.

Required Skills/Competencies:

• Accountability: Takes responsibility for one's actions, doesn't point fingers, and delivers results aligned with organizational goals. Strives for excellence daily and trusts others to do the same. Demonstrates Commitment, Ownership, Resilience, and Continuous Learning, turning failures into lessons learned.
• Collaboration: Works with others to achieve a common goal with the possibility of producing an outcome greater than one that would be developed in silo. Leverages everyone's unique strengths and skills in an inclusive environment. Skilled at navigating the organization to get things done. Welcomes diverse thinking, open to different options, works to achieve optimal outcome for the business.
• Strategic Thinking: Has a strategic mindset, identifies upcoming trends, opportunities and risks, and crafts effective strategies to meet both short-term and long-term objectives. Creates and operationalizes strategic plans to achieve goals that align with FSLR and function's vision, mission, and values. Adapts approach/plans to account for changes in the business environment.
• Understanding the Competitive Landscape: Comprehends organizational standing relative to competitors, leverages industry knowledge for competitive advantage.
• Business Partnership: Works closely with stakeholders across the organization to achieve business objectives. Acts as a connector, linking their function with other business partners to ensure that technical or functional expertise is applied to the real and current needs of the business, thereby creating value.
• Agility: Constantly evolves to capitalize on emerging opportunities in a rapidly changing environment, maintaining focus on tasks at hand. Is intellectually curious about surrounding changes and seeks to understand potential future shifts.
• Customer Knowledge: Understands the needs, preferences, and expectations of customers to provide a tailored and personalized service. Create strategies to help the organization serve customers more effectively. Stays up to date on industry trends and changes to better understand customers and their needs.
• Effective Communication Skills: Clearly articulates ideas, thoughts, and information to different audiences. Identifies and utilizes effective communication channels and methods. Tailors message to the level and experience of the audience. Maintains timely and consistent communication based on the needs of the project, goal, team, or individual.
• Software: Proficient in Power BI and AI tools. Proficient use of all Microsoft Office suite programs.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Lead team of Product Engineer(s) and Intern(s) and drive cross-functional alignment with Primary Relationship groups on module product impactful changes and new product launches.
• Lead development and implementation of PV global module product roadmap to maximize profitability and competitiveness through in-depth comprehension of technical, business, and market factors.
• Monitor and engage with tens of projects simultaneously, while further applying perspective of tens of strategic, commercial, market and technology trends to influence those projects, requirements, and deliverables to achieve profitable outcomes.
• Lead definition of module product requirements and advocating customer needs are met. Oversee any new module products by direct interaction and influence with other product leaders to deliver an integrated product solution strategy.
• Maximize market adoption of new/improved products via product/sales collateral development, consultation and channel support by defining value proposition and competitive differentiation, along with the collateral and communication to execute market launch.
• Maximize product value during active service life while minimizing operations and warranty risks.
• Manage/drive continuous improvement initiatives to support product scale.
• Develop and manage product obsolescence strategies.
• Manage the development and approval of module product warranty deliverables in alignment with targeted buyer segment strategies, emerging market requirements, business objectives and corporate risk profiles. Maintain failure and warranty costing models.
• Manage module product warranty continuous risk management roadmap and lead cross functional initiatives to improve the utilization of risk dollars through avoidance, mitigation and transference of risk.
• Develop standardized module product warranty agreement terms and constructs, negotiation playbooks, sales collateral and training materials.
• Lead cross functional team in the development of select global module product warranty & guarantee product plans and evaluation of warranty & guarantee risk exposure.
• Contributes strategic insight to development and refinement of new market or segment development, technology advances and product roadmaps.
• Develop organizational consensus on strategic technical issues, positions, and policies by managing complex, cross-functional, and global initiatives and indirect teams.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Job description subject to change at any time.

Reporting Relationships:

• This position reports to the Director of Product Management and Technical Sales.
• This position will have direct reports.

Travel:

• 10% - 20%

Estimated Salary Range:

• $97,500-$139,000 Annually.

US Physical Requirements:

Office Physical Requirements:

All positions in our office require interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting. To best service our customers, internal and external, all associates must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone with or without reasonable accommodation. First Solar is committed to compliance with its obligations under all applicable state and federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. In keeping with this commitment, it attempts to reasonably accommodate applicants and employees in accordance with the requirements of the disability discrimination laws. It also invites individuals with disabilities to participate in a good faith, interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made without imposing an undue hardship.

Potential candidates will meet the education and experience requirements provided on the above job description and excel in completing the listed responsibilities for this role. All candidates receiving an offer of employment must successfully complete a background check and any other tests that may be required.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement: First Solar is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values and respects the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is the policy of the company to recruit, hire, train and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a driving force in the success of our company.