Job Description
Lowe’s Innovation Labs is what’s next for home improvement retail. With a focus on emerging technologies –ranging from 3D visualization to mixed reality to robotics to things we can’t talk about right now – our team accelerates the experiences that customers expect today and develops the capabilities that power tomorrow.
We are seeking a Lead Product Manager to lead large, highly complex products; experience with emerging technologies such as AR, VR, and robotics is highly preferred.
Job Summary
The Lead Product Manager owns the vision and strategy, roadmap, and feature definition for large, cross-functional and/or highly complex products that often span multiple product groups. Responsibilities include defining the roadmap as well as planning and managing products and product features through the product development process. This role manages the product backlogs for one or more product groups while prioritizing work and making product-related decisions based on the needs and expectations of customers and stakeholders. The individual in this role identifies and manages projects with a high level of autonomy. He/she manages multiple product designs at any given time while partnering closely with the business to understand pain points and develop the go-to-market strategy.
Key Responsibilities
- Defines multiple large, cross-functional and/or highly complex products, often spanning multiple product groups, and identifies gaps and customer needs by creating vision, strategy and requirements documents for products; utilizing available studies (market research, internal) and competitive analysis to identify customer needs; performing experiments to uncover additional customer value; and partnering with the business to define product roadmaps and to establish the product vision
- Develops and manages the product roadmap, demonstrating expertise at the product group level, building partnerships with relevant stakeholder teams, and making trade-off decisions for multiple products or product groups
- Leads the product planning process across one or more product groups by overseeing the development of requirements documents (user stories with acceptance criteria, use cases) for products or product releases; working closely with UX to oversee the design of the user experience across product group(s); monitoring release goals, prioritization, implementation, and iteration plans for one more product groups; and resolving problems that are escalated
- Leads the development process by reviewing demos with the technology team and validating acceptance criteria for all products in product group(s); and reviewing the development work and resolving escalated issues and bugs across one or more product groups
- Leads large, highly complex product launches by working with relevant stakeholders to develop launch and go-to-market plans, reviewing and resolving issues and blockers in partnership with team members that may delay the launch or impede the success of product(s)
- Manages scaled launches, sometimes of multiple complex products, in collaboration with leadership
- Tracks and reports on product launch metrics, utilizing feedback to drive associated actions and product iteration; contributes to post-launch reviews and drives incorporation of feedback in future product releases
- Represents team in product group-level discussions with internal and external stakeholders; uses data analysis to address complex and ambiguous problems that often involve multiple stakeholder teams and span products or product groups
- Works with relevant internal and external stakeholders to identify and prioritize customer issues and customer experience gaps across one or more product groups; uses findings to determine short and medium-term risk and opportunities for the product group(s) and drive further customer adoption
- Provides coaching and guidance to more junior level product management team members
- Identifies new and innovative methods and metrics for tracking product success, including customer adoption and satisfaction
- Works with cross-functional leaders and experts to establish best practices and identify opportunities to improve the product development and delivery process
- Uses analytics to monitor product KPIs and ensure success metrics are being met; identifies opportunities for testing and product/product group enhancements based on results
- Attends business reviews, providing critical input and expert insight into to inform the development of new products
- Maintains a prioritized product backlog based on defined business value, aligning with Product Strategy and resource capacity; uses data and analytics to prioritize the product backlog appropriately
- Reviews and approves large requirements (Epics) based on product strategy
- Aligns efforts across product teams/product groups, prioritizing as necessary, and driving/facilitating execution to maintain focus and appropriate momentum
- Builds and leverages solid working relationships with business and product stakeholders, other Product Managers, user experience and technology teams to facilitate successful product implementation
- Provides direction to cross-functional teams, including engineering teams and business functions, communicating the product/product group roadmap and keeping everyone informed of updates
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Engineering, Communications, or related field
- 7 years of experience in two or more of the following: project management, product management, business analysis, program management or product marketing
- 5 years of experience in product and/or experience management
- Strong writing ability
- Experience in an agile software environment
- Experience working cross-functionally in a large organization
- Experience working closely with senior leadership
- Experience translating data into quantifiable actions/deliverables
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree in Business Administration or similar advanced degree
- CSPO Certification
- Experience collaborating closely with senior leadership
- Experience providing guidance and direction to cross-functional resources
About Lowe’s
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a FORTUNE® 50 home improvement company serving approximately 20 million customers a week in the United States and Canada. With fiscal year 2020 sales of nearly $90 billion, Lowe’s and its related businesses operate or service more than 2,200 home improvement and hardware stores and employ over 300,000 associates. Based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s supports the communities it serves through programs focused on creating safe, affordable housing and helping to develop the next generation of skilled trade experts. For more information, visit Lowes.com.
About Lowe’s In The Community
As a FORTUNE® 50 home improvement company, Lowe’s is committed to creating safe, affordable housing and helping to develop the next generation of skilled trade experts through nonprofit partnerships. Across every community we serve, Lowe’s associates donate their time and expertise through the Lowe’s Heroes volunteer program. For the latest news, visit Newsroom.Lowes.com or follow @LowesMedia on Twitter.