Primary Objective of PositionThe primary objective of the Product Activation Lead position is to help an integrated activation team translate growth hypotheses and early product concepts into focused, executable plans that generate customer, product, operational, and economic evidence before broader investment. Working closely with the Product Coordinator, Concept Build Lead, Production and Engineering teams, the position leads cross-functional activation efforts from concept definition through mockup, prototype, commercially committed validation builds, and transfer or closure. The role holds primary accountability for product intent, customer and use-case definition, learning priorities, configuration decisions, commercial validation, and the recommendation to scale, continue, modify, transfer, partner, hold, or stop. The team works collectively through customer, product, sourcing, build, quality, cost, and timing issues while maintaining clear ownership of decisions and deliverables. Key Areas of Responsibility- Translate growth hypotheses and early product concepts into clear customer, product, commercial, and learning objectives.
- Work as one integrated activation team with the Product Activation Lead, Product Coordinator, and Concept Build Lead, jointly resolving customer, product, sourcing, configuration, build, quality, cost, and timing issues while maintaining clear accountability for each role’s decisions and deliverables.
- Define the smallest useful physical and commercial proof required to resolve the most important customer, product, technical, operational, channel, or economic uncertainties.
- Lead customer discovery, jobs-to-be-done definition, use-case development, concept testing, product requirements, feature priorities, and configuration intent.
- Create and maintain the integrated activation plan, including scope, milestones, owners, dependencies, validation method, decision points, and stop criteria.
- Lead cross-functional execution across concept build, engineering, operations, supply chain, suppliers, finance, service, sales, dealers, customers, and external partners.
- Work with the Product Coordinator and Concept Build Lead to translate approved product decisions into controlled configurations, executable build packages, physical evidence, and cost visibility; resolve trade-offs collectively as new learning emerges.
- Collaborate with the Concept Build Lead and Product Coordinator throughout prototype and commercial-validation execution, ensuring that product intent, approved configuration, material readiness, build learning, and customer evidence remain connected.
- Lead ongoing product and configuration decisions during pre-sold commercial validation, incorporating customer feedback, quality findings, build learning, service implications, demand evidence, and economics into subsequent units.
- Review configuration, sourcing, material-readiness, and cost evidence provided by the Product Coordinator; resolve product trade-offs and priorities that affect the customer proposition or activation plan.
- Partner with Finance to develop product economics, track validation performance, and assess the conditions required for scale.
- Provide concise evidence-based recommendations for portfolio decisions, including whether to continue, modify, scale, transfer, partner, hold, or stop.
- Prepare the product, customer, commercial, and learning portions of the transfer package for opportunities moving into larger-scale production or another operating owner.
- Other responsibilities may be assigned based on business need.
Key Deliverables- Integrated activation and commercial-validation plan
- Customer, use-case, product-requirement, and learning brief
- Product definition and configuration intent
- Customer and stakeholder validation findings
- Product economics and scale assumptions
- Evidence package and portfolio recommendation
- Product and commercial transfer package
Knowledge & SkillsRequired- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Product Management, Product Development, Engineering, Business, Operations, or a related discipline.
- Experience leading complex physical-product development, commercialization, or cross-functional programs.
- Ability to convert ambiguity into clear product decisions, learning priorities, owners, and evidence requirements.
- Strong customer-discovery, product-definition, facilitation, communication, and decision-making skills.
- Working knowledge of manufacturing, suppliers, product economics, and product-development workflows.
- Ability to lead through influence in a matrixed environment.
Desired- Experience in RV, automotive, commercial vehicle, specialty vehicle, durable goods, advanced product development, or low-volume commercialization.
- Experience with prototypes, pilots, pre-sold validation builds, or new-business activation.
- UX research, rapid prototyping, product management, or program leadership experience.
Travel- Moderate travel in the United States to customers, dealers, suppliers, partners, build locations, validation activities, and industry events as required.
Role Orientation The Product Activation Lead is not a traditional scheduler, BOM owner, or conventional product planner assigned only to an established series. The Product Activation Lead, Product Coordinator, and Concept Build Lead operate as one integrated activation team, collectively working through ambiguity and resolving customer, product, sourcing, configuration, build, quality, cost, and timing issues. Within that shared work, the Product Activation Lead is primarily accountable for the customer problem, product intent, learning priorities, product trade-offs, and scale recommendation; the Product Coordinator is primarily accountable for configuration, BOM, sourcing, revision, and cost control; and the Concept Build Lead is primarily accountable for safe physical execution, build learning, and repeatability. The boundaries clarify accountability without creating handoffs that fragment the work. |
