Director, Product Management

Velan is a global leader in the design and manufacture of industrial valves. Founded in Montreal, the company is recognized for the quality of its products, its technical expertise, and its human and collaborative corporate culture.The Director, Product Management owns the “what and why” of Velan’s engineered product portfolio: which products we make, for which markets, at what price structure, and when we stop making them. The role turns 75 years of accumulated product breadth into a focused core of products that Velan can sell and manufacture profitably, while protecting Velan’s premium position in nuclear, power, severe service, defense/navy and MRO/aftermarket against low-cost competition.This is a portfolio-strategy role with a clear mandate: rationalize, sharpen value-based positioning, and make product economics a leading input to roadmap, engineering and commercial decisions. The Director leads the line-level Product Managers and works through influence with Engineering, Commercial, Quality, Operations and the regional business units.What We Offer
In addition to meaningful work that matches your ambitions and provides diverse learning opportunities, joining
Velan
means becoming part of a passionate team and enjoying exceptional working conditions:Competitive salary and bonus programEmployer contribution of 5% to a retirement savings planCompetitive vacation policyPaid holiday shutdown during the Christmas seasonReimbursement of professional association membership feesAnnual gym membership reimbursement and other wellness initiativesFree on-site parkingCompany events (health, family, sports, etc.)Fast-track career growth and professional development opportunitiesResponsibilities
Lead a systematic rationalization of the catalog: SKU consolidation, good/better/best tiering, standardization of designs and variants, and cannibalization risk assessment, concentrating volume and engineering and manufacturing effort on a focused coreOwn product line lifecycle decisions (introduction, sustaining investment, value engineering, end-of-life/retirement) using a transparent, fact-based framework: margin contribution, strategic fit, installed-base obligations, manufacturing complexity and certification burdenDefine and prioritize the product roadmap by vertical (Nuclear, Power, Severe Service, Navy/Defense, Oil & Gas/Refining/Petrochemical, Mining, MRO/Distribution), balancing growth, engineering capacity and marginSet pricing structure for each product line: value-based pricing that quantifies total cost of ownership and the reliability premium, list-price architecture, tiering logic, and aftermarket parts pricing guardrailsPartner with Commercial, which owns price integrity within pricing systems, customer discount structures and deal-level pricing, to ensure the architecture is applied consistently in marketPartner with Engineering, Procurement and Finance on design-to-cost and value engineering;
use cost models and win/loss data to target products where Velan is uncompetitive on costTrack realized margin against architecture and feed leakage and competitiveness findings back into the roadmapRun competitive intelligence and win/loss analysis by vertical and region, with particular attention to low-cost competitors;
translate findings intoroadmap, positioning and pricing inputsMaintain market size, growth and share views for each key target market, and a rolling multi-year view of where each product line should playBring voice-of-customer and installed-base insight (upgrade, retrofit, spares) into the roadmap with Commercial and AftermarketPositioning & Go-to-Market Input
Own product positioning and value propositions across the portfolio;
Commercial’s marketing function owns marketing communications, brochures and campaign execution, with the Director ensuring technical content is accurate and on-strategySupport product launches with positioning, technical substantiation and sales enablement inputs;
Commercial leads executionDevelopment Pipeline & Cross-Functional Integration
Receive validated opportunities from Innovation & Technology and take commercial ownership: business case, roadmap placement and launch readiness, within the stage-gate process owned by the Manager, Product Development ProcessDefine requirements and manage cost/performance/certification trade-offs with the VP, Engineering;
align roadmap priorities with engineering capacityCollaborate with Global Quality on design-for-quality, qualification and certification impacts of portfolio changesCollaborate with the Program Manager, PLM so product data, configuration and variants support rationalization and the new PLM platformWork with regional BU leaders on regional product offerings and local-for-local requirements (e.G., India, China, EMEA, KSA localization)Lead, develop and set priorities for the Product Managers (by vertical or product line) and the product analyst;
establish consistent practices for roadmaps, business cases and portfolio reviewsBuild a Product Management function that is technically credible with Engineering and commercially credible with SalesQualifications
10+ years in product management, strategy or related commercial/technical roles, with at least 5 years in a leadership role, ideally in industrial or engineered capital equipment (valves, flow control or similar)Demonstrated success leading portfolio rationalization, SKU reduction or product line simplification, with measurable margin and complexity outcomesStrong pricing and margin analytics background;
experience building value-based pricing and TCO arguments for premium products against low-cost competitorsExperience in highly customized, engineered-to-order environments with large variant countsFamiliarity with regulated or certified markets (nuclear, defense, ASME/API-governed products) strongly preferredProven ability to influence without line authority across Engineering, Commercial, Quality and Operations in a global matrixComfort with data, cost models and emerging AI/digital toolsEngineering or technical degree required;
MBA or equivalent business credential an assetBilingual (English/French) an asset;
additional languages value dIf you recognize yourself in this profile and are excited about this opportunity, we would be delighted to learn more about you!
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