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Product Manager

Acting as the central decision-maker and advocate for the product, this role ensures that every initiative is grounded in customer insight, data, and operational feasibility—balancing innovation, cost, and quality to deliver products that strengthen LACO’s market leadership.

LOCATION

Elk Grove Village, IL

(Hybrid)

EMPLOYMENT TYPE

Full Time
(Non-Union Role)

What You’ll Do

Essential Duties:

The Product Manager serves as the CEO of their product, owning its strategy, execution, and success across its entire lifecycle. This position plays a critical role in managing the profitability, growth, and performance of assigned product line(s). Reporting to the Senior Manager of Product Development, the Product Manager is responsible for translating product strategy into actionable plans, managing daily execution, and driving cross-functional collaboration to deliver results. 

Product Management & Execution

  • Manage assigned product line(s) from concept to end-of-life.

  • Maintain roadmaps aligned with the corporate product strategy.

  • Oversee feature definition, specification, and prioritization through effective backlog management.
     

New Product Development (NPD)

  • Lead and manage new product development initiatives through a full product lifecycle — from ideation and business case creation to launch and post-launch evaluation.

  • Coordinate cross-functional teams (Engineering, Operations, Sales, and Marketing) to ensure timelines, budgets, and deliverables are met.

  • Apply strong project management skills to drive accountability, risk mitigation, and milestone achievement.

  • Participate in Voice of Customer (VOC) activities to validate needs and guide innovation.

  • Support go-to-market planning and launch readiness, ensuring smooth transitions from development to commercialization.
     

Market Research & VOC (Voice of Customer)

  • Conduct market, customer, and competitive research to support product planning.

  • Translate insights into business cases and product requirements.

  • Participate in customer calls and trade events to identify trends and opportunities.
    ​

Product Performance, Profitability & Lifecycle Management

  • Manage product line cost structure, COGS, and pricing to sustain profitability.

  • Track key performance indicators (sales, margin, vitality index, warranty/return rates, and customer satisfaction).

  • Analyze product performance to identify improvement opportunities and corrective actions.

  • Recommend lifecycle actions—refresh, extension, or retirement—based on data and market insights.

  • Collaborating with Marketing and Sales on promotions and special programs.

  • Collaborate with Finance and Operations to optimize pricing, margin improvement, and cost reduction initiatives.

  • Partner with Sales and Supply Chain to align demand planning, forecasting, and inventory efficiency.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

  • Work with Engineering, Operations, Sales, and Marketing to deliver on-time, on-budget product releases.

  • Partner with Marketing to define go-to-market strategies and sales enablement content.

  • Ensure alignment with Supply Chain for production planning and launch readiness.

  • Provide remedial action to underperforming product lines. Collaborating with Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Ops may be necessary depending on the remedial actions determined.

Qualifications

Experience

  • Minimum of 5 years of experience in product management or development in a manufacturing or industrial environment.

  • Experience with cross-functional collaboration and data-driven product decision-making required.

  • Strong project management skills required to manage New Product Development (NPD) from concept to commercialization.

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Education

  • Bachelor's degree in business, Engineering, Marketing, or related discipline.

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Technical

  • Knowledge and experience in Microsoft Office Suite software. Experience in utilizing CRM

  • system.

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Certifications

  • Project Management certification is preferred.
    ​

Normal office environment. 25%- 40% of domestic and global travel is required for in-market product and consumer research, strategic meetings, and supplier visits. This position performs work duties both in a typical office and manufacturing floor environment. Exposure to moderate noise levels. Routine presence of hazardous materials that may require proper safeguards, procedures, and personal protective equipment
 

Salary Range:

  •  $98-$120k

Job Benefits

  • Insurance

    • Health Coverage​

    • Company paid life insurance

    • Company paid AD&D

    • Company paid short term disability

    • Voluntary Dental

    • Vision
       

  • Earnings Growth

    • Competitive Salary​

    • Annual Increases

    • Direct Deposit

    • Scholarship opportunities for college enrolled children of employees
       

  • Recognition & Engagement​

    • Holiday Events

    • Team-building events

  • Holidays & PTO

    • Vacation Time​

    • Holiday Pay

    • Personal Days

    • Paid maternity leave

    • Bereavement leave
       

  • Retirement Planning​

    • 401(k) match​
       

  • Training & Development

    • Safety Training

    • Leadership Training

    • Continued education opportunities​​
       

  • Wellness

    • Employer-paid employee assistance program

    • Healthy meals (COOKED)
      (Employer-paid discount)​​

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