What does a Product Line Manager do?
Product line managers maintain a portfolio of all the products and product lines built by the company as they create, track, and monitor all the products within all its existing product lines. They provide product and market intelligence to companies with a clear objective of increasing market share. They define the product, pricing, positioning, and promotion strategies, and provide competitive analysis, including analyzing data, market trends, identifying market opportunities, advising on pricing and promotional decisions, alongside recommendations and guidance.
Product line managers act as customer advocates and customer voices and fully understand the aspects of a customer’s business and capture and articulate any relevant market problems to translate them into market requirements for product management. They monitor the creation and development of new products, perform ongoing market research while tracking customer satisfaction, and participate in the product decision-making process and measurement of product success. Product line managers need a bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or related fields.
- Assist management in planning of long or short-term department objectives.
- Work closely with customers and internal stakeholders to define product strategy.
- Delegate tasks to machine operators and follow-up to ensure completion.
- Research customer product requirements, competitive offerings, and product gaps to determine market needs for new products.
- Ensure packaging runs adhere to the schedule and are completed on time.
- Manage risks during the execution of product rationalization and new product launches.
- Support teams with market launch and product training packages (internal and external).
- Ongoing hiring, mentoring and development of the team which includes recruiting, hiring, and training new members
- Ensure client, family and external stakeholders' satisfaction with services.
- Provide leadership on go-to-market and launch efforts.
- Monitor and make corrections to stay within the department operating budget targets.
- Provide guidance, support and developmental needs so the team and organization are successful.
- Plan for maintenance of equipment and facilities to maximize the uptime and utilization of capital equipment assets.
- Ensure the enhancement of business development and continuous improvement of care center efficiencies and fiscal success.
- Analyze portfolio performance, including revenue, profitability, volume, price and quality and converts analysis into insights, actions and a product line strategy.
- Develop the necessary business cases, pricing strategies and discounting guidelines that support product development and positioning in the target markets.
- Participate in seminars and classes for skill and knowledge development.
- Communicate plans to management and sales organization and assist with prospecting these new combinations.
- Bachelor's or Graduate's Degree in business, computer engineering, computer science or engineering, or equivalent experience.
- Experience with SaaS, R Language, PLM, UI Design, Agile, and VMWare Cloud software and systems.
- Experience with Cloud and algorithm design programming.
- Can prioritize tasks and will strive for continuous improvement.
- Demonstrated business acumen and leadership capabilities.
- Comfortable leading and decision making.
- Is a natural collaborator.
- Prior experience as a consultant.
Product Line Manager Salaries
Average Base Pay
Product Line Manager Career Path
Learn how to become a Product Line Manager, what skills and education you need to succeed, and what level of pay to expect at each step on your career path.
Average Years of Experience
Product Line Manager Insights
Juniper Networks“4. compensation is fair and even better than average (in my case)”
US Coast Guard“Not flexible in terms of career path”
Lockheed Martin“Good opportunities to change career paths based on interests”
JELD-WEN“Great people to work with”
Electrolux“Good work life balance overall”
EdgeVerve Systems“Good people to work with”
Ericsson-Worldwide“supports good work life balance”
“Employee are great to work with”
Frequently asked questions about the role and responsibilities of a Product Line Manager
- Product Marketing Manager
- Product Manager
- Digital Marketing
- Marketing Manager
The most common qualifications to become a Product Line Manager is a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree and an average of 0 - 1 of experience not including years spent in education and/or training.