Head of Product Management

Head of Product Management

Location:Birmingham Alabama
Reports to:President Autocar
Product Platform:Autocar DC-64 Severe-Service Conventional Truck

Who is Autocar

Autocar LLC a manufacturer of severe-duty vocational trucks carrying the first specialized truck brand in North America is the only American-owned and operated original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of trucks. Autocars severe-duty vocational trucks provide customers with the perfect tool for their jobs with the most uptime support and impact on their bottom line. Autocar collaborates with customers to build trucks to their exact specifications and needs. Autocar promises to provide trucks that deliver the best value provide the best service and provide a complete solution for customers needs.

The Mission

The Head of Product Management will own the process and will be Autocars senior authority on how customers use severe-service conventional trucks in concrete construction dump roll-off logging and other demanding applications for the DC-64 conventional platform. They will identify the problems customers face determine which problems Autocar should solve and translate those needs into measurable product requirements optimize vehicle specifications body-integration standards and a multiyear product roadmap. Engineering owns how the solution is designed validated and released. The objective is clear: make every Autocar DC-64 the best tool for the customers specific job and the strongest total-cost-of-ownership choice in its application.

What You Will Own

Understand the Customers Work

Spend substantial time where the trucks actually operate. Ride with drivers observe loading and unloading visit jobsites landfills quarries concrete operations and maintenance facilities and work directly with fleet managers technicians body manufacturers and equipment suppliers.

Develop a fact-based understanding of:

• What work the customer needs the truck to perform
• How the truck body driver and operation interact
• Duty cycle payload terrain speed idle time and PTO usage
• Productivity constraints and operating inefficiencies
• Define application architectures
• Failure points maintenance requirements and causes of downtime
• Driver visibility ergonomics and safety risks
• Body equipment chassis electrical and control integration
• The economic consequences of the current problems
• Identify the underlying operational problem and determine the best scalable solution.

Define the Right Truck for Each Application

Create clear product definitions for each priority vocation and major application and translate customer operating requirements.

• Proven component and configuration rules
• Reusable engineering solutions
• Standard body-integration interfaces
• Intelligent specification methodologies
• Approved application-specific configurations
• Clear boundaries for when a unique customer requirement justifies new engineering
• Convert customer and engineering knowledge into repeatable tools and institutional knowledge that improve speed quality margin and product performance.

Own Customer TCO and Product Value

Determine how the DC-64 can improve the customers economics through:

• Higher productive hours
• Greater payload or work completed per shift
• Reduced unplanned downtime
• Faster diagnosis and repair
• Lower maintenance and operating costs
• Improved fuel efficiency
• Longer vehicle life
• Better body and chassis integration
• Improved driver productivity and retention
• Reduced accident and safety exposure
• Stronger residual value

Partner with Finance Sales Service and Engineering to build credible TCO payback and return-on-investment models.

Ensure that Autocar can demonstrate why a truck with a higher acquisition price may produce a lower operating cost and greater economic return over its working life.

Own Competitive Application Intelligence

Establish objective application-level comparisons against Mack Peterbilt Kenworth Freightliner Western Star International Volvo and other relevant competitors.

Go beyond published specifications.

Translate competitive findings into product requirements investment priorities sales tools and differentiated customer value propositions.

Set the DC-64 Product Roadmap

Own the rolling three-to-five-year product-definition roadmap for the DC-64.

Prioritize product investments based on:

Recommend where Autocar should invest what should be improved and what should not be pursued.

Close the Loop Between the Field and the Product

Required Experience

• At least 10 years of relevant experience in Class 8 vocational trucks vocational equipment off-highway equipment major truck bodies or closely related severe-service equipment.
• Deep practical knowledge of at least one major vocational-truck application.
• Experience working directly with fleets drivers technicians body manufacturers and equipment suppliers.
• Demonstrated ability to translate customer applications and operating problems into vehicle or equipment requirements.
• Strong working knowledge of chassis powertrain axles suspension braking steering electrical systems controls and body integration.
• Ability to understand customer operating economics and quantify TCO productivity uptime and return on investment.
• Sufficient technical credibility to challenge Engineering and sufficient commercial judgment to challenge Sales.
• Experience influencing cross-functional decisions involving Engineering Operations Quality Supply Chain Sales Service and Finance.
• Willingness to spend significant time with customers and trucks in actual operating environments.
• Willingness to relocate to Birmingham Alabama. Relocation assistance will be provided.

Preferred Background

Candidates may come from:

• A Class 8 truck OEM
• A vocational body or equipment manufacturer
• A large and technically sophisticated vocational fleet
• A construction mining agricultural or off-highway equipment manufacturer
• A vocational application-engineering or vehicle-integration organization

Equal Employment Opportunity:
Autocaris an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion sex national origin disability or any other characteristic protected by law.

Reasonable Accommodations (ADA Compliance):

Autocar complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Employees who require assistance or accommodations should contact Human Resources.