Product Manager - Automation
Harpak-ULMA Packaging
Taunton, MA
Job Title: Product Manager – Automation Location: Hybrid 3 Day Onsite, Taunton, MA Summary Own the automation systems product line—with a clear goal: profitable growth and delighted customers. This is a customer-obsessed, technical + commercial role that shapes integrated solutions (robotics, feeding, inspection, packaging, palletizing) and wins business with Sales. Lead an AE team, define standard offers/pricing/roadmaps, and turn VOC into winning proposals. The automation line is a key enabler of complex integrated packaging systems across Harpak-ULMA’s vast packaging portfolio. After award, execute an orderly handoff to Project Management and remain a light-touch consultant for scope alignment—not responsible for delivery but always focused on customer and team success. This is a key strategic leadership role that will leverage Harpak-ULMA’s significant success and new investments in robotics labs, U.S. robot-cell manufacturing & integration, allowing customers to test concepts at production speeds and environments – and ultimately increase their velocity in automation adoption and ROI. Key Responsibilities Growth & Commercial Leadership: Qualify, shape, and price automation opportunities; set win strategy, value pricing, and margin targets; help close deals. Travel with sales, act as SME in technical meetings support key trade shows, innovate and solve customer challenges. Product-Line Ownership: Annual plan (roadmap, standard cells, price lists, attach-rate & margin targets); quarterly business reviews with ELT. Customer Advocacy: Lead discovery; convert VOC into layouts, ROI/TCO, risks, and crisp scope/exclusions and acceptance criteria. Solution Architecture: Configure integrated lines (robotic pick/place, feeders, MAP/flow/thermoform, Tray seal, V Bag, labeling, X-ray/MD, checkweigher, inspection, cartoning/case packing, conveyors/accumulation and palletizing). Reviewing and interpreting customer URS (User Requirements Specifications, often detailed and technical) Standardization & CPQ: Govern CPQ templates, option trees, BOM libraries, and cost models; drive reuse of cells/EOAT and handling modules. Demo/Lab: Curate ready-to-run demos in the robot labs; work with engineering, host customer trials to de-risk and accelerate decisions. Team Leadership: Lead and develop the AE team; refine and improve new AI enable workflows for speed and efficiency of customer solutions development, enforce proposal QA and costing discipline. Sales & Marketing Collaboration: Travel and support Sales team for key customer meetings. Provide content to Sales Enablement for Sales training. Collaborate with Marketing to set targets and campaign strategies, deliver industry speeches, whitepapers and webinars. Partner Strategy: Orchestrate factories/partners success; maintain competitive benchmarks; make buy/build/partner calls. Pipeline & Win-Loss: Inspect funnel, hit rate, and cycle time with Sales Ops; publish insights and strategies. Formal Handoff to PM: Deliver final scope/exclusions, layouts, BOM/quotes, risk register, and acceptance criteria. PM owns schedule, budget, FAT/SAT, delivery. Many projects can require longer transitions based on complexity. Technical Competencies
- Robotics & EOAT: High-speed delta/SCARA/6-axis pick-and-place, belt tracking, vision-guided picking; vacuum/fork/soft-grip/needle EOAT, quick-change, hygienic/IP design; pattern building & collation.
- Feeding & Handling: Bulk feeding/singulation (vibratory/centrifugal/flex), metering, lanes, orienters; tray denesting, pocket verify, accumulation, run-to-empty.
- Packaging Unit Ops: MAP tray sealing (vac/gas, dwell/temp), thermoforming/flow-wrap basics, changeovers; film/tray barrier & seal integrity; label/coding fundamentals.
- Inspection & Compliance: Vision presence/orientation, code/OCR/OCV; X-ray/metal detection principles, test regimes; checkweigher classing; reject/divert (bin-full, samples).
- Foundational Controls (working familiarity): PackML Level-1 concepts; reading/spec’ing simple interface lists (Ready/Run/Fault/Recipe/Reject).
- Tools: SolidWorks or AutoCAD for layouts; MS Office/365; CRM.
- BS in Mechanical/Electrical/Controls/Robotics (or equivalent).
- 7+ years in packaging/automation with proven pre-sales/proposal success and experience leading AEs or a small technical team.
- Strong communicator who translates design choices into business value/risk with compelling ROI and disciplined scope and customer expectation management.
- Commercial acumen and experience to drive growth and customer satisfaction.
- ~40% travel (customers, partner factories, trade shows).
- Core hours 8:00–5:00, flexible for customer calendars.
- Base + variable tied to bookings, margin, and proposal KPIs; full benefits.
Posted 2026-01-09
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