Program Manager, Product Development

Skullcandy is seeking a process driven, team-oriented Program Manager to lead the development of market defining personal audio products at Skullcandy Inc.

The Program Manager will manage multiple projects depending on size and complexity including ODM/JDM and OEM NPIs (new product introductions) as well as minor product updates. The role will cover projects from ground up new product development to product feature development, revision of hardware or software updates and running changes.

The Program Manager's role at Skullcandy is to launch a product within scope, budget, schedule, and quality that will meet the business needs. The successful project manager has the ability to bring people and teams together to identify risks and the necessary tradeoffs to maintain program goals. While negotiating between all stakeholders in a spirit of partnership, as well as taking into account relevant team expertise, the ultimate goal is to deliver a product that will meet our business goals and delight our customers.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

OWNERSHIP: Own the development plan, schedule and budget for your assigned programs. Build and manage complete development programs from concept creation to mass production. Understand priorities and set clear plans to meet commitments. Create release dates and milestones in partnership with the Product Development team. Keep the team focused on meeting their commitments:

• Delivery of product programs to scope, quality, plan, and schedule.
• Budget management for product development and commercialization costs.
• Draw on professional experience of scheduling, risk and task tracking platforms (MS PROJECT, SMARTSHEETS, EXCEL, etc.) as well as content and engineering tracking systems (e.g. ARENA, JIRA, CONFLUENCE, SHAREPOINT, etc.) as needed.
• Work with teams to monitor and keep programs on track.
• Facilitate execution of product roadmap and schedule with Product Managers, Engineering, Industrial Design, Quality, MoB, and Factory Partners.
• Oversight, reporting, and management of all program work.
• Prioritization of tasks in program to achieve scope.
• Lead in Program/Launch Reviews.

LEADERSHIP: Know Skullcandy's strategic priorities and align the team to those priorities. Partner with engineering teams to deliver working solutions. Create strong execution plans to develop products and features that address stakeholder demands. Be able to lead both internal and external teams:

• Internally partner with Engineering Services, Industrial Design, Packaging, Quality, Sourcing, Supply Chain, Product Line Managers, and the Shenzhen Product Development team.
• Externally, partner with outside engineering contractors, testing services, factory vendors and tooling vendors.
• Work with stakeholders as partners to minimize friction and deliver on objectives.
• A bias towards action and strong leadership.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment where change and pivots to priorities will occur.
• Support supply chain strategy and execute commercial agreements.

COMMUNICATION: Communicate with stakeholders and partners to regularly update the business on program status, risks and support needed to be successful. Provide weekly status updates that communicate program status in terms of scope, schedule, and cost. Keep the team aligned at all times. Communicate the need for support on issues that put objectives at risk:

• Facilitate and chair relevant program meetings including bi-weekly or weekly program status meetings with the PD team(s).
• Develop efficient communications strategies and deliver to stakeholders.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills are critical to success.
• Compliance to required program management process, quality and documentation standards.
• Experience with Document Control and Program Documents (e.g. BOM, specifications, PMP, PRD, Schedule, Risk and Issue Registers, Program Roster etc).

RISK AND ISSUE MANAGEMENT: Lead the team to proactively manage risks. Use the expertise of engineering leadership and other subject matter experts to maximize flexibility when needed. Track tasks and lead a culture of accountability in the team and across the business. Setup excellent change and risk management practices to keep work on track:

• Hold regular risk reviews and other tracking meetings.
• Escalate risk and request additional support when needed.
• Create risk and issues registers and along with management and tracking.

SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES:

• A demonstrable track record of successful project delivery.
• Strong negotiation skills with internal and external teams, and program stakeholders.
• Ability to facilitate informed and timely decisions by weighing tradeoffs with various groups to deliver a product on-time and ready for market.
• Exceptional collaboration, listening, written and verbal communication skills, including an ability to clearly communicate with both business and technical audiences.
• Experience working with remote and overseas teams and ability to engage across various cultural and language environments.
• Willingness to travel and participate in after-hours calls as required when working with partners in other geographic locations.
• Build and manage complete development programs from concept creation to the end of a product's life. ce creation and maintenance of critical program documentation.
• The management of product samples including distribution to the correct groups and cataloging of those samples.
• The creation of all product related sales information and education of the marketing team.
• Working directly with the finished good supplier(s) and sub-supplier(s).
• Responsible for PE goals development.
• International travel up to 20% may be required

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• 3-5 years professional experience leading large programs, including hardware, firmware, platform and software projects, with internal and external design, development, and quality teams).
  • Hardware, firmware and software experience is not mandatory but a clear aptitude and willingness to work with those domains is needed.
• BS Required; MS or MBA preferred, Engineering or a related field with formal project management training (preferably PMP or similar qualifications).
• Previous experience managing external suppliers or partners as part of program delivery (including outsourced firmware engagements or CM/JDM/ODM management).
• Strong preference for experience with devices, consumer electronics, manufacturing and consumer facing hardware, and/or software products.
• Track record of leading others & positive change in project definition, project delivery, and process improvement.
• Working experience with project methodologies such as Agile and related hardware development processes including EVT/DVT/PVT phase/gate framework awareness.
• Past success in creating high performance teams, inspiring and empowering them to achieve results.