Associate Director - Collar Product Manager

Job Description

About Technology Solutions

Our company's Animal Health Technology Solutions offers global animal identification and monitoring solutions for companion animals and livestock. These solutions enable pet owners to better manage the health and well-being of their pets and enable livestock producers to improve well-being and animal production. Technology Solutions include Core Technologies in Livestock Identification, Dairy, Beef and Swine monitoring, for which the product/market fit is established, as well as products in discovery.

 

Our Technology Solutions division is evolving. We are moving to a Product Operating Model – a new way of working that empowers product teams to take full ownership and accountability for delivering customer and business value in ways our customers love and that work for the business.

 

Our product teams are cross-functional and durable, bringing together all the skills required to deliver impactful outcomes. Each team includes a Product Manager, Technology Lead, Product Designer, Delivery Lead, engineers, and developers.

 

We believe in customer centricity, ownership, and accountability. Solutions must be:

·       Valuable – customers choose to buy or use them

·       Viable – aligned with business constraints and goals

·       Usable – intuitive and user-friendly

·       Feasible – achievable with our technical capabilities

 

Leadership of the team is shared between the Product Manager and the Technology Lead, ensuring balanced guidance that bridges product vision and technical execution.

 

Product Management Role

 

As the Vence Collar Product Manager, you will be a key driver of value and viability within the product team. You will define product strategy, lead continuous customer discovery, partner with engineering and manufacturing through NPI stages, and coordinate go-to-market and post-sales activities with commercial teams. This role requires technical fluency in hardware and connected-device ecosystems, strong cross-functional collaboration, and a focus on measurable customer and business outcomes.

 

You are expected to cultivate:

·       A solid understanding of business constraints (e.g., marketing, sales, customer success, finance, legal, privacy)

·       Deep knowledge of our users and customers, supported by data on how they engage with our products

·       Awareness of industry trends and the competitive landscape relevant to your product

 

Leadership is shared with the Collar Technology Lead, and you will both work with the Product Designer and engineers, fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration. While each team member may be accountable for a specific risk area, you are expected to embrace collective accountability, ensuring the team delivers results in that matter.

 

We are looking for product managers who:

·       Thrive on customer centricity, ownership, and accountability

·       Are comfortable signing up for measurable results, even when success depends on working through others

·       Use data and logic to influence teammates, stakeholders, and executives

·       Believe that innovation comes from the ideas and passion of the whole team

 

Key Responsibilities

 

Product Ownership & Strategy

 

·       Own and manage the Vence collar, together with collar Tech Lead, throughout its entire product lifecycle

·       Define the overall collar vision and strategy with a keen focus on value, business outcome, and user experience

·       Work with Vence Product Manager to create high-level market valuations, compelling value propositions, and business cases for new product concepts and capabilities

·       Identify unmet customer needs and market opportunities to inform new product development

 

Customer & Market Insight

·       Lead customer discovery, problem definition, value hypothesis generation, and product experiments focused on market outcomes.

·       Work with the Collar Technology Lead to design and run technical prototypes and feasibility experiments that validate implementation approaches

·       Develop and execute customer insight strategies through e.g., surveys, farm visits, and customer advisory boards to capture feedback and validate direction

·       Build strong relationships with customers, field teams, and commercial stakeholders to capture real-world use cases, pain points, and adoption barriers.

·       Translate customer needs into a prioritized backlog and outcomes based roadmap

·       Monitor industry trends, emerging technologies (including animal health monitoring), and the competitive landscape to inform strategy and continuous improvement

Collaboration & Cross-Functional Leadership

·       Connect collar product team directly with customers to facilitate open communication and alignment

·       Work with commercial teams to ideate new solutions, validate value propositions, and ensure alignment with customer needs

·       Partner cross-functionally with the product team (Tech Lead, marketing, sales, and customer success) to ensure end-to-end delivery and adoption

·       Collaborate closely with the Collar Technology Lead, Product Designer, and engineers to discover, validate, and deliver effective solutions

·       Lead adoption, retention and growth of the product by leveraging marketing, customer success, and market activation capabilities, while engaging commercial teams across regions and markets on the product value proposition

·       Act as the product advocate for external partners and customers during discovery, validation, and launch activities.

 

Go-to-Market & Commercialization

·       Drive release planning, manufacturing, go-to-market execution, and ongoing product support in partnership with cross-functional teams

·       In partnership with the Collar Tech Lead, engage supply chain and manufacturing teams to decide the most appropriately efficient way to bring products to market

·       Engage commercial teams across regions and markets to drive understanding and adoption of the product’s value proposition

·       Establish customer success frameworks and support models to ensure optimal product adoption and satisfaction

Work with Marketing on go‑to‑market messaging, pricing inputs, sales enablement, launch readiness, and customer-facing commitments. Coordinate with the Collar Technology Lead on technical onboarding materials and field escalation processes.

Performance & Accountability

·       Own unit economics and cost targets for the collar, tracking performance against agreed financial and product metrics.

·       Create, maintain, and continuously prioritize the product backlog to maximize value delivery and long-term sustainability

·       Define and regularly calibrate product metrics to track success and progress against objectives

·       Conduct business reviews and monitor industry trends and competitive dynamics to inform product strategy

·       Champion a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement within the product team

Required

·       Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, or related area of study.

·       10 years overall relevant work experience, with at least 5 years experience  in product management of hardware or IoT products, with enough technical grounding to engage credibly with engineering teams and make informed trade-off decisions on reliability, cost, and performance.

·       Demonstrated experience working in a product operating model — comfortable with continuous discovery, outcome-based planning, and working in empowered cross-functional teams accountable for customer and business outcomes.

·       Ability to learn and work across multiple functional areas (e.g., engineering, design, finance, sales, or marketing).

·       Demonstrated ability to solve complex problems with many constraints, using sound judgement to assess risks and building well-structured, data-informed narratives.

·       Proven ability to engage with engineers, designers, stakeholders, and senior leaders in a constructive and collaborative way.

·       Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a track record of leading through influence rather than authority.

·       A mindset of ownership, accountability, and customer focus; comfortable signing up for results and driving outcomes through others when needed.

·       Passion for fostering team innovation and leveraging the collective ideas and expertise of cross-functional colleagues.

·       Comfortable operating in a hardware development environment — familiar with concepts such as NPI, DVT/PVT, manufacturing ramp-up, and field validation, even if not owning them technically.

·       Willingness to travel to customers

Required Skills:

Business Reviews, Client-Centric, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Customer Insights, Customer Success, Design, Emerging Technologies, End to End Management, Market Valuations, Operating Models, Product Lifecycle, Product Management, Product Strategies

Preferred Skills:

Financial Management, Management System Development, Problem Management, Requirements Management, Solution Architecture, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Planning, System Designs

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

The salary range for this role is

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

50%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Remote

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

04/24/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.