Product Management Director

Job description

The Role ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Product Management Director reports directly to the Chief Product Officer and owns the full product lifecycle of EnerVenue's metal-hydrogen energy storage portfolio, from the Ni-H2 vessel and module, to racks, containerized and skid-mounted energy storage systems, and the accompanying BMS/EMS software layer. You are the single point of ownership connecting the market to the technology: translating utility, C&I and international customer needs into a prioritized roadmap, clear product requirements, defensible pricing, and products that R&D can design and the factory can build at scale. This is a build-and-scale mission rather than a caretaking role. You will establish the product management function from the ground up: the roadmap process, the stage-gate NPI governance, the product cost and margin model, the competitive intelligence engine and the launch playbook. You will align product strategy with the company's gigawatt capacity roadmap, drive continuous reduction of levelized cost of storage (LCOS), and make the disciplined trade-off decisions across performance, cost, certification and time-to-market that determine whether each product wins in its target segment. Key Responsibilities ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— 1. Product Strategy & Roadmap Ownership Define and own the multi-year product strategy and roadmap for the full metal-hydrogen storage portfolio: cells and vessels, modules, racks, containerized/skid systems, and BMS/EMS software. Segment the market by application (utility-scale, C&I, microgrid, long-duration storage, harsh-environment and off-grid) and geography, and define the target product configuration, differentiation and value proposition for each segment. Build and maintain the business case for every product line: addressable market, volume forecast, price and cost trajectory, margin, investment requirement and payback. Align the product roadmap with the company's gigawatt capacity plan, R&D technology roadmap and go-to-market priorities; arbitrate scope, sequencing and resource allocation across competing initiatives. 2. Market, Customer & Competitive Intelligence Run a structured voice-of-customer program with utilities, IPPs, developers, EPCs, integrators and channel partners; convert field insight into prioritized requirements. Maintain continuous competitive intelligence across LFP and other lithium chemistries, flow batteries, sodium-ion and long-duration storage technologies; quantify EnerVenue's advantage in cycle life, safety, temperature tolerance and total lifetime cost. Track policy, incentive, tariff, grid-code and standards developments in target markets, and translate the implications into roadmap and positioning decisions. Own LCOS and total-cost-of-ownership models used in customer-facing value engineering and internal product decisions. 3. Requirements Definition & NPI Governance Author and own market requirement documents (MRD) and product requirement documents (PRD), translating customer and application needs into unambiguous, testable engineering specifications. Establish and chair the stage-gate NPI process from concept, design, prototype and pilot trial through mass production release; own gate criteria, deliverables and go/no-go decisions. Partner with R&D, Factory Engineering, Quality and Supply Chain to embed design-for-manufacturing, design-for-cost, design-for-serviceability and supplier readiness from the concept stage onward. Own product configuration, options, variants and technical documentation baseline; govern engineering change orders and their commercial, cost and warranty impact. 4. Product Cost, Pricing & Product P&L Own product-level cost roadmaps in $/kWh terms, working with engineering and supply chain to set and hit aggressive BOM and system cost reduction targets. Define pricing strategy, price books, configuration-based pricing logic and discount governance; support commercial teams on large project quotations and long-term supply agreements. Own the product P&L: monitor volume, average selling price, gross margin, warranty reserve and product mix, and drive corrective action where targets are at risk. Evaluate make-versus-buy and partnership options for PCS, thermal, fire-suppression, enclosure and software subsystems. 5. Go-to-Market, Launch & Commercial Enablement Own end-to-end product launch: launch plan, positioning and messaging, datasheets, specification sheets, application notes, warranty terms and technical collateral. Enable sales, business development and channel partners with training, competitive battlecards, sizing and configuration tools, and RFP/RFQ technical response support. Support key customer pilots and reference projects from qualification through commissioning, and convert results into case studies and roadmap feedback. Represent the product externally at customer reviews, industry conferences, standards bodies and analyst briefings. 6. Certification, Standards & Compliance Own the product certification roadmap across target markets, including UL 1973, UL 9540/9540A, IEC 62933, NFPA 855, CE, UN 38.3 transportation and applicable Chinese GB/T standards. Coordinate testing agencies, third-party laboratories and internal teams to secure certification on schedule as a gating condition for market entry. Ensure product definitions meet grid-code, interconnection, safety and environmental requirements in each target geography. 7. Lifecycle Management, Warranty & Voice of the Field Own the full product lifecycle including product upgrades, variant rationalization, obsolescence and end-of-life planning, and spare parts strategy. Define warranty terms, performance guarantees and degradation models jointly with engineering, finance and legal; monitor field performance data against modeled assumptions. Establish a closed-loop feedback mechanism from field service and customer support into product requirements and quality improvement programs. 8. Team Building & Cross-Functional Leadership Build, mentor and lead the product management team, including product line managers, technical product managers and product marketing resources. Operate as the connective tissue across R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Sales, Finance and the US headquarters, driving alignment without direct authority. Foster a culture of customer obsession, data-driven prioritization, disciplined trade-off making and rapid learning. Required Qualifications ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Education Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Energy Engineering or a related technical field. An MBA or Master's degree is preferred. Core Mandatory Experience A minimum of 10+ years in product management, product line management or product engineering, with at least 5 years leading a product function or managing a product management team. Proven, hands-on experience with energy storage systems, batteries, power electronics or grid infrastructure products; direct BESS product ownership is a significant advantage. Deep working knowledge of BESS system architecture: cell and module design, BMS, PCS, thermal management, fire protection, enclosure and EMS software integration. Demonstrated success taking hardware products from concept through certification to volume mass production, including ownership of a stage-gate NPI process. Strong command of product economics: BOM cost modeling, $/kWh cost roadmaps, LCOS and TCO analysis, pricing strategy and product P&L management. Practical familiarity with energy storage safety and performance standards and the certification path in at least one major market. Demonstrated ability to build a product management function in a high-growth, resource-constrained environment. Ideal Competencies Technically Credible: you can hold your own in a design review with electrochemists and power electronics engineers, and still explain the value proposition to a utility executive. Decisive Prioritizer: you make explicit, defensible trade-offs between performance, cost, schedule and scope, and you say no clearly and early. Customer-Obsessed: you spend time in the field and let evidence from real deployments, not internal opinion, drive the roadmap. Data-Driven: you build the model, quantify the assumptions and use analytics to defend every major product decision. Influential Leader: you build consensus and drive execution across engineering, factory, commercial and headquarters stakeholders without relying on formal authority. Language & Location Professional English proficiency for headquarters collaboration, international customer engagement and bilingual documentation. Professional Mandarin proficiency for domestic team management, supplier and partner engagement and local technical documentation. Based in Changzhou, Jiangsu or willing to relocate, with availability for international and customer-site travel as required. Preferred Qualifications ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Direct experience with non-lithium chemistries such as metal-hydrogen, nickel-hydrogen, flow, sodium-ion or long-duration storage technologies. Experience with long-duration energy storage applications of four hours and above, and with harsh-environment or off-grid deployments. Background in utility-scale project development, EPC or system integration, with first-hand understanding of how storage products are specified, procured and commissioned. Experience operating in a US-China dual-headquarters structure, bridging overseas product definition with domestic engineering and manufacturing execution. Familiarity with grid codes, interconnection requirements and incentive frameworks in the US, Europe, Middle East or Australia markets. Patents, technical publications or standards-committee participation in energy storage system design or safety. What EnerVenue Offers ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— A true build-and-scale mandate: define the product strategy for a differentiated, non-lithium storage technology and stand up the product management function from the ground up. Direct reporting line to the CEO, high visibility to the executive team and board, and genuine decision-making authority over roadmap, requirements and pricing. Close collaboration with the company's central R&D institute and Silicon Valley headquarters on next-generation metal-hydrogen product architecture. Highly competitive senior executive compensation package including annual base salary and performance bonus. Clear promotion channel and the opportunity to grow with the company's gigawatt capacity layout and multi-market expansion. Complete employee welfare system: five insurances and housing fund, annual physical examination, annual leave and holiday benefits, etc. Mission-driven development platform focusing on the long-life, high-safety non-lithium energy storage track, with stable capital support and a clear large-scale mass production path. About EnerVenue ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— EnerVenue is a Silicon Valley-based energy infrastructure company commercializing metal-hydrogen battery technology originally developed by NASA for the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. Founded in 2020 by Stanford Professor Yi Cui, EnerVenue adapts this proven aerospace chemistry for grid-scale terrestrial energy storage, delivering batteries with 30,000+ cycle lifetimes, inherent fire-safety, and a 30-year design life. In 2026, EnerVenue closed a $300 million Series B extension and is well capitalized for growth. Funds are being deployed to build a high-volume manufacturing facility in Changzhou, China, targeting 250 MWh capacity by Q3 2026 and 1 GWh by 2027. EnerVenue has been named one of Time magazine's Top 10 US Green Technology Companies of 2025.