VP, Product & Technology

Position Overview

The VP, Product & Technology will lead SmarTech's product and technology strategy, with a strong emphasis on product management, technology leadership, and scalable solutions for industrial and manufacturing environments.

This is a senior leadership role, responsible for managing a large, rapidly growing, multidisciplinary organization and ensuring the delivery of high-impact, customer-focused solutions aligned with Hexion's strategic priorities.

This is a remote position and can be located anywhere in the US or Europe.

Job Responsibilities
• Own and drive the product vision, strategy, and roadmap in alignment with business objectives.
• Lead end-to-end product lifecycle management, from discovery and prioritization through delivery and continuous improvement.
• Provide overall technology and architecture leadership, including data-, AI-, and ML-based solutions.
• Lead, scale, and manage a large organization of product, software, data, and engineering teams.
• Build strong leadership layers, processes, and execution frameworks to support growth and operational excellence.
• Partner with business leaders, operations, and customers to translate industrial and manufacturing needs into scalable technology products.
• Collaborate with global Hexion stakeholders and support customer-facing engagements as required.

Scope of Accountability

Ownership of the Full Product Vision and Strategy

The Product Leader is accountable for defining:
• The overarching product vision and value proposition
• What problems our products solve, for whom, and why
• Long-term market positioning and product direction

This ensures the organization has one accountable owner for "what we build and why."

Commercialization Strategy

Product drives the full commercial strategy, including:
• Pricing and packaging
• Target customer profiles and user personas
• Regional and market-specific variations
• Collaboration with Sales on forecasting and commercial planning

This goes beyond technical feasibility - it ensures our offerings are market-ready, differentiated, and economically viable.

Technology Roadmap from Concept to Market Maturity

Although Engineering owns implementation, the Product Leader sets the cross-functional roadmap that:
• Defines phases from concept 12 MVP 12 maturity
• Prioritizes features based on customer value and business impact
• Balances speed-to-market with long-term scalability

This roadmap translates market needs into execution priorities for Engineering.

Ownership of the Voice of the Customer

Product must be deeply embedded in the market and customer ecosystem through:
• Direct customer meetings and discovery sessions
• Attendance at conferences, industry groups, and technical forums
• Establishing channels for both qualitative and quantitative feedback

This ensures decisions are grounded in real market signals rather than assumptions.

Scope of Accountability

Full-Cycle Delivery Process Focused on Time-to-Value

The Product Leader defines the delivery approach and "definition of done" by:
• Clarifying acceptance criteria and success metrics
• Ensuring the team is aligned on what must be delivered to create customer value
• Removing blockers that slow the path from concept to shipped value

This supports agile delivery and helps the organization avoid scope creep or technical over-design.

Process to Close Product and Feature Gaps

Product owns the mechanism to:
• Capture and prioritize feedback from customers, Sales, and internal teams
• Identify capability gaps
• Drive structured decisions on what to address and when

This supports sales velocity, customer retention and upsell strategy.

Method to Pivot or Sunset Approaches That Aren't Succeeding

Product defines how we evaluate whether a product or feature is achieving intended outcomes, including:
• Success metrics and KPIs
• A structured evaluation mechanism
• Decision frameworks for when to pivot or sunset

This ensures we stay aligned with market realities and avoid prolonged investment in low-return areas.

Ownership of Commercial Targets (Shared with Sales)

Product shares accountability for commercial performance, including:
• Adoption metrics
• Revenue performance linked to product success
• Forecasting for product-related targets

This reinforces that product decisions must drive tangible market outcomes.

External Representation and Evangelism

Product should represent our vision and roadmap externally through:
• Conference presentations
• Industry events and roundtables
• Customer advisory boards

This builds credibility in the Industrial AI space and strengthens our market position.

Competencies
• Strong product mindset with the ability to balance business value, customer needs, and technical feasibility.
• Executive-level leadership and people management capabilities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Fluent English required.

Minimum Qualifications

Expereince
• Expert expereince owning and scaling E2E product lifecycles within industrial manufacturing environments
• Expereince supporting product portfolios in start up or apidly growing environemnts

Education
• B.Sc. or higher in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a closely related field - a Must!

Other