Product Manager

Job Description

Job Description

KHS is a subsidiary of Salzgitter AG. As one of the world's leading manufacturers of filling and packaging systems for beverages and liquid food we are a world-class player. Our customers have trusted in our passionate pioneering spirit and first-class technologies for over 150 years. However, we can only remain world class if we continue to find new employees who make just as high demands of themselves and the quality of their work as our customers make of us at KHS. Are you one of them?

The Product Manager will serve as the internal expert for beverage manufacturing processes including carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, water, juice, tea, dairy alternatives, alcoholic beverages, and emerging beverage categories. You will manage commercially competitive quotations for the company’s machine or conversion projects and supports the sales process with technical expertise. 

Your Responsibilities: 

• Reviews Requests for Quotes (RFQs) from Sales personnel or customers; analyzes and evaluates customer needs from customer specification sheets, drawings and application requirements.
• Supports and participates in sales process including sales calls, presentations and qualification of customers; provides support and technical information for sales personnel in the field and management; may visit customer sites to assess environment and applications
• Serve as the subject matter expert for beverage process technology, providing technical leadership on blending systems, syrup rooms, ingredient handling, CIP systems, process controls, and integrated processing solutions throughout the sales lifecycle. This includes the development of complete process solutions including beverage blending, syrup preparation, ingredient handling, CIP systems, utilities integration, and process controls.

  Specifies the proper machine, components and technology for customer’s application; collaborates with other departmental leaders to create technically and financially accurate project estimates; utilizing existing pricing structures; accesses information from a variety of sources for costs; interacts with other product specialists as needed.

• Continues to build expertise on technical aspects of KHS product lines; shares product expertise with other departments.
• Maintains reference information on product line, may keep track of technical updates from competence center.
• May sell and manage retrofits, upgrades and conversions of capital equipment for installed equipment base including product expansion and development programs; manages received orders and contract obligations with supporting staff until machine acceptance.
• Depending on product line, the Product Manager may plan, direct, and coordinate machine conversion projects for KHS equipment to ensure that resources are available and that the goals of the project are accomplished on time and within budget.   
• Maintains margin and pricing indices and product information that can be referenced on demand by sales personnel and management.
• Works closely with engineering in Business Areas and Competency centers on product line development/new product definitions; collaborates with other functional areas on the commercialization process.
• Tracks and analyzes customer needs, and proposal, sales order activity of the product line for management
• Use market information to analyze the product market; identifies market trends; provides information for new and emerging product variations, develops new product definitions.

• Validate process performance requirements including throughput, recipe flexibility, product quality targets, sanitation requirements, and operational efficiency. 

• Establish and review process flow diagrams (PFDs), functional descriptions, and utility requirements to ensure a complete customer solution. 

• Monitor industry trends related to ingredients, alternative sweeteners, sustainability initiatives, and evolving beverage formulation 

• Advise customers on process design considerations affecting product quality, ingredient management, traceability, sanitation, and operating costs.

Your Profile:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Engineering or related field
• 2+ years’ technical experience (engineering or sales) with process and filling equipment
• 3+ years’ experience in developing quotations for complex capital equipment
• Equivalent combination of experience and education will be considered 
• Ability to travel up to 30% of the time. 

Benefits:

• Medical, Dental, Vision insurance offered at 30 days of employment 
• Generous Educational Reimbursement program
• Company sponsored Life and Disability Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Ten (10) Paid Holidays per year 
• 401K with Company Match

In order to ensure our success in the future, too, we need first-class employees – and we also have plenty to offer them.