Location: Poole, GB, BH17 7ER
Type of Employment: Full-time
Career Level: Professional
Job Family: Product Management, Portfolio & Innovation
Date Posted: 7 May 2026
Product Lifecycle Manager (PLM)
You will own the end-to-end internal product lifecycle from concept through launch, in‑life optimisation and end‑of‑life. You will drive long‑term product success through strategic planning, clear requirements, disciplined prioritisation, and strong cross‑functional delivery leadership. The PLM is accountable for product outcomes and product decisions across a hardware and software based portfolio, working in close partnership with Engineering (DOP) to balance customer value, commercial priorities and technical reality.
The PLM is accountable for product scope, priority, lifecycle decisions and outcome‑based acceptance. Engineering owns technical design and implementation decisions. Roadmap and release commitments are agreed collaboratively, with the PLM making the final prioritisation call after structured input on feasibility, constraints, risks and capacity.
Responsibilities
Strategic Planning & Roadmapping
- Develop and maintain a 3–5 year outcome‑based product roadmap aligned to business priorities, technology evolution and operational capability.
- Lead quarterly (or appropriate cadence) roadmap reviews with cross-functional stakeholders to drive alignment on outcomes, timing and dependencies.
- In collaboration with Engineering leadership, incorporate technical constraints, learnings and architectural direction into planning.
- Make the final call on scope and priority after structured input from Engineering, Operations, Sales and Finance.
- Continuously adjust plans based on delivery learning, customer feedback, market change and technical discovery.
Product Discovery, Definition & Requirements
- Create clear, high‑quality product requirements that articulate what is needed and why, grounded in user and business intent.
- Engage Engineering and Design early to explore options, constraints, risks and trade‑offs before committing to scope.
- Define outcome‑based acceptance criteria and ensure delivered capability meets customer and business intent (not just functional completeness).
- Maintain traceability from strategic outcomes through epics/features to delivered value.
Backlog Governance & Delivery Collaboration
- Maintain a prioritised product backlog in collaboration with Engineering; ensure transparency of priorities, sequencing and rationale.
- Operate disciplined change control for scope, requirements and specifications; manage trade‑offs and stakeholder expectations.
- Partner with Engineering to prioritise technical debt alongside customer‑facing enhancements and compliance needs.
- Act as a day‑to‑day partner to Engineering, enabling fast decisions and removing blockers.
- Support release planning and readiness, ensuring documentation, training, support and operational impacts are addressed.
In‑Life Performance, Quality & End‑of‑Life Management
- Own product health in‑life: performance, reliability, quality, cost‑to‑serve, customer satisfaction and operational sustainability.
- Coordinate resolution of product issues by aligning Engineering and Operations on priorities, root cause and corrective actions.
- Manage product lifecycle policies including versioning, supportability, feature deprecation and compliance obligations.
- Lead end‑of‑life planning: obsolescence strategy, customer migration, communication and controlled retirement of products/features.
- Use data and customer insight to drive continuous improvement and prioritisation.
Engineering (R&D) Interface, Investment & Budgeting
- Serve as the primary product interface to Engineering (R&D), building a trust‑based partnership and clear ways of working.
- Ensure two‑way communication on priorities, capacity, constraints and timelines; elevate issues rapidly and constructively.
- Manage the annual R&D and Support budget allocation and tracking for the portfolio.
- Contribute to investment planning and business cases for product initiatives, balancing ROI, risk, compliance and operational impact.
- Follow the internal milestone process to provide sign‑off for development spend and monitor consumption and progress against plan.
Qualifications & Experience
- Demonstrated experience owning the product lifecycle for complex B2B, infrastructure, or mission‑critical products (concept to end‑of‑life).
- Strong product judgement: able to balance customer value, commercial outcomes, operational needs and technical reality.
- Excellent cross‑functional leadership; able to influence without formal authority and drive decisions with senior stakeholders.
- Comfortable working with Engineering leaders; able to translate technical constraints into clear business implications.
- Skilled in conflict resolution between business pressure and delivery feasibility, using data, options and transparent trade‑offs.
- Strong communication skills: clear requirements writing, concise decision papers, and stakeholder alignment.
- Experience with agile product practices (backlog management, discovery, iterative delivery) and structured governance where needed.
Desirable
- Experience working in the ANPR Enforcement market, or alternatively in regulated environments and/or products requiring high availability, safety, security or compliance.
- Exposure to both hardware‑enabled solutions and lifecycle/obsolescence management (where applicable).
- Experience partnering with Sales/Account Management teams to translate customer needs into scalable product outcomes.
What Success Looks Like
- A credible, outcome‑based roadmap that is aligned across stakeholders and delivered predictably.
- Improved alignment between commercial commitments and Engineering capacity/constraints.
- Reduced late‑stage churn and rework through clear requirements.
- Measurable improvements in product health (quality, reliability, performance) and customer outcomes.
- Effective end‑of‑life and migration planning that reduces risk and protects customer experience.
We Offer
- Competitive base salary plus annual bonus
- 26 days holiday (rising to 29 with service)
- 37.5‑hour working week
- Company vehicle
- Excellent pension scheme with up to 10% employer contribution
- Flexible benefits tailored to your needs
- Ongoing training and development, including support for professional memberships
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