Whether you’re talking about length, mass, time,temperature, electric current, amount or the brightness of light, the National Physical Laboratory sets the standards by which these things are all measured. At NPL, we touch ordinary lives in extraordinary ways and you could too.
NPL’s Time and Frequency group provides cutting edge products targeted at the time sector – applications addressing key innovation challenges relating to the next generation of atomic clocks, timing services and alternative applications of these technologies such as underwater seismic detectors and inertial sensors. Working with key partners, we provide products and services addressing industry needs. We create impact by supporting productivity improvements for businesses, in addition, using new technologies and innovation we aim to continuously improve and transform industry.
We have ambitious growth plans over the next five years and are looking for talented individuals to support to our product growth strategy.
As a Product Specialist, you will progress a portfolio of Time and Frequency Products and Services, that generate impact and commercial value and which deliver market leading solutions. You will manage existing products and services and use NPL`s New Product Introduction (NPI) process to ensure new products and services are created from the underpinning science base in response to robust evidence of industry need and that they are commercialised as quickly and effectively as possible.
Working as part of the Product Management team, you will:
- Own a portfolio of existing products, managing them through the product lifecycle from introduction to decline, including product revision, extention, diversification or exit.
- Use NPL’s NPI process to develop new products or services. You will work with colleagues across the business and in external markets to develop those products and take them to market
- Support financial targets for growing NPL’s business (improving sales, revenue and margin) from existing products or the introduction of a pipeline of new products, developed out of the research activities of NPL and our collaborators
- Undertake analyses enabling a deep understanding of customer and stakeholder needs in industry and help identify technologies within the NPL research programmes meeting those needs
- Input into novel business models for product delivery as part of detailed business cases for new products
- Collate and use industry, Government and other high level business strategies to inform the selection of new services to meet the grand challenges defined in those strategies
- Plan and help deliver voice of the customer throughout the product lifecycle to ensure that new services deliver the greatest possible benefit to NPL’s customers and maximum impact for NPL
- Champion the NPI process across the business, providing facilitation and guidance to technical teams and support the wider adoption of those practices across the business
- Work with NPL’s sales and marketing teams to take new services to market, developing suitable channels to target segments and supporting multi-media sales collateral material
- Develop personal networks with customers and stakeholders in target markets and use those networks to capture market needs for new services as well as obtaining feedback on their experience of existing NPL services to inform future enhancements.
About You
Skills and Experience
- You could either have experience within a technically applied commercial market or have strong technical credibility (through a post doc for example) with less commercial experience but the right mindset and desire to develop into a commercial role.
- Product management or business development experience is desirable, but not essential.
- Experience in the application timing services and sensors are beneficial. In addition, industry experience in network and communication infrastructures would be an advantage.
- Promotes a strong focus on the needs of customers and partners
- Skilled at working effectively across teams, both internally – science, marketing, sales, legal and externally – with channel intermediaries and product delivery partners.
- A strong and clear communicator. Confident working with technical and non-technical audiences with a variety of stakeholders at different levels of seniority and knowledge.
- • Using data analysis to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of launched products and services
- • Outstanding problem solving, time management, decision making and people influencing skills.
- • A degree in Science or Engineering is preferred.