Cox Automotive Inc.
Job Description
Every year, Manheim moves millions of vehicles across its auction network - and the operational infrastructure powering that movement is ready for transformation. As a Senior Product Manager on the Lot Operations Modernization team, you won't just manage a backlog. You'll help define what the future of lot operations looks like - identifying the highest-value problems, assessing emerging technologies, and building products that directly reduce cost, eliminate waste, and improve the experience of the people doing the work every day. What You'll Do Own your problem space. You'll be assigned a set of interconnected operational challenges within lot operations - ranging from labor visibility and vehicle move efficiency to planning deficiencies and lack of operational standards across the auction network. You'll go deep: spending time at Manheim auction sites, building relationships with the crew leaders and operators who live these problems daily, and translating what you learn into a clear, prioritized product direction. Lead discovery efforts to understand root causes, validate assumptions, and assess the ROI of potential solutions - identifying where product investment will create the greatest measurable impact Define and maintain a product roadmap that sequences near-term wins alongside longer-term strategic bets - and communicate it clearly to stakeholders and leadership Translate strategy into epics, features, and well-groomed backlogs that keep engineering teams building toward outcomes, not just outputs Partner closely with Manheim operations and field leaders, UX designers, data and analytics teams, and engineering to ensure solutions are grounded in operational reality and technically sound Establish and track success metrics that connect product delivery to real operational and financial outcomes Use AI to accelerate discovery, experimentation, development, and recommend improvements Adopt AI tooling and employ a mindset and focus on how they should think about and approach their work in the PDLC Contribute to a discovery culture that is problem-first and hypothesis-driven, including sharing readouts and insights with leadership and cross-functional partners Collaborate with fellow PMs on the release train to maintain alignment, share learnings, and avoid duplication across problem areas Who You Are You're a Senior Product Manager who is energized by messy, complex operational problems - not intimidated by them. You know how to get out of the building, ask the right questions, and bring a critical eye to what you learn - evaluating whether new information maps to the problems you're tasked to solve, and whether those problems are worth solving. You're comfortable with ambiguity, decisive when it counts, and you bring a bias toward action. Bachelor's degree and 4 years' experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 2 years' experience; a Ph.D. and up to 1 year of experience; or 16 years' experience in a related field Demonstrated ability to drive complex products or features from discovery through delivery in an agile environment Strong analytical skills - able to evaluate customer, market, and operational data to identify patterns, prioritize problems, and recommend strategies Experience partnering with engineering, UX, and data teams to translate vision into executable backlogs and measurable outcomes Skilled at building relationships across functions and levels - from field operators to senior business stakeholders Excellent written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability to craft clear written materials and present ideas effectively to stakeholders at all levels. Familiarity with SAFe Agile methodology High integrity; focused on execution, continuous improvement, and doing what's right for the customer and the business Hybrid role with expectation to be in the office at least two days per week Preferred Background We're not prescriptive about where you've been - we care about what you can do. That said, candidates with experience in any of the following areas may find this role a natural fit: Automotive or Wholesale Operations or Logistics Supply Chain Technology Field Service or last-mile Familiarity with analytics and product tools such as; Pendo, Power BI, Tableau, Snowflake Exposure to AI-related initiatives or tools USD 101,500.00 - 169,100.00 per year Compensation Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $101,500.00 - $169,100.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ul