Principal Product Marketing Manager, Counter-UAS & Layered Defense at AeroVironment in Albuquerque, NM

Job description

Worker Type Regular Job Description Summary AV's Layered Defense/C-UAS portfolio is most consequential product lines in defense technology, with combat-proven systems fielded by the U.S. and allied forces. This role is its dedicated product marketing owner. You will own positioning, messaging, launch execution, and sales enablement for the franchise end to end, reporting directly to the VP of Marketing & Communications. This is a senior individual contributor role with real decision rights and a single-owner accountability model: one portfolio, one owner, direct executive visibility. The mandate is to bring software-industry product marketing discipline to a defense technology franchise whose buyers are program offices, primes, and allied governments: positioning rigor grounded in operational evidence, launch operations that run on a repeatable framework, and enablement that measurably moves capture outcomes. This is not an arms-length marketing role. You will operate as an embedded member of the business unit, building your positioning and enablement from inside the business unit's operating rhythm rather than from briefings after the fact. Position Responsibilities Business Unit Partnership Build deep, trusted relationships with Business Unit leadership, program managers, capture leads, and engineering. Partner with product managers as their marketing counterpart on roadmap milestones, launch readiness, claims substantiation, and customer evidence / operational proof. Embed in the business unit's operational cadence: program reviews, capture gate reviews, and planning rhythms. Marketing priorities are set from inside the business, not downstream of it. Positioning & Messaging Own the positioning architecture for the Layered Defense/C-UAS portfolio: differentiated claims backed by operational evidence, not capability adjectives. Own the brand positioning and messaging architecture for the Layered Defense/C-UAS: differentiated claims backed by operational evidence, not capability adjectives. Own the consolidation of voice of customer inputs to feed structured customer and operator insight back into MarCom, Product and BD strategy. Maintain all Buyer and User Persona profiles. Use AV’s messaging architecture to translate mission outcomes (effects delivered, cost-per-effect, sustainment, interoperability) into customer-facing narratives for external audiences. Ensure product-level positioning plugs cleanly into AV's corporate narrative architecture. Deliver export-aware localized positioning for priority allied regions, within ITAR and export-control boundaries. Translate mission outcomes into customer-facing narratives for external audiences. Ensure product-level positioning plugs cleanly into AV's corporate narrative architecture. Product Launch & Integrated Campaign Execution Run AV’s tiered product launch framework with full launch plans and bill of materials, executed cross-functionally with creative, technical communications, and events teams. Serve as the single accountable owner for product launch content and claims accuracy. Support ongoing marketing campaigns build on AV’s integrated campaign model. Sales & Capture Enablement Build and maintain the enablement stack: battlecards, Operational proof library, and demo and trade-show messaging. International Growth Deliver export-aware localized positioning for priority allied regions, within ITAR and export-control boundaries. Support marketing's pipeline contribution to AV's international growth targets. Voice of Customer & Competitive Intelligence Own the competitive picture for the counter-UAS category: capability, production capacity, pricing posture, and acquisition traction of rivals. Feed structured customer and battlefield-user insight back into MarCom, Product and BD strategy. Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Experience) 12-15 years total civilian work experience 8+ years in product marketing with meaningful time in both enterprise software or hardware-soft