Upstream Product Manager - Pharma Innovation Role in Columbus

Headquarters: Georgia, United States

Medisca is a global company leveraging strong partnerships to serve healthcare professionals across diverse wellness disciplines. Offering extensive and essential solutions — including pharmaceutical ingredients and services, mixing technology manufacturing, analytical testing, and education — Medisca is bridging the gaps in healthcare with an unwavering commitment to precision, innovation, and societal impact.

The Upstream Product Manager is responsible for driving the front end of product innovation and strategy, translating market needs into actionable product opportunities and line extensions. This role leads the development of long-term product roadmaps, performs in-depth market and competitive analysis, and partners with cross-functional teams — including R&D, Engineering, Sales, and Marketing — to define requirements for new product development and extensions of existing lines.

Acting as the voice of the customer during early-stage product planning, the Upstream Product Manager ensures that product concepts are both market-driven and commercially viable. They manage the entire lifecycle of new product introductions up to launch readiness, owning key deliverables such as business cases, pricing targets, and go-to-market inputs. The ideal candidate is both strategic and hands-on, playing a critical role in identifying white space opportunities, building strategic partnerships, and ensuring a steady pipeline of innovation and product evolution that aligns with company goals.

The Opportunity:

Product Strategy & Roadmapping

• Owns the 5-year new product roadmap for the portfolio.
• Develop and manage product roadmaps, ensuring alignment with business goals and customer requirements.
• Evaluate and prioritize new product opportunities, ensuring feasibility and alignment with Medisca's strategic objectives.
• Lead the development and ownership of key strategic planning documents for the portfolio, including the Product Charter, Opportunity Assessment, and Business Case, to define the product's vision, evaluate market potential, and justify investment decisions.
• Reviews potential expiring patents for early entrance into the market as a competitor.
• Complete internal documentation and works with the patent attorney for any innovative ideas that can be patented.
• Monitor and assess product portfolio for gaps, identifying areas for improvement and driving innovation.
• Perform market sizing, segmentation, and white space analysis to guide new product development.

Customer & Market Insight (VOC)

• Analyze product data, voice of customer (VOC) information, and market trends to identify and generate new business opportunities, define product requirements, and assess market development opportunities.
• Engage with customers and industry experts to gather insights and feedback for continuous product improvement.
• Participate in sales calls and visit customers when needed to gather feedback for new product additions.
• Identify and attend tradeshows that will help drive innovation, meet new potential partners, and understand industry trends.

Product Development & Requirements

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including R&D, Engineering, Marketing, and Sales, to define product requirements and drive product development.
• Own the creation and maintenance of the Marketing Requirements Document (MRD) by gathering and consolidating input from cross-functional stakeholders (e.g., sales, regulatory, engineering, marketing, and R&D). This document defines the customer and market needs, product use cases, target user profiles, and required features, and serves as a foundation for guiding the product design and development process.
• Collaborates and owns the traceability matrix of customer requirements to design specifications with engineering or manufacturer.
• Provides pricing targets for new products entering the portfolio.
• Ensure regulatory requirements and design inputs are captured early in product planning.

Project Management & Launch Readiness

• Manages projects for new product additions until commercial launch, reporting on timelines and risks.
• Responsible for keeping the project on track using project management tools.
• Prepare products for commercial launch and collaborate with downstream product manager for launch execution.
• Train salespeople on the launch of new products.
• Serve as the SME for launching new products and integrating them into the portfolio.
• Define key launch metrics and success criteria for new product introductions.

Strategic Partnerships

• Works with the Procurement team to find ideal partners for new product additions.
• Review and evaluate the industry and suggests potential strategic partners.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related field (MBA or advanced degree is a strong asset)
• Three (3) to five (5) years of experience in upstream product management, product development, or strategic market analysis
• Proven ability to lead opportunity assessments, market sizing, and development of product roadmaps
• Strong experience with voice-of-customer (VOC) research, competitive analysis, and product requirements gathering
• Demonstrated success in building business cases, product charters, and supporting early-stage innovation
• Solid understanding of the product development lifecycle, from concept through to commercial launch
• Experience working with cross-functional teams including R&D, engineering, regulatory, legal, marketing, and procurement
• Familiarity with project management tools and methodologies (e.g., Gantt charts, stage-gate processes)
• Excellent analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills
• Strong communication and presentation abilities, with experience influencing stakeholders and executive decision-makers
• Knowledge of intellectual property and patent considerations is a plus
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and taking initiative in a fast-paced, innovation-driven environment
• Proven track record in leading projects and new product offerings from inception through development and successful completion

What's in it for you...

• Work/Life Balance – PTO, vacation policy, and paid statutory holidays
• Invest in your health – Group Benefit plan and health savings account
• Your Future is Bright – Opportunities to learn and grow within Medisca
• Save for your Future – Medisca contributes to a 401(k) plan when you invest in the plan
• Help us grow – Employee Referral Program
• We like to have fun – company events throughout the year

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only candidates to be interviewed will be contacted.

We are an equal opportunity employer.

To apply: https://weworkremotely.com/remote-jobs/medisca-upstream-product-manager