Product Specialist

Date: Nov 22, 2024

Location: Irvine, California, US, 92606

Company: Kia America, Inc.

At Kia, we’re creating award-winning products and redefining what value means in the automotive industry. It takes a special group of individuals to do what we do, and we do it together. Our culture is fast-paced, collaborative, and innovative. Our people thrive on thinking differently and challenging the status quo. We are creating something special here, a culture of learning and opportunity, where you can help Kia achieve big things and most importantly, feel passionate and connected to your work every day.

Kia provides team members with competitive benefits including premium paid medical, dental and vision coverage for you and your dependents, 401(k) plan matching of 100% up to 6% of the salary deferral, and paid time off. Kia also offers company lease and purchase programs, company-wide holiday shutdown, paid volunteer hours, and premium lifestyle amenities at our corporate campus in Irvine, California.

Status

Exempt

Summary

The Product Specialist will help re-define the connected EV driver experience.  Their primary responsibility is to collaborate with Product Managers to support new products/feature development and act as a liaison between product management and engineering teams. The Product Specialist will be responsible for defining detailed requirements, developing business models, and creating efficient operations and reporting systems for our EV connected services. Their expertise will be instrumental in shaping the future direction of our products and ensuring they deliver maximum value to our clients.

Major Responsibilities

1st Priority - 30%

  • Work closely with Product Managers to create and maintain a product backlog by assessing electric vehicle (EV) driver behavior, identifying pain points and improvement opportunities in driver experience.
  • Translate high-level business objectives and customer needs into detailed product requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
  • Support product release plans and expectation setting for delivery of new functionalities.

2nd Priority - 25%

  • Monitor and report on KPIs and the effectiveness of marketing initiatives and new products to the management team and use data to create future marketing strategies.
  • Develop business models and identify gaps and new opportunities.  

3rd Priority - 20%

  • Conduct market research and competitive analysis to identify market opportunities, emerging trends, and customer pain points in the EV ownership experience.

4th Priority - 15%

  • Develop and maintain configurable UI contents in tools like Adobe Experience Manager and Figma to provide faster turnaround for minor UI changes that could positively impact users.

5th Priority - 10%

  • Conduct testing of completed web, mobile applications, and wearables to assess user experience.

Education/Certification

•    Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience required.
•    Certified Product Owner Certification preferred.
•    Master's degree preferred.
•    Understanding of e-MSP / CPO landscape within US market preferred
 

Overall Experience

  • 5+ years of experience in crafting user experience and interface required.  Preferably in automotive/mobile application space

Directly Related Experience

  • 2+ years of experience focused on EV driver experience preferred
  • Experience working with e-MSP and CPOs and tracking settlements 
  • Experience working with Product Managers, along with engineers, visual, and UI designers
  • Experience in tracking metrics associated with system usage and user behavior and deriving actionable improvements
  • Experience building business models to evaluate new product pricing and purchase rates
  • Experience developing business models to evaluate new products
  • Demonstrates ability to look ahead, plan, and respond to changes

Position Requirements:

  • Occasional travel may be required domestically and/or internationally. 
  • May need to work additional hours outside of normal business hours as required by the job, including weekends or holidays.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.
     

Skills

Ability to develop KPIs and reports to monitor product/program health
Ability to develop product requirements and write user stories is a must.
Ability to maintain the utmost confidentiality on all matters.
Ability to multi-task, juggle competing demands, prioritize and work with other team members at all levels within the company.
Ability to quickly understand customer needs and develop requirements.
Ability to understand invoices, identify payment gaps, and create reporting for regular monitoring
Ability to work with internal and external teams/task forces; and cross-functional teams to project completion.
Advanced Excel, analytical, and business reporting skills
Demonstrates ability to look ahead, plan, and respond to changes
Familiarity with Sketch, InVision, and other prototyping tools
Knowledge of IOT products is a plus.
Proficiency in Figma or other design tools preferred
Proficient in MS Office, including Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Strong verbal and written communication, presentation, interpersonal, and writing skills is required.

Competencies

Care for People
Chase Excellence, Every Day
Dare to Push Boundaries
Empower People to Act
Move Further, Together

Pay Range

$65,630 - $88,065

Pay will be based on several variables that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to, job-related skills, experience, relevant education or training, etc.

 

Equal Employment Opportunities

KUS provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, including pregnancy and childbirth and related medical conditions, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, legally protected physical disability or mental disability, legally protected medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, family care or medical leave status, protected veteran or military status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.  KUS complies with applicable law governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which KUS has offices.  The KUS EEO policy applies to all areas of employment, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, discipline, termination and all other privileges, terms and conditions of employment.

 

Disclaimer:  The above information on this job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification and for this position.  It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.


Nearest Major Market: Irvine California
Nearest Secondary Market: Los Angeles

Job Segment: Market Research, User Experience, Engineer, Product Manager, Marketing, Technology, Engineering, Operations