Senior Manager Product Planning

Job Summary

Ola Electric is building Indias clean energy and mobility backbone through innovation in electric vehicles, energy systems, and advanced cell technologies. With vertically integrated capabilities from EVs to batteries, motors, and now distributed energy. Ola is driving the transformation of how India moves and powers itself.

The Lead – Product Planning will play a pivotal role in defining and shaping Olas future product roadmap across existing and emerging domains including 2W/3W mobility, humanoids, drones, and energy systems. This role demands a high-intelligence, future-oriented generalist who can blend market foresight, technology understanding, and financial acumen to define products that anticipate tomorrows consumer and ecosystem needs.

We are seeking a young strategic leader (10–12 years of experience) with strong foresight, curiosity, and judgment — capable of managing a team while collaborating cross-functionally with design, engineering, and business heads to drive product direction and execution.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Foresight & Market Intelligence

• Anticipate evolving consumer, societal, and policy trends to inform Olas long-term product and portfolio strategy.
• Forecast and evaluate emerging technology landscapes (e.g., batteries, AI, connected systems, autonomous platforms) and assess their impact on mobility and energy ecosystems.
• Build frameworks and analytical models to identify, prioritize, and validate new product opportunities across current and adjacent domains.

2. Product Strategy & Portfolio Planning

• Triangulate market desirability, technology feasibility, and financial viability
  
  to identify strategic product bets.
• Drive end-to-end product planning from concept ideation to business case development and lifecycle management.
• Collaborate with R&D, design, and manufacturing teams to ensure alignment between market insights and engineering execution.
• Translate market foresight into actionable product concepts, specifications, and long-term roadmaps.

3. Leadership & Cross-functional Collaboration

• Lead and mentor a small, high-performing team of product planners and analysts.
• Work collaboratively with internal stakeholders and external foresight councils including domain experts, designers, sociologists, and technologists.
• Foster a culture of excellence, curiosity, and velocity emphasizing innovation and impact over hierarchy.
• Operate within agile, cross-functional pods focused on themes such as product families, future mobility, or emerging technologies.

Required Skills and Qualifications

Education

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Engineering.
• MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred.

Experience

• 10–12 years of experience in product planning, strategy, or portfolio management roles within the automotive, technology, or energy sectors.
• Proven track record of defining and delivering high-impact product strategies in fast-paced, innovation-driven environments.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams with maturity, foresight, and analytical depth.

Domain Expertise

• Strong understanding of emerging mobility, energy, and intelligent system technologies.
• Ability to link macro trends, consumer behavior, and technology readiness into actionable product directions.
• Exposure to connected systems, EV ecosystems, and AI-enabled platforms preferred.

Leadership & Soft Skills

• Strategic thinker with sharp analytical and creative problem-solving skills.
• High intellectual curiosity and ability to synthesize complex, cross-domain inputs into clarity.
• Strong communication, influencing, and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Comfort working in ambiguous, high-growth, and cross-functional environments.
• Ability to balance long-term vision with short-term executional agility.

Preferred Attributes

• Demonstrated pattern recognition across industries and technologies.
• Experience collaborating with diverse external experts and innovation ecosystems.
• Ability to balance structured analysis with intuitive foresight and storytelling.
• Thrives in high-velocity, promoter-led organizations with dynamic priorities.