Product Manager - Controls

About Controlled Environments Limited (CEL)

The CEL Group of Companies (CEL) comprises Conviron Canada, Conviron USA, Conviron Europe and Conviron Australia - together forming the world’s leading designer and supplier of controlled environments for plant growth. CEL Group also includes Argus Controls, one of the leading suppliers of plant-centric environmental controls and automation systems used in greenhouse and indoor growing facilities. Together, Conviron and Argus provide technologies to our clients in the plant science research and commercial horticulture industry in over 90 countries.

CEL is proud to be part of Madison Air, a Madison Industries company. Madison Industries is one of the largest and most successful privately held companies in the world. Madison builds entrepreneurially driven, branded market leaders that are committed to making the world safer, healthier and more productive by creating innovative solutions that deliver outstanding customer value. The team at Madison is committed to building something truly remarkable that long outlasts them while coaching others to reach their highest potential.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Product Manager - Controls is responsible for the strategy, roadmap, and commercial success of CEL’s controls platform—spanning environmental controls, irrigation/fertigation automation, energy optimization, sensors/IO, and cloud/edge software. This role translates user needs and market trends into clear product requirements, partners with engineering to deliver scalable, secure, and reliable solutions, and collaborates with sales, marketing, and service to drive adoption and profitable growth across greenhouse and indoor cultivation segments.

Reporting to: SVP, Product, Growth, & ODM

RESPONSIBILITIES

Product Strategy & Roadmap

· Own the vision, strategy, and multi year roadmap for the CEL controls portfolio (hardware, firmware, HMI, and cloud/analytics).

· Quantify market opportunities in core segments (produce, floriculture, research) and adjacent verticals; size TAM/SAM/SOM and prioritize bets based on ROI and risk.

· Define portfolio evolution (e.g., modular IO, next gen controllers, cybersecurity hardening, connectivity, APIs/partners, data & analytics, energy/water optimization).

Customer & Market Insight

· Lead customer discovery with growers, researchers, integrators, and consultants to map jobs to be done and pain points (commissioning, recipes, alarms, uptime, remote visibility).

· Maintain competitive landscape (CEA controls, irrigation/fertigation, climate screens, HVAC/DOAS interfaces, PLC/SCADA, IIoT) and pricing/packaging benchmarks.

· Build and maintain VOC/VOS backlog; run pilots/betas and convert learnings into prioritized requirements.

Roadmap Execution & Delivery

• Write crisp PRDs/MRDs with acceptance criteria, user stories, and NFRs (safety, cybersecurity, redundancy, serviceability).
• Partner with hardware, firmware, and software engineering to plan releases, de risk dependencies, and hit milestones using a stage gate or agile hybrid.
• Drive design for reliability (DFR) and manufacturability (DFM); collaborate with Supply Chain/Quality on components, alternates, and cost/availability.

Commercialization & Lifecycle Management

• Lead new product introductions (NPI): pricing & packaging, SKU strategy, launch readiness, sales enablement, and content (datasheets, TCO tools, demos).
• Manage whole product lifecycle (ECOs, sustaining, cost down, sunset/migration) with clear customer upgrade paths and backwards compatibility guidance.
• Establish and track product P&L levers (COGS, margin, mix), attach rates (sensors, modules, services), and ARR for software/monitoring subscriptions.

Interoperability & Partnerships

• Define integration requirements with HVAC/DOAS, dehumidification, lighting, fertigation/irrigation, energy management, and third-party devices via standard protocols (e.g., BACnet/IP, Modbus TCP/RTU, OPC UA) and secure APIs.
• Build partner roadmap (OEMs, channel integrators, data/AI partners) and co marketing/co selling motions.

Quality, Reliability & Compliance

• Champion product quality: MTBF, alarm noise reduction, cybersecurity (e.g., secure boot, signed firmware), electrical/environmental certifications.
• Ensure safety and regulatory compliance appropriate to target markets.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 7–10+ years of product management (or adjacent) experience in industrial controls, building automation, OT/IIoT, or CEA/ag‑tech; hardware + software portfolio ownership preferred.
• Demonstrated success launching controls or automation products with embedded systems, field devices, and cloud/edge software.
• Strong technical fluency across controls architectures (sensors → IO → controller/PLC → HMI → cloud), networking, and integration protocols.
• Proven commercial acumen related to market sizing, pricing/packaging, business cases, and portfolio margin management.
• Excellent cross‑functional leadership and communication skills; able to align executives, engineering, operations, sales, channel, and service.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Agronomy, or related; MBA or advanced degree is a plus.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Deep customer insight and strong relationship‑building; able to translate needs into impactful solutions.
• Fast, execution‑focused approach that rapidly validates ideas and clears obstacles.
• Full ownership across hardware, software, and services with accountability for outcomes.
• Strong cross‑functional collaboration and clear communication at all levels.
• High learning agility; comfortable with ambiguity and guided by data and experimentation.
• Expertise in product strategy, market sizing, business cases, prioritization, and roadmap narrative.
• Strong systems thinking across controls architectures, protocols, interoperability, and cybersecurity.
• Data‑driven decision‑making, including KPI design and converting insights into action.
• Go‑to‑market strength across pricing, segmentation, channels, launch readiness, and enablement.
• Operational rigor in stage‑gate/agile delivery, risk management, NPI, and lifecycle management.
• Executive‑level communication with the ability to influence and distill complex issues clearly.

Travel: Willingness to travel 25–35% to customers, sites, partners, and internal teams located in Winnipeg MB. or Langley BC.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $110,000.00-$150,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company events
• Dental care
• Disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Extended health care
• Life insurance
• On-site parking
• Paid time off
• RRSP match
• Vision care

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Winnipeg, MB R3H 0R9