What does a product line director do?
Product line director positions will require good skills in project management, product development, and business development. Those who choose this career path will be called on to maintain a portfolio of all the company products and product lines--specifically, be responsible for creating, tracking, and monitoring all existing products with the company's portfolio.
Product line director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real product line director resumes:
- Lead cross-functional team in pioneering the application/game download ecosystem with the implementation of Java games and generating significant new revenue stream.
- Utilize SQL to support data-driven analysis and decision processes to inform project prioritization, assess feature effectiveness, and troubleshoot issues.
- Provide statistical analysis and technical responses to customer RFQ.
Product line director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Product Line Directors are proficient in Project Management, Service Line, and Oversight. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Product Line Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 11%
Translated the ever-evolving client needs into Weatherford solutions by clearly defining engineering design requests and active project management.
- Service Line, 10%
Conducted Kettering Cardiovascular Institute, Cardiac Service Line and other hospital committee meetings.
- Oversight, 10%
Trained in Lean Six-Sigma oversight.
- Business Development, 7%
Supported Sales and Business Development with training, presentations, technical information, and solution configurations.
- Business Plan, 5%
Directed teams across multiple areas including business planning, sales/profit, marketing, forecasting/reporting, supply, quality and inventory initiatives.
- Program Management, 5%
Implemented disciplined program management and set the standard for complex business case analysis.
Most product line directors use their skills in "project management," "service line," and "oversight" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential product line director responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a product line director to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." Product line directors often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provide product line team with financial analysis and affordable cost structure evaluations. "
Communication skills. Many product line director duties rely on communication skills. "managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process," so a product line director will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways product line director responsibilities rely on communication skills: "developed a sales pipeline management system which facilitated improved sales management, team communications and coordination, and sales forecasting. "
Creativity. This is an important skill for product line directors to perform their duties. For an example of how product line director responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a product line director: "participated the product line inventory reduction initiative in 2015 and reduced inventory by more than $12mm. ".
Organizational skills. A big part of what product line directors do relies on "organizational skills." You can see how essential it is to product line director responsibilities because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical product line director tasks: "collaborated with marketing and business development to establish and grow the cardiovascular service line to meet organizational goals. "
The three companies that hire the most product line directors are:
- Merck9 product line directors jobs
- Genentech7 product line directors jobs
- Hoffmann-LA Roche Inc7 product line directors jobs
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Compare different product line directors
Product line director vs. Vice president product development
A vice president for product development is responsible for leading the product development team in the execution of development activities to enhance the product's brand image in the market and achieve the sales performance target. Vice presidents for product development monitor the product development techniques from the conceptualization to the final execution and market release. They also handle the budget and resource allocation to support product development operations, ensuring that the outputs meet the quality standards and timetables.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between product line directors and vice president product development. For instance, product line director responsibilities require skills such as "service line," "oversight," "program management," and "profitable growth." Whereas a vice president product development is skilled in "analytics," "product management," "product design," and "architecture." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Vice presidents product development tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $164,622. In contrast, product line directors make the biggest average salary, $164,738, in the telecommunication industry.On average, vice presidents product development reach higher levels of education than product line directors. Vice presidents product development are 6.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Product line director vs. Director of product development
A Director of Product Development supervises and implements product development policies, initiatives, and objectives. They conduct market research to determine consumer needs and identify competitors.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that product line director responsibilities requires skills like "service line," "oversight," "program management," and "profitable growth." But a director of product development might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "product management," "market research," "software development," and "fda."
Directors of product development earn a higher average salary than product line directors. But directors of product development earn the highest pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $142,193. Additionally, product line directors earn the highest salaries in the telecommunication with average pay of $164,738 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Directors of product development tend to reach similar levels of education than product line directors. In fact, they're 3.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Product line director vs. Director, product marketing
A Director of Product Marketing directs the marketing activities of one or more products or product lines within the organization. They develop strong relationships with key customers.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, product line directors are more likely to have skills like "project management," "service line," "oversight," and "program management." But a director, product marketing is more likely to have skills like "product management," "digital marketing," "market research," and "market trends."
Directors, product marketing earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $146,919. Comparatively, product line directors have the highest earning potential in the telecommunication industry, with an average salary of $164,738.directors, product marketing typically earn higher educational levels compared to product line directors. Specifically, they're 7.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Product line director vs. Associate product manager
An associate product manager is someone who assists the product development teams in the development of new product features. The duties of an associate include formulation of product strategies, collection of quantitative product data, and interpretation of consumer feedback. The requirements to qualify for the position include a bachelor's degree in computer science, marketing, business management, or a related field, the ability to maintain strong customer relations, and excellent communication skills.
Types of product line director
Updated January 8, 2025
