Pressures Ratchet Upward as Demand for Product Managers in Aerospace, Defense Grows

Product management in the aerospace and defense industries was already a challenging enterprise. Competition is global. The entire world needs to be outmaneuvered, not just a single market. Stakes are the highest imaginable -- potentially, life and death. And yet, the current drive for greater customization, innovation and digitization of new products has shortened lifecycles and piled on even more pressures for overburdened product managers.

How is this class of professionals responding? And how, in turn, is this response driving the industries they serve?

Product management is an essential role in all industries. Like the managers in other fields, aerospace and defense product managers must support their firm’s strategic goals while developing new products that target specific market niches likely to prove profitable. This one individual is responsible for a new invention’s entire lifecycle — from conception through delivery to the end user. A thorough knowledge of both the needs of potential customers and the capabilities of the business involved is obviously critical.

Increasing Stakes and Demand for Product Managers in Aerospace

The aerospace industry is currently growing, attracting new players as well as expanding manufacturing operations into countries without such previous development. As it does, buyers are creating demands on this new capability. They want:

• more fuel-efficient aircraft including the use of advanced materials to achieve this aim
• more emphasis on security (including cybersecurity) at all stages of production
• increased digital innovation, with the ability to track components and processes throughout fabrication and service use
• stronger supply chains, with less risk of interruption
• support for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) systems to assure growth in emerging markets

These competitive demands are requiring aerospace product managers to rely more strongly on advanced planning and production methodologies. These include virtual reality (VR) technology, which has proven especially valuable at the prototype stage. Inefficiencies can be eliminated during pre-production, saving time and money and improving problem solving along the way.

Additionally, the use of Internet of Things (IoT) automation is speeding improvements in aircraft engine technology as it collects and reports data in real time. Machine learning, an aspect of artificial intelligence (AI), is providing new ways of analyzing the data that is collected in this way. Together these two innovations allow testing and development of components and processes much faster than could be achieved previously.

Demand for Product Managers in Defense Grows Amid Challenges

The defense industry faces many of the same demands from buyers as those experienced by aerospace. These demands are expressed even more urgently, as they derive from national security concerns. 

Cybersecurity concerns are more pronounced, for example, both because of the relative risks related to intrusion, and because the defense industry itself is a magnet for attracting malevolent attention. 

Supply chain concerns require incorporating redundancies into all product lines. The recent explosion in prices for raw materials, which has reduced profitability of products already under development and forced re-configuration of those still in planning, has only increased the focus on this aim.

But the largest challenge facing defense product managers is one common across multiple technical industries -- sourcing the talent to manage the advanced technology required to profitably produce and market product innovations in this sphere. Technical prowess cannot trump leadership skills for any product manager, not in these industries, and not in 2023.

Capitol Technology University sees the demand for professionals in this field and offers several programs to train and prepare these individuals for advancement of their career in the product management industry. Our Masters in Product Management degree turns workers into leaders, and equips them with the knowledge needed to make significant improvements to the field.