Manager – Customer Strategy & Market Insights

A Career at HARMAN Automotive

We’re a global, multi-disciplinary team that’s putting the innovative power of technology to work and transforming tomorrow. At HARMAN Automotive, we give you the keys to fast-track your career. 

• Engineer audio systems and integrated technology platforms that augment the driving experience 

• Combine ingenuity, in-depth research, and a spirit of collaboration with design and engineering excellence

• Advance in-vehicle infotainment, safety, efficiency, and enjoyment 

About the Role

As a Manager, Customer Strategy & Market Insights on HARMAN Automotive’s Car Audio Strategy team, you will work across three equally important areas: AI enablement, strategic project management, and market insights. You will help the team assess where AI can solve real business problems, configure practical solutions with approved tools, lead strategic projects across functions, and turn market and competitive information into useful business insight.

This is a broad, collaborative role for a self-driven professional who takes initiative, works through ambiguity, and moves priorities forward. You will partner closely with colleagues across Strategy, business functions, and technical teams, building alignment and coordinating contributions to deliver practical outcomes. You will be the Strategy team’s go-to resource for evaluating AI tools and use cases. The role does not require software development or production-level AI deployment, and it has no direct reports.

What You Will Do

• Lead strategic projects, including the business unit strategy refresh and functional strategy work. Define plans, milestones, decisions, dependencies, and deliverables. Align contributors and keep work moving. 

• Develop and maintain market, competitive, customer, and consumer insights on automotive audio, OEM activity, suppliers, technology, brands, regions, and changing consumer expectations. Translate findings into implications for strategy, customer discussions, and value propositions.

• Identify gaps in available information and recommend when additional research is needed.

• Serve as the Strategy team’s go-to resource for AI tools and use cases. Investigate business problems, assess whether AI or another approach could help, and recommend practical next steps.

• Configure or prototype AI agents, workflows, and other solutions using approved tools such as Copilot Studio, ChatGPT, or similar platforms. Coordinate with IT, security, legal, data, and other teams as needed.

• Support executive-level strategy presentations by developing slide content, consolidating input, managing review cycles, and coordinating working sessions.
  

What You Need to Be Successful

• 7+ years of project-management experience, with demonstrated ability to coordinate multiple contributors, manage deadlines, resolve gaps, and deliver high-quality work in a fast-moving environment.
• Strong business judgment and commercial sense. Be able to connect analysis and technology options to business needs, value, and practical tradeoffs.

• Practical fluency with generative AI and productivity tools, their capability and application to specific use cases (without needing to be a software developer).

• Self-driven and effective at leading cross-functional work, take initiative, bring structure to ambiguous projects, align contributors, manage competing priorities, and keep work moving with limited oversight. Regular collaboration across teams is central to the role. 

• Curiosity and learning agility, ability to get up to speed quickly, ask good questions, and move into unfamiliar topics with a bias for action.

• Confidence working across business and technical teams, including senior leaders, and coordinating contributors across functions, cultures, and time zones.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize information and present clear recommendations.
  

Bonus Points if You Have

• Understanding of the automotive industry, including OEM business models, vehicle segments, customer decision-making, and relevant market trends.

• Familiarity with branded automotive audio, premium consumer brands, infotainment, acoustics, vehicle technology, or automotive electrical architectures.

• PMO experience or experience with road mapping tools.

• A Master of Business Administration.

• Experience in automotive, automotive audio, consumer electronics, technology, consulting, a Tier-1 supplier, or an automotive OEM.
  

What Makes You Eligible 

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, or a similar discipline.

• 7+ years of progressively responsible professional experience in strategy, project or program management, business operations, market insights, consulting, technology, or a related area. We value business judgment, learning agility, and initiative over a specific career path. AI experience and application proof are critical.

• Willingness to work in the Novi office three days per week in a hybrid arrangement.

• Willingness to travel less than 10%.

• Flexibility to participate in early-morning or evening meetings with global teams when required.

• Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment.

What We Offer

• Access to employee discounts on world-class products (JBL, HARMAN Kardon, AKG, and more).
• Extensive training opportunities through our own HARMAN University.
• Competitive wellness benefits.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• “Be Brilliant” employee recognition and rewards program.
• An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages professional and personal development.
   

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