Product Portfolio Manager

As Product Specialist Defense & Security you own and develop an assigned product segment within Damen's defense portfolio, translating market needs into standardized, feasible solutions. You lead the Design & Proposal Engineers to deliver technically sound and commercially relevant proposals, while aligning with product baselines and governance. Your work interfaces with Sales, Tender Management, Engineering and management to support timely, quality outcomes. You drive continuous improvement and ensure compliance with Damen standards and export controls. This role combines technical depth with strategic portfolio leadership in an international, multidisciplinary setting.

• competitive salary aligned to Metalektro collective agreement
• dynamic international work environment
• 27 vacation days + 13 ADV days
• Damen Academy for development
• pension scheme
• travel expense reimbursement

• Own and manage the assigned product portfolio segment, including baselines, reference designs, and roadmap development
• Translate market developments and customer feedback into product improvements and priorities
• Maintain standards and configuration control, balancing standardization with customer flexibility
• Safeguard product philosophy; prevent deviations from eroding the approved baseline
• Oversee preparation and delivery of technical proposals with Sales, Tender Management and engineering
• Own technical proposal quality, ensuring consistency with product standards and sign-off readiness
• Advise on product fit, feasibility, bid/no-bid decisions, and standard vs. custom solutions
• Lead and manage the Design & Proposal Engineers, including objective setting and workload planning
• Support recruitment, onboarding, knowledge transfer and retention of the team
• Drive continuous improvement by capturing lessons learned and updating standards, templates, baselines, and ways of working
• Ensure activities comply with Damen governance, HSSEQ, ethics, export-control, and approvals

• Academic level in Shipbuilding, Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering or comparable technical discipline
• 10+ years in shipbuilding, naval architecture, marine engineering, or related complex environment
• Strong understanding of ship design, customer requirements, and standardization principles
• Experience with business development, Sales support and tender processes, preferably in defense/export
• Ability to act as product authority and translate knowledge into product decisions
• Experience in leading/coaching technical or proposal teams; people management preferred
• Ability to manage workload across tenders, product development, and improvement work
• Strong stakeholder management across multiple locations (Gorinchem, Vlissingen, Abu Dhabi)
• Excellent English communication; Dutch advantageous
• Willingness to travel to customers, shipyards and Damen locations

• Leadership
• Stakeholder management
• Clear communication
• Ship design principles
• Configuration control and standardization
• Proposal development and tender processes