About River
River is a design company building multi-utility products. Our flagship product River Indie, #SUVofScooters, is designed to help you get things done. Engineered to be a dependable ally on your road to success.
We're a 1000+ team headquartered in Bengaluru – backed by marquee international investors, with mobility-focused funds linked to Yamaha Motors, Al-Futtaim Automotive Group, Toyota VC, Trucks Venture Capital, Mitsui & Co. Ltd, Marubeni Ventures Inc., Lower carbon Capital, and Maniv Mobility.
Key Responsibilities
- Define the long-term Vehicle Platform Strategy, including new model introductions, variants, and mid-cycle refreshes(Indie, and future models)
- Conduct deep-dive Competitive Benchmarking against domestic and international EV/ICE players to ensure River maintains a moat in utility and performance
- Develop a multi-year roadmap that balances hardware evolution with software-enabled features (SOTA/FOTA)
- Establish pricing and positioning frameworks to ensure portfolio profitability and brand coherence
- Define the value proposition for different vehicle trims, ensuring clear differentiation in pricing and feature sets
- New Product Development (NPD), Drive the end-to-end lifecycle: Concept → Design → Prototype → Validation → Production → Launch
- Draft comprehensive Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) covering Performance(Range, Acceleration, Top Speed, Gradeability, and Thermal Management), Safety, Reliability, Homologation, HMI, Connectivity, Charging experience, etc
- Lead the Gated Development Process, with detailed reviews against L0/PRD to ensure Vehicle requirements are met
- Coordinate with Design, R&D, Sourcing, Service, and Quality teams along with the Program team to ensure vehicles meet functional and aesthetic standards
- Oversee vehicle testing for durability, safety, and performance in real-world conditions with CFT
- Define GTM strategies along with Product Strategies, Sales, Marketing and Cross functional teams
- Serve as the single point of accountability connecting tech and non-tech teams
- Track project metrics: Monthly sales, sales variations, Time-to-Market, Cost variance, Quality index, and Conversion rate
- Lead the Trade-off discussions: making data-backed decisions when cost, weight, or timelines conflict with ideal product features
- Customer Experience & Insights, Deeply understand customer needs, usage patterns, and pain points across different personas
- Partner with CX, Service, and Sales teams to capture field data and drive continuous improvement
- Drive accessories integration into the digital ecosystem (River App, dealership configurator, e-commerce store)
- Own the BOM (Bill of Materials) Cost Targets; work with Sourcing to achieve target margins without compromising product integrity
- Develop the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model to communicate value to the end customer
- Analyze market trends to set competitive MSRPs (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) and financing-friendly product structures
- Own the P&L for the Accessories Vertical – including cost optimization, revenue targets, and margin management
- Monitor warranty trends and Warranty cost per Vehicle metrics to protect long-term P&L
- Lifecycle Management (Cradle to Grave), Manage the Product Phase-out and Transition strategy to prevent inventory pile-up of older models during new launches
- Define the Software Update Roadmap (OTA strategy) to keep In-Market vehicles feeling fresh and high-performing
- Monitor global supply chain shifts or regulatory changes that may require mid-life engineering changes (ECN)
- Develop feedback loops from service centers and customers to plan Next Gen iterations
Ideal Candidate
- Strong understanding of product lifecycle management and accessories ecosystem (automotive, lifestyle, & consumer electronics)
- Excellent analytical, and people skills. Proficiency in using market data, telemetry, and financial modeling to justify product pivots
- Customer-first mindset with ability to translate insights into tangible product decisions
- Financial literacy (pricing, P&L, ROI, payback analysis)
- Hands-on experience working with design, engineering, quality, and manufacturing teams
- Proficiency in documentation (PRD, Business Case, Specification Sheets) and digital tools (Excel, Sheets, Power BI, etc)
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering or MBA Postgraduate in Product/Business Management preferred
- 8 to 10 years of experience in Product Management, with at least 3 years specifically in the Automotive or EV space
- Proven track record of taking a complex hardware product from concept to commercial launch
