CPE Product Manager - telecoms

SUMMARY:
The CPE Product Manager is responsible for defining and managing the end-to-end Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) portfolio across consumer, enterprise, and private 5G product lines.
 
The role exists to ensure that CPE strategy supports commercial growth, scalable deployment, service quality, operational efficiency, and long-term access competitiveness. The successful candidate will lead device strategy across multiple market segments and align technical, commercial, and operational requirements into a coherent portfolio and lifecycle plan.

POSITION INFO:
Key responsibilities:

Portfolio strategy and product ownership:

• Develop and maintain the CPE portfolio strategy across:
• Consumer broadband and fixed wireless access
• SME and enterprise connectivity
• Private 5G and industry-specific deployments
• Define segment-based device requirements by use case, customer profile, price point, performance tier, and install model
• Own the end-to-end lifecycle of CPE products from evaluation and business case development through launch, optimization, refresh, and retirement
• Ensure CPE roadmap alignment with broader access, enterprise, and private network product strategies

• Define product and technical requirements for CPE devices across all supported segments
• Prioritize features such as:
• Indoor and outdoor deployment models
• Wi-Fi capability and in-home performance
• Remote diagnostics and device management
• Zero-touch provisioning
• Security and policy management
• Enterprise networking and branch connectivity support
• Ruggedization and environmental suitability where required
• Private 5G integration and on-premises deployment support
• Ensure device requirements align with customer experience, commercial needs, and operational practicality

• Define CPE requirements that enable enterprise-grade connectivity and managed access services
• Support private 5G product teams with device strategy for use cases including campuses, mines, logistics, utilities, factories, healthcare, and branch environments
• Ensure that selected devices support repeatable deployment, service assurance, and lifecycle support in enterprise and industrial settings

• Manage relationships with CPE vendors, ODMs, chipset providers, software suppliers, and certification partners
• Evaluate vendors based on:
• Technical suitability
• Security posture
• Roadmap maturity
• Lifecycle support
• Commercial competitiveness
• Enterprise and private 5G readiness
• Lead vendor selection, product evaluation, and ongoing portfolio performance reviews
• Support commercial negotiations and reduce undue vendor dependency where appropriate

• Work closely with operations, supply chain, field teams, and customer support to ensure product readiness and scalability
• Improve install success, replacement workflows, firmware lifecycle management, and device observability
• Support inventory planning, certification, in-life support, and end-of-life transitions
• Ensure that portfolio decisions are supportable at scale in real operating conditions

• Coordinate with:
• Product teams
• Engineering and network teams
• Enterprise and private 5G teams
• Procurement and logistics
• Customer operations
• Finance
• Legal, regulatory, and compliance stakeholders
• Translate technical and operational trade-offs into clear commercial recommendations for leadership

• Portfolio gross margin and cost-to-serve performance
• Speed of product launch and refresh execution
• Installation success rates
• Device return and failure rates
• Support ticket reduction and operational efficiency
• Customer experience and service quality outcomes
• Enterprise and private 5G deployment readiness
• Vendor performance and roadmap alignment
• Contribution to scalable access and connectivity growth

• Relevant product management experience in telecommunications, connectivity, networking, broadband, or adjacent technology sectors
• Demonstrated experience managing hardware-enabled or connectivity-based product portfolios
• Experience building business cases and managing cross-functional delivery

• Experience in one or more of the following:
• Fixed wireless access
• Broadband CPE
• Enterprise networking
• Managed connectivity
• Private LTE / private 5G
• Familiarity with device management, provisioning, and lifecycle practices
• Experience working with vendors, OEMs, ODMs, or network equipment providers
• Exposure to enterprise, industrial, or operational telecom environments

• Strong commercial and financial acumen
• Solid understanding of CPE technologies and deployment models
• Ability to interpret technical requirements and convert them into product and business decisions
• Strong analytical, planning, and prioritization skills
• Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional communication
• Experience with vendor evaluation and negotiation
• Ability to manage multiple product lines and lifecycle timelines simultaneously

• Strategic thinking
• Customer and market orientation
• Ownership and accountability
• Problem solving and decision making
• Collaboration and influence
• Execution discipline
• Commercial judgment
• Adaptability in fast-changing technology environments

• Consumer product teams
• Enterprise product teams
• Private 5G product and solution teams
• Network engineering and architecture
• Procurement and supply chain
• Field operations and customer support
• Finance and commercial leadership
• Device and platform vendors