Product Marketing Manager at Protolabs

Be yourself at Protolabs  Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification.  We are an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building a diverse team that feels they are valued in the workplace.  So do you feel you do not meet every single requirement but still intrigued? We encourage you to still apply!  You can help make our company even better.  We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, mental or physical ability, or any way you represent yourself.  We strongly believe diversity makes for more successful teams.    Why Protolabs?  We are the leaders in digital manufacturing.  We hire doers, makers, and creative thinkers who tackle our roles with an entrepreneurial spirit.  Our culture is centered around meaningful work that brings new and innovative products to market at unprecedented speeds.  We are a diverse team that comes from all walks of life and take pride in our team who is smart, genuine, humble, and passionate about what we do.  It’s our people who fuel our creativity and make our culture feel like home.  Join our team as a Project Applications Engineer!   This is a fixed hybrid role (onsite Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday; remote Monday and Friday) in Maple Plain, MN.   As an Injection Molding Project Applications Engineer (PAE 2) at Protolabs, you’ll sit at the intersection of engineering excellence, customer success, and advanced manufacturing. In this highly visible role, you’ll guide customers through moderately complex injection molding projects—helping them bring ideas to life faster, smarter, and with confidence. You’ll leverage your technical expertise to evaluate customer‑supplied 3D CAD models, RFQs, and drawings, ensuring designs are optimized for manufacturability, quality, and cost. Acting as a trusted technical advisor, you’ll partner closely with sales and customers to communicate injection molding capabilities, process limitations, and best‑practice recommendations throughout the sales and production lifecycle. Beyond initial design review, you’ll collaborate with internal engineering, manufacturing, and quality teams to align Statements of Work, mitigate risk, and ensure process and quality requirements are met from project kickoff through manufacturing. Whether supporting virtual meetings or engaging face‑to‑face with customers, you’ll serve as a technical consultant who builds trust, solves problems, and helps drive long‑term customer relationships. This role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys applying technical depth in a customer‑facing environment, thrives in a fast‑paced setting, and wants to make a tangible impact on how innovative products are manufactured. Occasional travel may be required.      What you'll do: • Partner closely with product management and marketing leadership to define and execute go‑to‑market strategies for assigned Protolabs services, including target audience identification, competitive analysis, customer acquisition and retention strategies, and growth objectives. • Serve as a core member of the service line growth team, acting as the primary marketing lead for key growth initiatives. • Act as the primary liaison between product management and marketing communications to ensure alignment during product launches and go‑to‑market planning. • Own service‑level messaging and value proposition development, clearly differentiating Protolabs’ capabilities and reinforcing market leadership. • Track and evaluate competitor positioning and marketing strategies across digital (paid, organic, social) and traditional channels (tradeshows, events, PR) to inform competitive differentiation. • Develop deep expertise in customer personas, use cases, and buying motivations; share insights across marketing teams to guide messaging, positioning, and content strategy. • Ensure all marketing communications clearly articulate relevant value propositions tailored to defined audiences and personas. • Collaborate cross‑functionally with marketing and product teams to design and execute integrated campaigns that build awareness, generate demand, and drive revenue growth. • Leverage data and analytics to assess service line performance, highlight trends, and identify actionable growth opportunities. • Partner with sales and marketing teams to develop effective sales enablement tools, content, and resources that support revenue attainment. • Map and document the end‑to‑end customer and buyer journey, identifying key decision points, information sources, and engagement drivers. • Drive alignment across sales, product management, and cross‑functional stakeholders to achieve upper‑funnel performance metrics, including leads, uploads, and quote generation. • Participate in cross‑functional demand planning to support forecast accuracy and revenue targets. • Perform additional related responsibilities as required. What it takes: • 3+ years of product marketing experience with 5+ years of marketing experience • Bachelor’s Degree in Business/Marketing, MBA preferred • B2B, B2C and/or e-Commerce experience highly desired • Proficient in all Microsoft Office tools and Salesforce/CRM • Proven track record of developing effective marketing strategies and on-point messaging and positioning. • Keen focus on customer-centric and data-driven approach to problem solving • Excellent people skills with ability to interact at all levels of the organization, including colleagues, cross-functional peers, executives, customers, and third parties • High levels of curiosity and desire to learn more • Interest in manufacturing technologies, product design/development, and/or other similar engineering disciplines What's in it for you? • We offer a competitive salary and annual bonus opportunity • In addition, we offer amazing benefits including but not limited to: • Health Insurance: Traditional OR High Deductible plan • Flexible Spending Accounts • Health Savings Account (including employer contributions) • Dental and Vision • Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance • Short-Term and Long-Term Disability • Paid caregiver leave • You will receive at least 3 weeks of PTO + Wellness Hours + Holiday Pay + Volunteer Hours • 401k with company match and immediate vest • Employee Stock Purchase Program at a 15% discounted rate • Matching grants through Protolabs foundation • And More! Proto Labs maintains ITAR-compliant operations in all of our United States based facilities.  Due to ITAR regulations, this role is only open to U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) or foreign nationals granted refugee or asylee status.  Individuals with temporary visas (e.g. E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, TN or OPT) are not eligible for hire in this role.   Proto Labs, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer   Physical Demands: While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use a computer keyboard, monitor and mouse, telephone and printer; reach with hands, and arms, talk, see and hear.  The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, stoop or kneel and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Work Environment: Indoors (A/C); nonsmoking; the majority of this job function is performed in an office setting requiring normal safety precautions. However, there may be job duties that require the employee to spend time in the manufacturing areas exposed to machinery and noise; eye protection occasionally required. Occasionally works in outside weather conditions. Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.