Sr. Product Manager – Product Innovation at Sandisk

About the Role SanDisk’s Product Innovation Team operates at the front end of product innovation—identifying emerging technology opportunities and transforming them into validated product concepts ready for incubation within Product, Engineering, and Go-To-Market (GTM) teams. As the Director of Product Management for Product Innovation, you will lead the innovation portfolio and operating rhythm that converts emerging technologies and consumer insights into evidence-backed product opportunities. You will guide concepts from early exploration through incubation readiness by combining consumer insight, technical experimentation, ecosystem collaboration, and rapid prototyping. This role requires a leader who can operate comfortably in ambiguous spaces while building clarity through structured experimentation and cross-functional collaboration. You will work closely with Research, Engineering, Industrial Design, Software (UX/UI), Ecosystem & Partner Development, and Product teams to explore new growth vectors and develop differentiated product concepts across domains such as Edge AI, wireless technologies, wearables, and immersive computing platforms. The outcome of this role is a pipeline of validated, high-potential product concepts that accelerate SanDisk’s long-term growth and technology leadership. What You’ll Do Lead Innovation Strategy & Portfolio Development • Define and maintain the innovation roadmap and concept pipeline aligned with long-term company growth priorities. • Identify emerging technology opportunities and frame them into clear product opportunity areas and concept briefs. • Establish disciplined entry/exit criteria and evidence thresholds to prioritize, advance, pivot, or terminate concepts. Translate Consumer Insights into Product Opportunities • Partner with research teams to identify unmet consumer needs and emerging use cases through qualitative and quantitative research. • Translate insights into testable hypotheses, product strategies, and value propositions. • Define measurement frameworks and success criteria for concept validation. Drive Concept Development and Prototyping • Define early product requirements (PRD-Lite), user journeys, and architectural direction. • Lead cross-functional prototyping efforts with Engineering and Technical Applications Engineering to validate desirability, feasibility, and viability. • Produce technical proof points and working prototypes that demonstrate differentiation and system feasibility. Build Ecosystem & Partner Engagement • Collaborate with technology partners including platform providers, silicon vendors, startups, and ODMs to explore joint innovation opportunities. • Evaluate emerging standards, interfaces, and platform ecosystems that could shape future product architectures. • Identify partnerships or technology opportunities that accelerate time-to-market and differentiation. Prepare Concepts for Product Incubation • Develop decision-ready incubation packages including value proposition, early product requirements, GTM hypotheses, user journeys, and risk analysis. • Lead concept reviews and executive discussions to guide incubation decisions. • Ensure clean handoffs into Product, Engineering, and GTM teams for development and commercialization. Lead Cross-Functional Innovation Collaboration • Lead cross-functional discovery sprints and innovation programs across engineering, design, and product teams. • Establish operating mechanisms that accelerate learning cycles and reduce uncertainty. • Foster a culture of experimentation and evidence-based decision making.