Product Manager - ASRS (Automated Storage & Retrieval System)

Rapyuta Robotics is an ETH Zurich spin-off headquartered in Tokyo, building state-of-the-art cloud robotics platforms and large-scale autonomous robotic solutions for the logistics industry. Our mission is to make robots more accessible by automating demanding, dirty, and dangerous work, enabling people to focus on safer and more meaningful tasks.  Role Overview  The Product Manager – ASRS will lead the end-to-end lifecycle of our Automated Storage & Retrieval System (ASRS) products and the ASRS-centric solution as a whole. You will work closely with Senior Product Managers, Business Owners, Solution Management, Engineering, Operations, and external partners to translate customer needs, on-site operational challenges, market trends, regulatory requirements, and technical insights into implementable product requirements and specifications. This role requires both strong execution capability to deliver immediate customer value and strategic thinking to shape the mid-to-long-term future of automated logistics.  Key Responsibilities 

1. Understanding User Needs and Customer Engagement  Engage directly with customers and deployment sites to systematically understand operational workflows, challenges, and success metrics (KPIs) involving ASRS.  Identify latent and unarticulated customer pain points through on-site observation and structured interviews.  Apply design thinking and human-centered design methodologies to translate qualitative insights into quantifiable, value-driven solution designs. 
2. Driving Product Strategy, Vision, and Roadmaps  Collaborate with Senior Product Managers and Business Owners to refine and operationalize the overall ASRS solution vision.  Continuously review and update product roadmaps based on market trends, customer insights, and operational data.  Ensure alignment between feature development and business objectives, including growth, profitability, and operational efficiency. 
3. ART Backlog Management and Prioritization  Own the ART backlog related to ASRS process flows and integration with WMS and surrounding systems.  Define clear acceptance criteria for backlog items, considering business value, technical feasibility, and operational impact.  Prioritize backlog items to align with architectural runway and ART objectives. 
4. Delivering Value Through Continuous Delivery  Work closely with Engineering, Robotics, and Operations teams to deliver high-quality, timely releases.  Support system demos, PI planning, and post-release reviews (Inspect & Adapt) to drive continuous improvement.  Validate that released features deliver real customer value and propose follow-up actions or enhancements as needed. 
5. Market and Regulatory Research and Requirement Definition  Conduct gap analysis of customer needs and competitive solutions across North America, APAC, and Europe.  Monitor regional regulatory and standards’ trends, including fire protection, safety, and seismic requirements.  Collaborate with regulatory experts and external certification bodies to translate regulatory requirements into implementable functional and non-functional requirements for ASRS/WMS.  Reflect findings in product strategy and roadmaps to support globally scalable product design and improvement.