Arvind Arjun

Results-driven Senior Product Manager with 18+ years of experience leading New Product Development (NPD), product lifecycle management, and R&D engineering in the agricultural machinery and automotive sectors, specializing in tractors and combine harvesters. Proven track record of building and executing product strategy and roadmaps, driving cross-functional collaboration across engineering, design, marketing, and sales, and delivering data-driven, customer-centric products that improve market competitiveness. Skilled in Agile/Scrum product delivery, stakeholder management, market and competitive analysis, cost optimization, and quality systems (DFMEA, DFA, root cause analysis).

Experienced partnering with Japanese engineering teams (Kubota, YANMAR) and implementing global manufacturing standards to launch innovative, first-time-right products. Adept at translating customer insights and KPIs into actionable product decisions that increase adoption, engagement, and retention.

Senior Manager – Product Management at Escorts Kubota Limited (2024-01 – Present)

Strategy & Vision: Defined and owned the product roadmap aligned with company objectives, increasing product adoption across the portfolio. Directed product strategy, planning, and lifecycle management for tractor and farm equipment lines. Conducted competitive analysis and market research to identify product opportunities, resulting in 2 successful product launches.

Developed and communicated a long-term product vision aligned with cross-functional stakeholders and executive leadership. Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Collaboration: Served as the key liaison between engineering, design, marketing, and sales teams to ensure on-time, successful product delivery. Managed stakeholder expectations and incorporated feedback from Sales, Support, and Marketing into the product development cycle.

Coordinated with Plant Quality, Product Development, Manufacturing Engineering, SQE, and Purchase functions. Customer-Centric Thinking: Conducted 200+ customer interviews to validate product-market fit and refine feature requirements. Partnered with designers to improve onboarding experience, increasing activation rate.

Built customer journey maps and personas to identify pain points and guide feature development. Data-Driven Decision Making: Leveraged A/B testing and customer feedback to iterate on features, improving user engagement by 25%. Analysed user behaviour and KPIs to prioritize the product backlog and reduce churn rate by 15%.

JV Plant Ownership – Rajkot: Own end-to-end Product Management responsibility for the Joint Venture (JV) manufacturing plant at Rajkot, producing the 18 HP and 25 HP category tractors. Serve as the single point of accountability for the entire plant — overseeing production planning, quality, engineering coordination, and stakeholder management across all functions. Drive product strategy and lifecycle decisions for the 18 HP and 25 HP tractor range, aligning JV partner requirements with company manufacturing and business objectives.

Coordinate cross-functionally with manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and the JV partner to ensure smooth plant operations and on-time product delivery.

Product Engineering at Escorts Kubota Limited (2020-01 – 2024-12)

• Performed 3D CAD data comparison (NX) and managed engineering changes, including drawings, DCRs, ECNs, and Pre-ECNs in Teamcenter.
• Led prototype development, validation, and production readiness to achieve First Time Right (FTR) products.
• Provided engineering support and technical coordination with Japanese design teams throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Executed cost reduction projects through localization and collaboration with Indian suppliers.
• Resolved design, assembly, and manufacturing issues during prototype and mass production using DFMEA, DFA, ORC, and root cause analysis.
• Supported plant-to-plant transfer and production stabilization for E-Kubota and FT Atom models.
• Developed manufacturing standards accounting for Indian supplier capabilities and process constraints; enabled smooth proto-assembly manufacturing in both Japan and India.
• Led the localization, design, and development of transmission components for DC68 and DC70 combine harvesters, improving cost competitiveness.
• Drove issue resolution through the ORC (Open-Resolved-Closed) system using QC tools such as DFMEA, DFA, and Serviceability analysis.

New Product Research & Development at International Tractors Limited (Sonalika) & YANMAR Tractors (2014-01 – 2020-04)

• Led problem identification and rectification during prototype assembly, with strong manpower handling and cross-team coordination.
• Delivered new prototype vehicle builds to achieve monthly R&D milestones controlled by top management.
• Conducted tractor rebuild testing and teardown, presenting findings and fitment reports to management as per DVP.
• Managed Gen-0 mock-up parts assembly and validation through to final drawing release.
• Drove cost reduction ideas and second-sourcing of components, ensuring on-time fitment, validation, and implementation.
• Planned prototype assemblies across Generation-0, Generation-1, Generation-2, and Seeding Batch project milestones.
• Partnered with Japanese engineering teams on the YANMAR Tractor Project, contributing to development of 35 & 45HP catagory tractors.
• Applied Japanese manufacturing processes and work standards during prototype assembly and validation.
• Performed competitor benchmarking and market analysis to support new product development and design improvements.

New Product Research & Development (Project House) at Mahindra & Mahindra, Farm Equipment Division (2008-01 – 2014-12)

• Led vehicle integration and aggregate assembly from prototype development through to production.
• Gathered user requirements through customer validations and feedback reports on new and existing products.
• Engaged engineering teams to develop products and resolve needs identified through customer review and new product testing.
• Reported on new product development, assembly, and testing to management to support key decisions.
• Tracked product improvement issues from proto-build through closure via ORC management.
• Validated new concept prototypes to meet customer, ergonomics, aesthetics, safety, and comfort requirements for tractors.
• Performed 3D scanning of proto-development parts and generated 3D models; supported design of various tractor components at M&M-FES.
• Conducted transmission and engine teardown testing to identify root causes of failure; prepared failure analysis reports and benchmark models.
• Prepared and maintained Test Standards and SOPs; coordinated with IT, Accounts, and Excise on R&D vehicle billing.
• Supported quality audits including 5S, OHSAS, TPM, and Kaizen initiatives.

B.Tech Mechanical Engineering from Institute of mechanical engineering Navi Mumbai Kharghar

Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Rajeev Gandhi Technical University