Market Analyst

Description

About the Opportunity

Our client is seeking a Marketing Analyst - Product & Market Intelligence to support product strategy, product development, and market intelligence within a technical manufacturing environment.

This is not a traditional digital marketing or campaign-focused role. The position is focused on researching markets, customers, competitors, pricing, emerging technologies, and new product opportunities, then turning that information into clear, actionable recommendations for Product Management and Engineering.

The successful candidate will work closely with Product Management, Engineering, Operations, Quality, Sales, and Marketing to ensure customer requirements, market intelligence, technical specifications, and business objectives are clearly researched, documented, analyzed, and communicated throughout the product lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct ongoing research into market trends, emerging technologies, customer applications, and industry developments
• Research new product opportunities, adjacent product categories, and emerging market segments
• Monitor competitor products, pricing, specifications, technology, patents, launches, partnerships, and strategic activity
• Conduct competitive product, feature, and specification comparisons
• Prepare research summaries and recommendations to support product strategy and innovation planning
• Gather and analyze Voice of Customer information from customers, distributors, sales teams, and other sources
• Identify recurring customer issues, unmet needs, product improvement opportunities, and emerging trends
• Translate market and customer insights into actionable product and business recommendations
• Develop and maintain Product Requirements Documents (PRDs) and Customer Requirements Specifications (CRS)
• Prepare business cases, presentations, Stage-Gate documentation, product summaries, and supporting development materials
• Support product-development and Stage-Gate review activities
• Assist with beta testing programs, customer surveys, evaluation forms, and product validation
• Analyze beta-testing feedback and prepare summary reports
• Monitor product performance metrics and support forecasting and product-investment analysis
• Support product lifecycle and end-of-life planning
• Help improve and establish repeatable processes for market research, competitive intelligence, Voice of Customer, and product-development documentation

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Marketing, Business Analysis, Technical Communications, or a related field
• 3+ years of experience in business analysis, product development, technical documentation, product support, engineering administration, market research, or a related role
• Experience within manufacturing, industrial products, technical products, or engineered products strongly preferred
• Strong research, analytical, and competitive-intelligence skills
• Ability to gather, organize, interpret, and communicate complex information
• Strong technical and business writing skills
• Experience developing product requirements, business requirements, or supporting product-development documentation
• Strong organizational and project-coordination skills
• Ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Strong attention to detail and document-control practices
• Understanding of product development and Stage-Gate processes
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and business-reporting tools
• Intermediate Excel skills or better

Ideal Background

The ideal candidate has worked with physical, manufactured, industrial, or engineered products and can demonstrate experience researching markets, competitors, and customers and turning those findings into recommendations that influence product or business decisions.

Experience with market intelligence, competitive intelligence, Voice of Customer, New Product Development, product strategy, PRDs, CRS, business cases, or Stage-Gate processes would be especially relevant.

Why You'll Love Working Here:*Supportive, team-driven culture that values collaboration, transparency, and accountability*Opportunity to grow your career with a global workforce solutions leader serving multiple industries*People-first environment that encourages employees to bring their authentic selves to work*Strong focus on partnership, innovation, and delivering meaningful results for clients and candidatesWhy This Opportunity is Exciting:This role offers the chance to join a company that prioritizes both people and performance-where your contributions directly impact client success while giving you room to grow and develop professionally.About Acara SolutionsAcara is a premier recruiting and workforce solutions provider-we help companies compete for talent. With a legacy of experience in various industries worldwide, we partner with clients, listen to their needs, and customize visionary talent solutions that drive desired business outcomes. We leverage decades of experience to deliver contingent staffing, direct placement, executive search, and workforce services worldwide. Job Requirements

What You'll Bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Marketing, Business Analysis, Technical Communications, or a related field
• 3+ years of experience in market research, product development, business analysis, product support, technical documentation, engineering administration, or a related area
• Experience working with industrial, manufactured, technical, or engineered products
• Strong market research, competitive analysis, and analytical skills
• Ability to gather complex information and turn it into clear, actionable recommendations
• Strong technical and business writing skills
• Experience with product requirements, customer requirements, business cases, or product-development documentation
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to work across Product, Engineering, Sales, Operations, Quality, and Marketing
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Excel, and business reporting tools

What Sets You Apart:

• Experience with Voice of Customer (VoC), competitive intelligence, product strategy, or market intelligence
• Exposure to New Product Development, Stage-Gate processes, PRDs, or Customer Requirements Specifications
• A background working with physical products, particularly industrial equipment, machinery, tools, mining, energy, aerospace, or other technical products
• Proven ability to identify customer pain points, market gaps, and new product opportunities
• Experience turning customer and competitor research into recommendations that have influenced a product, pricing, or business decision
• A proactive mindset - you're comfortable building or improving research processes rather than simply following an existing one
• Strong curiosity and the ability to work independently with incomplete information and ambiguous problems