Anyone who works in the electronics industry should be familiar with the role of a PM — short for Project Management. Almost every company involved in R&D or contract manufacturing has PMs. In fact, not just electronics — most industries have people doing project management.

Some people say PMs are like the locomotive that pulls the whole product or project forward. Others describe them as the lubricant inside a company, smoothing things out when departments clash or have small disagreements. But most PMs probably feel like they’re doing every odd job possible — the “handyman” or “gofer” who takes on everything that no one else wants to do.

Workingbear personally believes that being a PM doesn’t necessarily require strong engineering skills, though having a solid technical foundation helps you avoid being misled. What’s absolutely essential, however, are patience, attention to detail, and strong communication skills. To be honest, Workingbear feels that for PMs, people skills matter more than technical skills. That’s because PMs usually don’t have direct subordinates, and more than 80% of their work relies on others’ help. In short, PMs are coordinators and communicators.

A strong PM can drive (or in Taiwanese slang, “push”) others to get things done. A weak PM, on the other hand, can only politely beg or persuade others to cooperate.

So what exactly does a PM do? The term Project Management literally means managing projects — and that includes any kind of task-oriented work. In product development, PMs typically form a temporary cross-functional team that includes marketing, hardware, software, mechanical, manufacturing, NPI, and other departments. They set the milestone schedule based on the product lifecycle (PLC) and management’s expectations, then monitor progress closely. Along the way, they coordinate among departments to keep everything on track and regularly report project updates to upper management.

PMs can generally be divided into internal and external roles. If your company develops and sells its own branded products, you’ll likely only have internal PMs. But in many Taiwanese tech companies, where products are often designed for clients under ODM contracts, there are both internal and external PMs — the latter being customer-facing.

External PMs usually spend a lot of time communicating and building relationships with clients — often foreign ones. That means fluency in English is a must. Since clients are usually overseas, PMs often need to work dual shifts — handling internal tasks during the day and joining customer conference calls at night. Being on call around the clock and working late nights is just part of the job.

Some companies even split the role further into Project PMs and Engineering PMs. Project PMs handle the big picture — schedules, coordination, and overall management — while Engineering PMs, who have technical backgrounds, focus on resolving technical issues between different engineering teams. After all, most engineers have their quirks and can be tough to deal with.

From Workingbear’s observation, most PMs don’t last long in the role — especially external PMs. That’s why, in companies that handle ODM projects, the PM team often ends up being mostly female. It might be because women tend to be more patient, flexible, and less likely to be yelled at by clients. And if the PM happens to be both capable and charming, clients are even less likely to lose their temper. Male PMs, on the other hand, are often found in companies with their own brands, where the job involves not just project management but also research into new technologies — something that requires a stronger engineering background. Of course, this is just Workingbear’s personal observation, not a universal rule.

In an own-brand company, the PM is responsible for bringing a product to life — taking it from concept to reality. Typically, the process begins with marketing or sales providing a PRD (Product Requirement Document), which outlines basic requirements such as screen size, touch features, and connectivity options. The PM then asks the engineering teams to create an ERS (Engineering Requirement Specification), which lists all detailed design specs. If any new technologies are involved, the ERS also explains their principles and calculations.

After that, engineers start designing — creating schematics, mechanical drawings, and PCB layouts. The product then goes through multiple rounds of trial production, testing, and certification before mass production approval.

(Recommended Reading: Exploring EVT/DVT/PVT: Explaining the Three Crucial Validation Stages in New Product Development)

All of these phases are usually managed under a Product Lifecycle (PLC) system, which includes checkpoints and reviews at each stage. If a project fails to meet requirements, senior management will decide whether to stop or revise the plan.

Here’s a list of common PM job requirements that Workingbear has gathered:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering, science, or business-related fields

• Experience in new product development, planning, and introduction

• Ability to analyze competitors’ technologies and market positions

• Planning and managing project schedules, communication, and coordination

• Defining product specifications, assessing feasibility, and managing timelines

• Conducting market and product trend research to support R&D decisions

• Overseeing product promotion, marketing materials, and customer presentations

• Familiarity with R&D schedules and cost estimation

• Strong communication, proactive attitude, and teamwork skills

• Proficiency in English (listening, speaking, reading, and writing)

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