To succeed in the Product Manager interview process, you must demonstrate a unique blend of physical product appreciation, digital awareness, and structured problem-solving. Your preparation should focus on showing that you can lead complex, physical-to-digital product initiatives while maintaining a strong user-centric focus.

Role-Related Knowledge – You must understand the unique dynamics of the fitness industry and the complexities of manufacturing hardware. Be ready to discuss how you manage long lead times, tooling costs, and physical supply chains alongside software or console interfaces. Show that you respect the biomechanical and structural engineering heritage of brands like Hammer Strength.

Problem-Solving & Case Execution – Your interviewers will closely evaluate how you structure your thoughts. When presented with a case study or design prompt, do not jump straight to solutions. Begin by defining the target user, establishing clear business goals, identifying constraints, and then prioritizing features using a logical framework.

Cross-Functional Leadership – At Life Fitness, product managers must build strong relationships with engineering, fabrication, design, sales, and operations. You need to demonstrate that you can speak the language of a weld shop supervisor in Ramsey, MN, just as effectively as you can discuss API integrations with a software engineer or sales strategies with commercial account managers.

The interview process at Life Fitness is thorough and designed to evaluate candidates from multiple angles, ensuring a strong fit for both the specific product team and the broader organizational culture. The journey typically begins with an initial HR screening call focused on your background, career motivations, and salary expectations. This is followed by a detailed technical screen with the hiring manager to assess your product management fundamentals and experience handling complex product lifecycles.

If you pass the initial screens, you will move to the final round, which is highly comprehensive. This stage often involves back-to-back interviews with six to seven different stakeholders across the organization, including engineering partners, product managers from adjacent teams, department directors, and HR representatives. A central component of this final stage is a formal case study presentation, where you will deliver a structured product proposal to key decision-makers, demonstrating your strategic thinking, technical depth, and presentation skills.

The timeline above outlines the typical progression from your initial application to the final hiring decision. Candidates should use this visual roadmap to pace their preparation, ensuring they allocate sufficient time to research the company's product portfolio before the hiring manager screen and dedicate focused effort to the intensive case study phase. While the process is rigorous, understanding these milestones allows you to walk into each round with confidence and clarity.

To excel in the final rounds, you must understand the core areas where candidates are evaluated most rigorously.

Hardware and Digital Product Lifecycle

This area evaluates your ability to manage the unique lifecycle of physical products, which differs significantly from pure software development. You must show that you understand the implications of long development cycles, physical prototyping, tooling budgets, and supply chain dependencies.

Be ready to go over:

• Stage-Gate Processes – How to navigate structured development phases from ideation to mass production.
• Bill of Materials (BOM) Management – Understanding how component costs and manufacturing complexity impact final product margins.
• Physical-Digital Integration – Designing seamless user experiences where physical equipment interacts with digital consoles, mobile apps, and cloud-based tracking software.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Tooling amortization, global regulatory compliance for physical/electrical products, and lifecycle management for commercial-grade durability.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How would you manage a product launch where a critical physical component is delayed by three months in the supply chain?"
• "Describe how you would design a connected console for a commercial treadmill that appeals to both tech-savvy runners and casual gym-goers."

Cross-Functional Engineering & Manufacturing Collaboration

This area tests your ability to bridge the gap between product vision and the realities of the factory floor or engineering lab. You must prove that you can work effectively with structural engineers, industrial designers, and fabrication teams.

Be ready to go over:

• Translating Requirements – Converting user feedback into clear, actionable engineering requirements without micromanaging the technical solution.
• DFM (Design for Manufacturability) – Balancing premium design aesthetics and user comfort with realistic, cost-effective manufacturing processes.
• Managing Technical Debt – Balancing the pressure to release new features with the necessity of maintaining structural and software reliability.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you handle a situation where the industrial design team proposes an ergonomic feature that the welding and fabrication team says is too difficult to manufacture at scale?"
• "Give an example of how you worked with engineering to simplify a product's design to reduce manufacturing costs without sacrificing quality."

Strategic Case Study Delivery

The case study is often the deciding factor in the hiring process. It evaluates your ability to synthesize information, build a cohesive product strategy, and defend your decisions under questioning from a multi-disciplinary panel.

Be ready to go over:

• Structuring the Presentation – Setting up the problem statement, market opportunity, user personas, proposed solution, and go-to-market strategy clearly.
• Data-Driven Decision Making – Using market data, user research, and financial projections to justify your product roadmap and feature prioritization.
• Handling Q&A – Remaining calm and constructive when senior leaders challenge your assumptions or ask tough questions about technical feasibility or ROI.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk us through your case study presentation as if we were the executive leadership team deciding whether to fund this initiative."
• "Why did you prioritize feature X over feature Y in your product roadmap, and what metrics will you track to prove your hypothesis was correct?"

As a Product Manager at Life Fitness or Hammer Strength, you will own the end-to-end success of your assigned product portfolio. On a daily basis, this means actively gathering insights from commercial gym owners, personal trainers, and end-users to identify market needs and product improvements. You will translate these insights into detailed product requirement documents (PRDs) that define the "what" and "why" for your engineering partners.

You will spend a significant portion of your time collaborating across departments. You will work closely with industrial designers to refine ergonomics, collaborate with structural and electrical engineers to oversee prototyping, and align with manufacturing plants—such as the fabrication facility in Ramsey, MN—to ensure smooth production runs. You will also partner with product marketing and sales enablement teams to create compelling launch assets, train sales representatives, and define pricing strategies that maximize market adoption.

Additionally, you will be responsible for the long-term strategic health of your product lines. This includes managing product lifecycles, deciding when to phase out legacy products, monitoring competitor activities, and ensuring your products meet strict global safety and quality standards. You are the ultimate champion for your product, ensuring it delivers exceptional value to customers while achieving the company's financial and strategic objectives.

Successful candidates must demonstrate a strong balance of business acumen, technical appreciation, and leadership capabilities. The requirements vary depending on whether the specific role leans more toward digital console products or physical equipment manufacturing.

• Must-have skills

  • Proven experience managing complex products, with a strong preference for those involving physical hardware, manufacturing, or integrated hardware-software systems.
  • Strong proficiency in product management methodologies, including writing PRDs, defining user personas, and managing roadmaps.
  • Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with a track record of successfully influencing cross-functional teams without direct authority.
  • Strong analytical skills, with the ability to use data, financial modeling, and market research to drive strategic product decisions.

• Nice-to-have skills

  • Background or degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Design, or a related technical field.
  • Experience in the fitness, wellness, or athletic performance industries, or a personal passion for strength training and biomechanics.
  • Experience with heavy manufacturing processes such as metal fabrication, robotic welding, or injection molding.
  • Familiarity with Agile software development practices for connected digital products and IoT ecosystems.