Do I need to be a programmer/technician to be a tech product manager?

The simple answer to this question is "no". You do not need to be a strong technician or know how to code to be a product manager in tech. However, in practice, having solid technical skills is likely to make you more effective as a product manager as it provides credibility to key stakeholders like engineering. Also, understanding some aspects of technology will help you make tough business decisions like accepting a suboptimal architecture to lower time to market.

The analogy we use is that of a plumber. Do you need to know a lot about plumnbing to hire one? You don't! However, you are in a much stronger position to make decisions and negotiate if you undestand at least the basics of how plumbing works. This knowledge can help you avoid being taken advantage of!