Principal Product Manager, Product Development Platforms

Job description

**This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, which manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Principal Product Manager, Product Development Platforms based in the United States.** The Principal Product Manager, Product Development Platforms will define the strategy and evolution of AI-first platforms that transform how teams plan, build, and deliver products. This senior leadership role focuses on creating a connected ecosystem of developer tools, internal platforms, and collaborative technologies that enable more efficient, AI-native product development. You will own the platform portfolio, guide investment decisions, and determine which tools to scale, integrate, replace, or retire. Working closely with Product, Engineering, Design, Security, Legal, and Finance, you will translate ambitious transformation goals into practical roadmaps and measurable outcomes. You will also champion responsible AI adoption, improve platform accessibility, and establish scalable support and governance models. This is an opportunity to influence enterprise-wide ways of working, mentor product leaders, and shape the future of software development in a collaborative, distributed environment. ### Accountabilities: - **Product Vision and Strategy:** Define and communicate the long-term vision for product development platforms and builder tools, translating strategic objectives into actionable priorities. Identify the core platforms needed to support AI-native workflows and determine which temporary solutions or legacy tools should be maintained, replaced, or retired. - **Platform Portfolio Management:** Own the strategy, roadmap, and execution of the product development platform portfolio, including tools such as Replit, Atlassian, and Airtable. Evaluate new capabilities, coordinate platform improvements with Engineering and technical program managers, and ensure the portfolio evolves in line with business needs. - **Investment and Business Case Development:** Develop business cases and recommendations for platform investments, including decisions to build, buy, renew, migrate, or retire tools. Assess business value, implementation effort, operational impact, and long-term sustainability to guide resource allocation and investment priorities. - **AI-Native Product Development:** Partner with the Product Accelerator team to shape the transformation of the product development lifecycle. Identify opportunities to integrate AI-powered tools and workflows, improve collaboration across Product, Engineering, and Design, and demonstrate practical AI-native product management approaches. - **Cross-Functional Alignment:** Represent platform and tooling requirements in strategic discussions about product development transformation. Work with Engineering, Security, Product, Design, Legal, and Finance to align priorities, address dependencies, navigate technical and organizational trade-offs, and establish clear decision-making processes. - **Technical Governance and Support Models:** Define appropriate product and engineering ownership and support models for each core platform. Collaborate with technical teams to establish clear responsibilities, governance standards, security requirements, and operational processes. - **Vendor and Budget Management:** Manage strategic vendor relationships, influence external product roadmaps, provide input into platform budgets, and identify opportunities to leverage vendor capabilities. Evaluate vendor performance and ensure platform investments deliver measurable organizational value. - **Adoption and Value Measurement:** Define and monitor platform adoption, engagement, productivity, and value metrics. Communicate results to senior leadership, identify gaps in adoption or effectiveness, and recommend changes based on performance data and user feedback. - **Documentation and Self-Service Enablement:** Develop documentation, training resources, and self-service support that help employees adopt platforms independently. Improve the overall user experience while reducing the need for ongoing manual support. - **Leadership and Mentorship:** Mentor product managers and cross-functional partners, share best practices, and strengthen product management capabilities across the organization. Lead through strategic influence, technical judgment, and clear communication rather than relying solely on formal authority. ## Requirements: - **Product Management Experience:** At least 10 years of product management experience working with technical products, such as enterprise software, internal platforms, developer tools, or productivity systems. - **End-to-End Platform Ownership:** Demonstrated experience owning a platform throughout its lifecycle, including product strategy, roadmap development, implementation, adoption, vendor management, renewals, and continuous improvement. - **AI Tool Proficiency:** Practical experience using AI-powered development and productivity tools such as Claude, Replit, Cursor, or comparable platforms. Ability to prototype with these tools and clearly explain how they improve product development workflows, productivity, and decision-making. - **AI-Forward Mindset:** Strong interest in how AI is transforming software development and organizational workflows, with the adaptability to evolve product strategies as technologies, capabilities, and business priorities change. - **Technical Fluency:** Ability to engage in technical discussions about platform architecture, integrations, infrastructure, and engineering trade-offs. Comfortable partnering with Engineering and Security teams to evaluate technical approaches and make informed product decisions. - **Security, Compliance, and Governance:** Understanding of security, compliance, and governance considerations for platforms that enable employees without traditional engineering backgrounds to build and deploy software. Ability to balance accessibility and innovation with appropriate risk management and controls. - **Strategic and Commercial Judgment:** Experience evaluating platform investments, developing business cases, managing vendor relationships, and making informed decisions about building, buying, renewing, migrating, or retiring technology solutions. - **Cross-Functional Leadership:** Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders across Product, Engineering, Design, Security, Legal, and Finance. Skilled at navigating ambiguity, building consensus, resolving competing priorities, and providing direction that earns the trust of other teams. - **Communication and Stakeholder Management:** Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical and strategic concepts clearly, concisely, and persuasively to technical and non-technical audiences. - **Mentorship and Leadership:** Demonstrated experience mentoring other product managers and helping cross-functional teams strengthen their product thinking, execution, and decision-making capabilities. - **Education:** Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience. **Preferred qualifications:** - Experience managing Atlassian products and tools at enterprise scale. - Familiarity with Replit, Claude, Glean, or similar AI-powered development and knowledge management platforms. - Experience with source control and continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) tools, such as GitLab. - Familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS and the infrastructure supporting modern software development. - Experience leading platform consolidation, enterprise tooling strategy, or organization-wide product development transformation initiatives. Candidates with nontraditional career paths are encouraged to apply if they bring transferable skills, relevant experience, and a strong ability to deliver results in complex technical environments. ## Benefits: - **Competitive Base Salary:** Annual base salary varies by geographic location: - $182,100–$290,900 in California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, and Washington, D.C. - $173,000–$276,400 in Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. - Salary ranges for other U.S. locations may differ. Final compensation depends on experience, performance, and location. - **Equity Awards:** Eligibility for equity compensation in addition to base salary, with awards determined by factors such as experience, performance, and location. - **Fully Remote Work:** Full-time remote position for eligible U.S.-based candidates, with flexibility to work from an approved location. Certain geographic restrictions may apply. - **Flexible Working Environment:** A distributed work model designed to support autonomy, collaboration, and productivity, enabling employees to work where they are most effective. - **Career Development:** Opportunities to shape enterprise-wide product strategy, lead AI-driven transformation initiatives, and influence the future of product development platforms. - **Technical Innovation:** Work with modern developer tools, AI-powered platforms, and emerging technologies in an environment focused on continuous improvement. - **Collaborative Culture:** Partner with multidisciplinary teams and senior leaders across product, engineering, design, security, and business functions. - **Mentorship Opportunities:** Develop other product managers and contribute to a culture of knowledge sharing and professional growth. - **Inclusive Workplace:** Commitment to equal employment opportunities and an inclusive environment where people from diverse backgrounds and career paths are encouraged to contribute. - **Accessibility Support:** Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified candidates with disabilities or other accessibility needs during the recruitment process.