Staff Product Manager - Core

Job description

## Hello, we’re Instrumentl. 👋 Grants fund nonprofit work, but they also create some of the toughest operational challenges. Every grant brings its own deadlines, spending restrictions, reporting requirements, and commitments, so managing that complexity across fundraising, finance, and HR requires more than spreadsheets. [Instrumentl](https://www.instrumentl.com/) is the system of record for grants. We bring discovery, applications, award compliance, and grant operations into one platform, giving nonprofits a shared foundation to grow their revenue and impact. More than **6,000** nonprofits rely on Instrumentl, from local community groups to state and county governments, universities, and maybe even your local animal shelter. We're a cash flow positive, YC-backed company building our next chapter, and we're hiring people who will shape and grow the impact of the nonprofit sector. ### About the role: We’re looking for a **Senior Product Manager - Core** to reportto our Co-founder and Head of EPD,who will combine deep customer empathy, strong product judgment, and pragmatic AI thinking. This role is ideal for someone who starts from real customer problems (not features), can build and sequence a thoughtful roadmap, and knows how to ship incrementally while maintaining high standards for trust, outcomes, and cross-functional alignment. You will own problem discovery, product strategy, and delivery for core workflows used by nonprofit organizations—often in high-stakes, high-context environments like grant discovery and applications. You’ll work closely with Design, Engineering, Customer Success, and GTM partners to ensure what we build is useful, adoptable, and measurable. The Instrumentl team is fully distributed, with offices in Oakland, CA. For this position, we're planning for a hybrid schedule - you'll be able to work from home four days per week, and from our Oakland offices once per week (or more often, if you'd like)! ### What you will do **Discovery & Strategy** - Develop deep understanding of nonprofit realities: funding volatility, staff burnout, compliance constraints, and multi-persona workflows - Start from problems, not features: clearly articulate user and business pain, distinguish root causes from symptoms, and frame opportunities effectively - Build a coherent strategic narrative connecting market context to customer problems to roadmap - Sequence work thoughtfully, delivering thin-sliced early versions to reduce risk and accelerate learning **AI Product Thinking** - Evaluate when AI is genuinely additive versus when rules-based logic or analytics are sufficient - Design human-in-the-loop workflows for high-stakes use cases like grant applications, reviews, and approvals - Clearly articulate data and model needs, edge cases, and failure modes **Measurement & Cross-functional Leadership** - Define and align on a clear product North Star and pair features with both leading and lagging indicators - Lead through influence: partner early with Design, Engineering, CS, and GTM and navigate disagreements productively - Run post-launch reviews to assess impact and guide iteration ### What we are looking for: **Required** - 5+ years of product management experience in SaaS (B2B preferred) - Demonstrated experience owning problem discovery, strategy, and execution end-to-end - Strong judgment in sequencing work and shipping incrementally - Experience building or working with AI-powered features in real production environments - Exceptional written and verbal communication skills - Startup-tested: thrives with ambiguity, builds process without waiting for permission, and knows when to move fast versus when to be methodical **Nice to Have** - Experience with nonprofit, mission-driven, or compliance-heavy product domains - Background in grant management, fund accounting, or financial workflows ### Compensation and Benefits For US-based candidates, the target salary range for this role is **$150,000 – $220,000** USD, plus equity. Final compensation is determined based on experience, skillset, scope of responsibility, interview performance, and geographic location. We’re committed to paying competitively and equitably. **Benefits** - 100% covered health, dental, and vision insurance for employees (50% for dependents) - Generous PTO, including parental leave - 401(k) - Company laptop and home-office stipend - Bi-annual company retreats Instrumentl is evolving rapidly. You’ll always have new challenges and opportunities to grow here.