Product Manager

ANVIL; Ottawa; Hybrid; CAD 140,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible health benefits

Retirement contributions match

Remote/Hybrid Ottawa market

Job summary

Anvil seeks a Product Manager to lead a mission-critical software platform for military customers. You will translate strategy into an executable roadmap, align engineering and design, and build relationships with users and government stakeholders to deliver value in challenging environments.

You will drive discovery, define clear epics, and balance conflicting priorities across teams, while operating within a security-conscious, learning-oriented culture at ANVIL.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of product management in defence or regulated environments.
• Experience turning operational requirements into clear product decisions.
• Ability to ship complex software in data-heavy, regulated settings.
• Proven skill in conducting user interviews and workshops under uncertainty.
• Experience with limited telemetry or restricted access deployments.

Responsibilities

• Translate product strategy into a prioritized, executable roadmap.
• Lead discovery via workshops, interviews, and observations with users.
• Define epics and requirements for engineering and the Product Owner.
• Balance near-term needs with long-term architectural investments.
• Write documentation to keep stakeholders and engineers aligned.

Skills

Product management

Discovery skills

Stakeholder management

Agile practices

Communication

Technical depth

Jira

Confluence

Google Workspace

AI tools

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Google Workspace

Claude

Job description

Product Manager

About Anvil

Anvil is a trusted partner in the defence industry, delivering cutting-edge solutions that enhance military capabilities and operational effectiveness. We extend our expertise to public safety, law enforcement, and national security organizations, accelerating mission-critical decision-making through analytical tools, automations, and game-changing machine learning capabilities. ANVIL helps organizations discover, manage, enrich, fuse, and exploit the information available to them in support of Information Dominance and Decision Advantage.

Job Type:

Full Time (Remote Canada / Hybrid - Ottawa)

Total Compensation:

CAD $140,000 - $165,000 base salary - Placement within range based on experience and qualifications

Vacancy Status:

This posting is for an existing vacancy at Anvil. We are actively hiring for this role

The Role

We're looking for a Product Manager to drive the execution of a complex, mission-critical software platform serving military customers. The platform addresses some of the hardest problems in tactical and operational intelligence in particular: high data density and velocity across heterogeneous sources, decision cycles measured in minutes, interoperability across coalition partners, and reliable operation in communications-degraded environments.

Working closely with product leadership, you'll translate product strategy into an executable roadmap, driving discovery, aligning engineering and design around clear priorities, and building relationships with users and other government stakeholders. You'll bridge the gap between military operational and intelligence practice and modern software development, ensuring the platform delivers value where operators need it most.

This is a high-ownership role on a multifunctional team. You'll work alongside design and engineering leads, reporting directly to senior product leadership. Our learning-oriented culture is transparent, collaborative, and strongly encourages work-life balance.

Required Qualifications

Security Clearance

Eligible for Government of Canada Top Secret security clearance

Experience

• 5+ years of product management experience, including at least 2 years delivering complex, data-intensive software in defence, national security, or regulated environments
• Proven product discovery skills: leading user interviews, observation, and workshops, and turning findings into confident decisions under uncertainty
• Track record of turning ambiguous operational requirements, doctrine, or standards into clear product decisions and shipping them to real users
• Experience delivering products where user feedback is limited, such as no telemetry, restricted access, or classified deployments
• Experience balancing competing priorities across multiple stakeholder groups

Skills & Competencies

• Exceptional written and verbal communication, from developers to senior military officers
• Ability to read and apply technical standards and doctrine (e.g., NATO STANAGs, defence publications) without needing translation
• Technical depth to engage engineers on architecture trade-offs while keeping product judgment
• Intellectual curiosity and a drive to deeply understand users, the domain, and the technology
• Familiarity with agile and tools such as Jira, Confluence, Google Workspace, and AI tools like Claude
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Geography, Political Science) or equivalent experience

Nice to Have…

• Background in defence, national security, public safety, or policing, through service, civilian work, or close customer partnership
• Experience with geospatial tools, analytical workflows, or operational workflows such as ISR, IRMCM, or analytical production
• Experience working with or alongside government organizations

What You’ll Do

Strategy & Roadmap

• Translate product strategy into a prioritized, executable roadmap for Forge, with a clear product narrative for internal and external stakeholders
• Turn doctrine, NATO standards, and operational requirements into well-defined product decisions, informed by gaps in the C5ISR tool landscape

Discovery & Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead discovery through workshops, exercise observations, SME interviews, and after-action reviews, including in air-gapped and comms-degraded environments
• Build relationships with government customers, operational units, and defence partners, representing the user to engineering and engineering constraints to stakeholders

Execution & Delivery

• Define clear epics and requirements, including acceptance criteria and operational constraints, for the Product Owner and engineering team
• Weigh near-term operational needs against long-term architectural investments, and support releases through demos and acceptance activities

Measurement & Communication

• Define operationally relevant success metrics and track progress against them
• Write the product and decision documentation that keeps stakeholders and engineering aligned

Why Join Us?

Our Mission

This is more than just a job; you'll be part of a team of dedicated professionals who share a common goal: to increase the safety and security of western democracies through the effective use of data. Our workplace is not just a job, it's a community of like-minded people working together to make a positive impact on the world we live in.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salaries
• Flexible health benefits package through Equitable
• Industry-leading employer retirement contributions match

Work Environment

• Remote and Hybrid (Ottawa market) work model combining remote flexibility with meaningful in-person collaboration
• Modern office in the historic Carriageway building in beautiful downtown Ottawa
• Access to downtown amenities, transit, and Ottawa's vibrant cultural scene

What You’ll Experience

• Work alongside dedicated professionals who value excellence and collaboration
• Contribute to projects with real-world security impact
• Join a culture where your expertise and ideas matter

Use of AI in Recruitment:

Anvil does not use artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants for this position. All applications are reviewed by members of our recruitment team. However, we do use AI for scheduling, note taking and other administrative functions.

Anvil is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you require accommodation during the selection process, please let us know.