Product Manager

IO Associates; Manchester; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

IO Associates is seeking an experienced Product Manager in Manchester to own a key product area, driving discovery, rapid prototyping, and delivery with Engineering and Design. The role emphasizes hands-on use of AI tools to prototype and shape ideas into tangible products.

The successful candidate will collaborate across Product, Engineering and Design, manage stakeholders, and push initiatives forward in a dynamic, evolving environment. Salary £55k-£60k, onsite in North Manchester.

Qualifications

• Proven product management experience in software/digital environments.
• Experience taking ownership from discovery through delivery.
• Hands-on experience using AI tools to prototype ideas.
• Able to turn complex business problems into tangible product solutions.

Responsibilities

• Own a key product area and drive product initiatives.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Design across discovery, prototyping, and delivery.
• Prototype ideas rapidly and test concepts before building.
• Leverage AI tools to inform development throughout the process.
• Manage competing priorities and challenge requirements constructively.

Skills

PM experience

AI prototyping

Stakeholder management

Product-Engineering-Design alignment

Proactive initiative

Tools

Claude/ChatGPT

Job description

I'm working with a long-established business entering the next stage of a major technology and product transformation, with a growing Product team now taking ownership of how new products and platforms are shaped and built.

We're looking for an experienced Product Manager who can take ownership and push product initiatives forward - shaping ideas, challenging requirements and working closely with Engineering and Design to turn problems into products that genuinely work.

A big part of this role is AI-led product development and rapid prototyping. We're specifically looking for someone who is already actively using tools such as Claude, ChatGPT or similar to prototype ideas, explore solutions and accelerate the journey from concept to something tangible.

This isn't about simply using AI for meeting notes or documentation - we want someone who is genuinely experimenting with it and using it as part of how they build and think about products.

The role

You’ll take ownership of a key product area.

You’ll work closely with Engineering and Design across:

• Product discovery, shaping and prioritisation
• Rapid prototyping and testing ideas before committing to build
• Using AI tools practically throughout the product development process
• Turning complex business problems into clear product solutions
• Challenging requirements and making decisions around what should - and shouldn't - be built
• Working with Engineering to take shaped concepts through into delivery
• Managing competing priorities across different areas of the business

What we’re looking for

• Strong Product Management experience within software/digital environments
• Experience taking ownership from discovery and shaping through to delivery
• Hands-on experience using AI tools to prototype and develop product ideas
• Comfortable creating something tangible quickly rather than relying solely on traditional documentation
• Strong understanding of how Product, Engineering and Design work together
• Confident stakeholder management and the ability to challenge constructively
• Someone proactive who can independently push initiatives forward
• Comfortable joining an evolving environment where there is still plenty to shape

The team is also evolving its ways of working, moving away from rigid delivery processes towards a more fluid approach, with Product doing more of the thinking, shaping and prototyping before work reaches Engineering.

Salary: £55,000-£60,000
Location: 5 days onsite - North Manchester