Associate Director

Tech Observer; East Hanover (NJ); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Tech Observer is seeking an Associate Director of Product Strategy in East Hanover, NJ (Hybrid). The role centers on translating strategic priorities into coordinated product, platform, data, and technology plans and aligning cross-functional teams for delivery.

The candidate will lead evaluation of options, synthesize expert input into actionable recommendations, and develop sequenced delivery plans while maintaining strategic alignment across business and technology domains.

Qualifications

• Seven or more years of experience in product strategy, platform strategy, product management, technology strategy, program planning, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience translating business opportunities into coordinated product, platform, data, or technology strategies.
• Experience facilitating early-stage solution evaluation and cross-functional impact assessments.
• Ability to synthesize input from business and technical experts into clear options and recommendations.
• Experience developing sequenced delivery plans across multiple products, platforms, and teams.
• Strong analytical, facilitation, problem-solving, and executive communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Partner with business and technology stakeholders to understand strategic priorities, business opportunities, challenges, and desired outcomes.
• Translate complex or ambiguous needs into clearly framed opportunities and capability considerations.
• Develop a holistic view of the products, platforms, data assets, and technology capabilities relevant to an opportunity.
• Facilitate evaluation of how existing and planned capabilities could be leveraged to address business needs.
• Identify capability gaps, overlaps, dependencies, and opportunities for reuse across products and platforms.
• Help ensure proposed approaches align with broader product, platform, data, and technology strategies.
• Develop strategic recommendations and decision materials informed by input from accountable subject‑matter experts.

Skills

Product strategy

Platform strategy

Product management

Technology strategy

Program planning

Executive communication

Job description

Job Title: Associate Director, Product Strategy

Location: East Hanover, NJ 07936(Hybrid)

Work Model: Hybrid – 3 days onsite / 2 days remote

Duration: Initially 12+ Months

About the Role

We are seeking an Associate Director, Product & Platform Strategy to help translate strategic business priorities into coordinated product, platform, data, and technology plans.

This role will partner across business, product, technology, data, architecture, and delivery teams to frame complex opportunities, facilitate the evaluation of potential approaches, assess cross-functional impacts, and build alignment around a recommended path forward. The individual will connect related development efforts and translate the agreed direction into high level sequenced delivery plans that clarify required capabilities, dependencies, decision points, ownership, and timing.

The successful candidate will combine strong product or platform strategy experience with practical program planning capabilities. This individual may lead program execution for select initiatives, but the primary responsibility is to create the strategic clarity, cross-functional alignment, and executable plan needed to enable successful delivery.

This role does not own detailed requirements, technical architecture, solution design, product backlogs, or the day-to-day delivery of individual product teams. Instead, it brings together the appropriate experts and accountable teams to evaluate options, understand impacts, make informed recommendations, and coordinate the transition into delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Product and Platform Strategy

Partner with business and technology stakeholders to understand strategic priorities, business opportunities, challenges, and desired outcomes.

Translate complex or ambiguous needs into clearly framed opportunities and capability considerations.

Develop a holistic view of the products, platforms, data assets, and technology capabilities relevant to an opportunity.

Facilitate evaluation of how existing and planned capabilities could be leveraged to address business needs.

Identify capability gaps, overlaps, dependencies, and opportunities for reuse across products and platforms.

Help ensure proposed approaches align with broader product, platform, data, and technology strategies.

Develop strategic recommendations and decision materials informed by input from accountable subject‑matter experts.

Solution Evaluation and Impact Assessment

Bring together Product Management, Architecture, Data, Engineering, Operations, and other subject‑matter experts to explore potential solution approaches.

Structure and facilitate the evaluation of options based on expected value, strategic alignment, feasibility, complexity, scalability, reuse, dependencies, and delivery implications.

Coordinate cross-functional impact assessments across products, platforms, data, integrations, processes, stakeholder groups, and delivery teams.

Ensure the appropriate experts identify the capabilities, investments, decisions, and dependencies required to advance an initiative.

Synthesize expert input into a cohesive view of potential approaches, trade‑offs, risks, and downstream impacts.

Surface cross-functional considerations that may not be visible within individual product or delivery teams.

Ensure detailed requirements, technical design, architecture decisions, and backlog ownership remain with the appropriate accountable teams.

Delivery Strategy and Sequencing

Translate an agreed strategic direction into a sequenced and actionable delivery plan.

Work with accountable product and delivery leaders to define major capabilities, workstreams, dependencies, milestones, decision points, and expected outcomes.

Facilitate alignment on ownership and clarify how work will progress across participating teams.

Develop sequencing recommendations that consider business urgency, technical dependencies, capacity, readiness, and opportunities for incremental value delivery.

Identify critical-path activities, cross-team dependencies, and decisions that could affect execution.

Support the transition from strategy and planning into delivery by ensuring teams share a common understanding of objectives, sequencing, and accountabilities.

Adapt plans as new information, delivery constraints, or strategic priorities emerge.

Strategic Integration

Maintain visibility across related development efforts and help ensure they advance as part of a coherent product and platform direction.

Connect initiatives across organizational boundaries to identify dependencies, duplication, gaps, and opportunities for alignment.

Convene the appropriate business, product, architecture, data, technology, and delivery stakeholders to address cross-functional questions.

Help leadership understand how individual initiatives contribute to broader business outcomes and platform capabilities.

Partner with portfolio and product leaders to connect strategic priorities, investment decisions, and delivery plans.

Promote scalable and reusable approaches where appropriate while recognizing when business needs require differentiated solutions.

Program Planning and Potential Execution Support

Establish fit‑for‑purpose planning, governance, and reporting structures for assigned initiatives.

Maintain an integrated view of major milestones, dependencies, risks, assumptions, decisions, and accountable owners.

Prepare initiatives for execution by ensuring that the agreed approach, delivery sequence, ownership model, and key dependencies are clear.

Support the designated program or delivery lead during transition and execution, as appropriate.

Lead program coordination for select initiatives when organizational needs or the delivery model require it.

When serving as program lead, coordinate cross-functional execution, monitor progress, manage dependencies, and elevate risks and decisions requiring leadership attention.

Required Qualifications

Seven or more years of experience in product strategy, platform strategy, product management, technology strategy, program planning, or related disciplines.

Demonstrated experience translating business opportunities into coordinated product, platform, data, or technology strategies.

Experience facilitating early-stage solution evaluation and cross-functional impact assessments.

Ability to synthesize input from business and technical experts into clear options and recommendations.

Experience developing sequenced delivery plans across multiple products, platforms, and teams.

Strong understanding of product development, platform capabilities, technology delivery, and organizational dependencies.

Experience working across business, product, architecture, data, engineering, and delivery organizations.

Strong analytical, facilitation, problem-solving, and executive communication skills.

Ability to develop actionable recommendations despite incomplete or evolving information.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience across CRM, data, analytics, AI, digital products, or enterprise platforms.

Experience supporting technology-enabled business transformation or complex cross-product initiatives.

Experience leading or supporting cross-functional programs through planning and execution.

Familiarity with product operating models, Agile delivery, portfolio management, and technology governance.

Experience within pharmaceutical, life sciences, healthcare, or another regulated industry.

Demonstrated ability to balance immediate business priorities with longer‑term product and platform considerations.

What Success Looks Like

Complex business opportunities are framed clearly enough for the appropriate teams to evaluate.

Solution options are assessed collaboratively, with the right business and technical experts contributing to the recommendation.

Cross-functional impacts, dependencies, trade‑offs, and risks are identified before execution begins.

Related development efforts are connected and aligned rather than planned independently.

Leadership receives clear, well‑supported recommendations and understands the decisions required.

Agreed direction is translated into a realistic, sequenced delivery plan with clear ownership.

Initiatives transition into execution with strategic clarity and cross‑functional alignment.

The individual can be program leadership when needed without making day‑to‑day execution the defining accountability of the role.