Forward Deployed Product Lead

1752vc; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

1752vc is expanding its Utility Owners unit and seeks a senior product leader to shape a brand-new product and market while working closely with executives and customers. You will travel to customer sites as needed and collaborate with our Austin and Tel Aviv teams to ensure product-market fit.

The role calls for a strong background in B2B SaaS, data, or AI-native companies, with a proven ability to translate customer needs into engineering requirements and to communicate effectively with

Qualifications

• Background in management consulting and/or product management.
• Experience shaping a new product and market with executives and customers.
• Ability translate customer needs to engineering teams.
• Willingness to travel to customer sites and Austin offices.

Responsibilities

• Shape a brand-new product and market in collaboration with executives and customers.
• Collaborate closely with CEO and Chief Growth Officer, presenting to customers when needed.
• Drive product strategy from 0 to 1 and define delivery milestones.

Skills

7+ years exp

Customer comms

Executive alignment

0-to-1 product

B2B SaaS

Travel to customers

Austin proximity

Education

BA/BS/BE/MBA

Job description

Over the past several years, 4M built significant business around Departments of Transportation (DOTs) — we now serve 10-12 DOT customers, and we did it deliberately: hire someone close to the customer, learn the workflow cold, and build the product the market actually needed. We're now applying that same intentional playbook to a new frontier: the Utility Owners segment. Found on 1752vc Careers, the job board for startup and VC roles.

• Relevant educational background (BA/BS/BE/MBA). This could be in business, computer science, or even architecture/industrial engineering
• 7+ years of experience spanning reputed management consulting and/or product management at a B2B SaaS, data, or AI-native company
• Comfortable operating in a 0-to-1, forward-deployed capacity - shaping a brand-new product and market directly with executives and customers, without an existing playbook to lean on
• Sharp, credible communicator who translates cleanly between customer needs and engineering, and who's comfortable working shoulder-to-shoulder with the CEO and Chief Growth Officer as well as in front of customers
• Flexibility to travel on-site to customers as needed, as well as to our Austin, TX offices

The 4M story is likely one you haven't heard before: we're on a mission to unlock access to the world below us — to do for the world below ground what Google Maps did for the world above. By mapping subsurface infrastructure and making reliable, real-time utility data accessible to the construction and infrastructure industry, we're transforming a traditional, high-stakes industry.

We're a growing startup with 120 employees, based in Tel Aviv, Israel and Austin, Texas.

Joining the Utility Owners Business Unit means you are at the forefront of a mission-critical expansion. You will have a direct impact on how major utilities manage their subsurface risk, preventing catastrophic damage and saving lives. This role offers a unique career trajectory: as a foundational hire, you have the opportunity to grow into owning broader product areas, leading new segments, or shaping our entire AI-product strategy as the business scales.

Over the past several years, 4M built significant business around Departments of Transportation (DOTs) — we now serve 10-12 DOT customers, and we did it deliberately: hire someone close to the customer, learn the workflow cold, and build the product the…