Lead Forward-Deployed Product Manager

Code and Theory, LLC; Austin, New York (TX, NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Code and Theory, a digital-first creative agency, seeks a Lead Forward Deployed Product Manager in Austin to guide a pod of 4-5 FDPMs embedded across client work. You will set the operating standard for requirements, prototypes, and workflow decisions, and act as the escalation point between the pod and core product teams.

This role focuses on execution, pattern generalization, and building a shared playbook while coordinating staffing and ensuring delivery across deployments.

Qualifications

• Experience as a forward-deployed PM, solutions consultant, or implementation lead.
• Track record leading a workstream or informal team in a fast-moving, client-facing environment.

Responsibilities

• Set and enforce a consistent bar for requirements quality and prototyping across the pod.
• Unblock FDPMs by making calls or escalating to the right owner.
• Own relationships with Technical Account Managers and implementation leads at the program level.
• Review workflows, prototypes, and briefs before clients or engineering.
• Identify recurring patterns to generalize and drive into core product roadmap.
• Build and maintain the shared playbook: templates, workflows, prompts, docs.
• Coordinate staffing across deployments and flag capacity gaps.
• Surface pod progress and blockers to leadership.
• Stay hands-on to support deployments when needed.

Skills

Forward-deployed PM

Client-facing leadership

Systems thinking

Prototyping & prompting

Documentation standards

Excellent communication

Ownership & bias to action

Startup/SaaS mindset

Job description

Code and Theory, a digital-first creative agency, seeks a Lead Forward Deployed Product Manager in Austin to guide a pod of 4-5 FDPMs embedded across client work. You will set the operating standard for requirements, prototypes, and workflow decisions, and act as the escalation point between the pod and core product teams.

This role focuses on execution, pattern generalization, and building a shared playbook while coordinating staffing and ensuring delivery across deployments.