Lead Product Manager

Lead Product Manager; United States; Remote; USD 129,000 - 158,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) match

Paid holidays

Sabbatical after 5 years

Remote setup allowance

Cell phone reimbursement

Professional development stipend

Job summary

Code for America is seeking a Lead Product Manager to set product direction and strategy for a product or project and lead a cross-functional team to deliver it. Travel is expected to be no more than 15%.

You will partner with program leads, design, research, and engineering to define strategy, make tradeoffs, and communicate the product vision to stakeholders. You will mentor product managers and help advance disciplined product practices across the organization.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of product management experience.
• Proven ability to lead high-quality product development with agile methods.
• Proven ability to interpret and use user research, usability testing, and data analytics to make and validate product decisions.
• Strong product judgment: knowing when to prototype or build, when to experiment, and when to change direction.
• Experience writing and reviewing product strategy documents and feature specs, and giving thoughtful feedback to the team.
• Strong communication skills and experience managing internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to make tough tradeoff decisions and facilitate productive conversations at key decision points.
• Curiosity about emerging AI tools and a commitment to using them responsibly and effectively.
• A deep commitment to making government services work well for the people who need them most.

Responsibilities

• Develop and own the product strategy and roadmap for your product or project, partnering with program leads and cross-disciplinary team members to define overall strategy.
• Make tradeoff decisions that balance user needs, partner expectations, scope, and timeline within your project.
• Communicate product vision and strategy clearly to your team and internal stakeholders, and drive alignment with government partners and other external stakeholders.
• Contribute to scoping future opportunities in your product area in partnership with program leads.
• Lead a multidisciplinary team (which may include design, research, and engineering) to test and deliver solutions that work for the people who need them most.
• Identify and escalate risks with program and discipline leads, and determine mitigation strategies.
• Develop and refine team processes with engineering and other leads so the team can focus on the right work and deliver efficiently.
• Mentor other product managers and establish strong product practices within your team.
• Model constructive communication: listen actively, give and receive feedback directly, address disagreements promptly, and make space for differing perspectives.

Skills

Product management

Agile methods

User research

Data analytics

Product judgment

Stakeholder communication

Decision making

AI curiosity

Civic/government focus

Job description

Code for America is a nonprofit that works to make government services more accessible and effective through technology. For more than a decade, it has partnered with government agencies at all levels to build and transform digital tools and services, with a focus on transparency, fairness, and deep empathy for the communities served. Its work spans Safety Net benefits, Tax Benefits, Criminal Justice, and rapid response initiatives.

The role

The Lead Product Manager sets product direction and strategy for a product or project and leads a cross-functional team in delivering it. The role reports to the Director of Product and sits within the Product discipline, working day to day with a project team and program partners while also contributing to shared practices across the discipline. Travel is expected to be no more than 15% of the time.

What you would do

• Develop and own the product strategy and roadmap for your product or project, partnering with program leads and cross-disciplinary team members to define overall strategy.
• Make tradeoff decisions that balance user needs, partner expectations, scope, and timeline within your project.
• Communicate product vision and strategy clearly to your team and internal stakeholders, and drive alignment with government partners and other external stakeholders.
• Contribute to scoping future opportunities in your product area in partnership with program leads.
• Lead a multidisciplinary team (which may include design, research, and engineering) to test and deliver solutions that work for the people who need them most.
• Identify and escalat risks with program and discipline leads, and determine mitigation strategies.
• Develop and refine team processes with engineering and other leads so the team can focus on the right work and deliver efficiently.
• Mentor other product managers and establish strong product practices within your team.
• Model constructive communication: listen actively, give and receive feedback directly, address disagreements promptly, and make space for differing perspectives.

What they are looking for

• 7+ years of product management experience.
• Proven ability to lead high-quality product development with agile methods, improving products iteratively through delivery cycles.
• Proven ability to interpret and use user research, usability testing, and data analytics to make and validate product decisions.
• Strong product judgment: knowing when to prototype or build, when to experiment, and when to change direction.
• Experience writing and reviewing product strategy documents and feature specs, and giving thoughtful feedback to the team.
• Strong communication skills and experience managing internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to make tough tradeoff decisions and facilitate productive conversations at key decision points.
• Ability to manage day-to-day delivery while connecting short-term progress to a longer-term vision.
• Curiosity about emerging AI tools and a commitment to using them responsibly and effectively.
• A deep commitment to making government services work well for the people who need them most.
• Bonus: Medicaid, public benefits, or insurance experience; product advisory or consulting work with government, civic tech, or a highly regulated industry; experience working directly with state or county government partners.

Working arrangements

This is a fully remote position open to candidates residing full-time within the United States. Code for America is based in California. Full-time employees work 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Collaborative working hours are held between 10 AM and 3 PM PT, and all staff are expected to be available during those hours. Travel is expected no more than 15% of the time.

Pay and benefits

The offer target for this role ranges from $128,945 to $157,850 annually (targeting the 2nd quartile midpoint of the salary band for new hires; offer targets vary by geographic location). Benefits include at least one no-cost health insurance option for employee-only coverage, a minimum of 80% employer contribution toward dependent coverage, a 100% employer 401(k) match on the first 3% of contributions (with an additional 50% match on contributions between 3% and 5% for employees with 3+ years of service), open personal time off, a minimum of 14 paid holidays, an org-wide closure from Christmas Day through New Year's Day, up to 96 hours of paid sick time annually, 17 weeks of paid parental and family leave, 3 weeks of paid sabbatical after 5 years of service, a $700 one-time remote setup payment, $50 per month cell phone and/or internet reimbursement, and a $500 annual professional development stipend.