Principal AI Product Manager

Western Governors University; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus opportunities

Tuition discount for employees

Flexible paid time off

Job summary

Western Governors University is seeking a Principal AI Product Manager to shape intelligent, personalized student support experiences at scale. You will lead initiatives across product, engineering, analytics, UX, and academics, partnering with data and AI technologies to deliver impact for students.

The role sits in the Decision Intelligence team, offering strategic influence, collaboration with executives, and a focus on student outcomes across multiple product domains.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of product management experience leading software products in senior/principal roles.
• Demonstrated success owning complex products spanning multiple domains and stakeholder groups.
• Strong understanding of AI, ML, decision intelligence, and data-driven product development.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive strategic AI-enabled products and initiatives across multiple domains.
• Define product vision, strategy, roadmaps, and investment priorities.
• Partner with senior leaders and stakeholders to identify challenges and develop product strategies.
• Lead discovery, experimentation, and customer research to validate decisions in ambiguous spaces.
• Facilitate cross-functional problem solving across engineering, data science, design, and business teams.
• Measure product performance using KPIs and data-driven insights to maximize value.
• Mentor product managers and elevate product management practices.

Skills

AI product management

Cross-functional leadership

Agile development

Data-driven decision making

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Databricks

Kafka

AWS

Lakehouse

Job description

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career. Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is: Grade: Technical 412 Pay Range: $180,300.00 - $279,500.00

Job Description

At WGU, we believe technology can transform how students experience higher education. As a Principal AI Product Manager, you will help shape the future of student support through intelligent, personalized experiences that improve outcomes at scale. This is our most senior individual contributor product role, offering the opportunity to define strategy, influence executive decision-making, and lead initiatives that span multiple product domains. You will join the Decision Intelligence team, focused on student support orchestration and personalization. Working across product, engineering, analytics, user experience, and academic stakeholders, you will tackle complex challenges that combine artificial intelligence, data-driven decision making, and customer-centered product development to deliver meaningful impact for students.

About the Team

The Decision Intelligence organization is responsible for creating intelligent, personalized experiences across the student journey. This role will provide product leadership for the Academic Delivery domain while contributing at the principal level across broader organizational initiatives. You will partner with highly technical engineering teams leveraging modern data and AI technologies, including Databricks, Kafka, AWS, and lakehouse architectures, to build scalable solutions that improve student engagement and success.

What You’ll Do

• Own and drive strategic AI-enabled products and initiatives that span multiple product domains and require significant cross-functional collaboration.
• Define product vision, strategy, roadmaps, and investment priorities that align customer needs with business objectives.
• Partner with senior leaders, executives, and key stakeholders to identify complex business challenges and develop effective product strategies.
• Lead discovery efforts, experimentation, and customer research to uncover opportunities and validate product decisions in ambiguous problem spaces.
• Facilitate expert-led problem solving across engineering, data science, design, and business teams to deliver high-impact outcomes.
• Measure product performance through KPIs and business outcomes, using data-driven insights to adapt strategies and maximize value.
• Mentor product managers and help elevate product management practices across the organization.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in a related field.
• 10+ years of product management experience leading software products, including experience operating at a senior, principal, group product manager, or equivalent level.
• Demonstrated success owning complex products that span multiple business domains and stakeholder groups.
• Strong understanding of AI, machine learning, decision intelligence, and modern data-driven product development practices.
• Technical depth to effectively partner with engineering and data science teams, including familiarity with areas such as distributed systems, middleware, data platforms, cloud architectures, and machine learning solutions.
• Experience building business cases, evaluating tradeoffs, conducting ROI analyses, and influencing executive-level decisions.
• Experience working within Agile product development environments.
• Exceptional communication, storytelling, and presentation skills with the ability to engage technical and executive audiences.
• Strong product discovery expertise and comfort operating in highly ambiguous environments.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and achieve outcomes without direct authority.

Bonus Points

• Master's degree in a related field.
• Experience in higher education, education technology, or student success platforms.
• Experience with decision intelligence, personalization, agent-based AI systems, or advanced analytics products.
• Professional product certifications such as CSPO, Pragmatic Institute, or similar credentials.
• Change management certification or experience leading organizational transformation initiatives.
• Experience in lieu of Education Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education requirements.
• Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as one year of experience for one year of education and is at the discretion of the hiring manager.

What to Expect

• Introductory call (30 minutes)
• Hiring manager interview with an additional product leader (45 minutes)
• Panel interview (60 minutes)

Work Location

This is a full-time, in-office position requiring five days per week in our Salt Lake City, Utah office, designed to foster the collaboration and connection that fuel our best work.

Visa Sponsorship

While we welcome applicants from all backgrounds, WGU is not able to provide visa sponsorship for this role.

Travel Requirements

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

Accommodations

Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at [e-mail].

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.