Principal, Product Manager

Confluent; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Confluent is seeking a Principal Product Manager to own the complete strategy and execution for Apache Flink across Confluent Cloud and Platform. This high-leverage IC role requires translating complex systems into a clear strategy and operating independently.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years in product management for technical software or cloud services, with deep technical expertise in distributed systems, data engineering, and cloud.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of product management experience in technical software or cloud services.
• Proven ability to own and deliver product strategy for complex cloud data products.
• Experience leading product development from early PMF to revenue.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the multi-year product strategy and roadmap for Apache Flink across cloud and on-prem products.
• Establish structured processes to align product, engineering, GTM, and executive stakeholders.
• Identify high-leverage, 0-to-1 product opportunities for Flink and adjacent areas.
• Define how Confluent Flink offerings will work across Confluent and IBM product portfolio.

Skills

Product management

Distributed systems

Data engineering

Cloud services

Streaming technologies

API design

Programming languages

Open-source

Leadership

Lifecycle management

Job description

We’re not just building better tech. We’re rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn’t sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real-time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them. It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together. One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform.

About the Role

This Principal Product Manager role is a high-leverage Individual Contributor position responsible for the complete product strategy and execution for Apache Flink across Confluent Cloud and Platform. This is an ambiguous and technical domain that requires a seasoned leader who can build durable platform capabilities, translate complex systems into clear strategy, and operate independently.

What You Will Do

• Define and drive the multi-year product strategy and roadmap for Apache Flink across cloud and on-prem products.
• Establish structured processes to align product, engineering, GTM, and executive stakeholders.
• Identify high-leverage, 0-to-1 product opportunities for Flink and in adjacent areas like AI, data engineering, data warehousing, and event-driven applications.
• Define how Confluent Flink offerings will work across Confluent and IBM product portfolio.

What You Will Bring

• Proven ability to own and deliver product strategy for complex cloud data products for customers ranging from data engineers to software developers.
• Deep technical expertise in distributed systems, data engineering, and cloud.
• Domain expertise in streaming technologies such as Kafka, Flink, or Spark is a plus but not required.
• Experience leading product development across the entire lifecycle, scaling businesses from early product-market fit to substantial revenue.
• 10+ years of experience in product management for a technical software or cloud service product.

What Gives You an Edge

• Hands-on engineering or technical background, including comfort with systems design, API design, and several languages (e.g., Python, Java, Scala, SQL, etc.).
• Experience with open-source software and determining commercialization strategy while building the community.
• Track record in data infrastructure, analytics, AI/ML platforms, real-time systems, or streaming systems, especially where the product serves customers with a diversity of technical depth.

Ready to build what's next? Let’s get in motion.Come As You AreBelonging isn’t a perk here. It’s the baseline. We work across time zones and backgrounds, knowing the best ideas come from different perspectives. And we make space for everyone to lead, grow, and challenge what’s possible.We’re proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Employment decisions are based on job-related criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gen