Principal Product Manager - Data Platform

IT America Inc; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 160,000 - 230,000; Part time

Job summary

IT America Inc in Austin, TX is seeking a Principal Product Manager Data Platform to lead strategy, roadmap, backlog, and delivery of enterprise data platform capabilities.

This hands-on, technical PM role is about 70% Product Management and 30% Scrum Master/Agile leadership across two technical teams, partnering with engineering, analytics, data governance, and security to drive Databricks/Lakehouse initiatives and modern data platform transformation.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Product Management, Product Ownership, Agile Delivery, or related technical leadership roles.
• Strong experience supporting technical/data engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience owning a data platform or data product backlog end-to-end.
• Strong understanding of Data Platforms, Lakehouse architecture, cloud data technologies, and modern data engineering.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the Data Platform product roadmap, vision, strategy, and backlog.
• Prioritize initiatives across platform modernization, technical debt, operational stability, data governance, and new analytics requirements.
• Work closely with engineering, data, architecture, security, compliance, and business stakeholders.
• Translate business requirements into clear epics, features, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
• Manage and prioritize the product backlog using appropriate prioritization frameworks.
• Provide product leadership across two technical delivery teams.
• Support Agile ceremonies and Scrum activities, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, stand-ups, reviews, and retrospectives.
• Partner with technical teams on Databricks / Lakehouse platform capabilities, data architecture, governance, security, lineage, and self-service analytics.
• Help drive platform modernization and cloud/data transformation initiatives.
• Balance short-term operational requirements with long-term platform strategy and technical debt reduction.
• Manage competing priorities across multiple stakeholders and make data-driven product decisions.
• Establish and track measurable outcomes such as platform adoption, data quality, operational efficiency, modernization progress, and analytics enablement.
• Ensure product priorities align with organizational security, governance, risk, and compliance requirements.
• Communicate product strategy, priorities, dependencies, risks, and progress to senior leadership.

Skills

Product Management

Data Platform

Agile/Scrum

Stakeholder management

Communication

Tools

Databricks

Lakehouse

Delta Lake

Unity Catalog

Job description

Position: Principal Product Manager Data Platform

Location: Austin, TX

Duration: Long term contract

Ideal Candidate:

• The ideal candidate is not simply a traditional Product Manager or Scrum Master. We are looking for someone who can:
• Candidates with a combination of Product Management + Data Platform + Databricks/Lakehouse + Agile/Scrum experience are strongly encouraged to apply

Job Summary:

We are seeking an experienced Principal Product Manager Data Platform to lead the strategy, roadmap, backlog, and delivery of enterprise data platform capabilities.

This is a hands on technical product management role with approximately 70% Product Management and 30% Scrum Master / Agile leadership responsibilities across two technical teams.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience managing data platform products, working with engineering and analytics teams, and enough technical depth in Databricks / Lakehouse technologies to effectively partner with architects, engineers, data teams, and business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own and manage the Data Platform product roadmap, vision, strategy, and backlog.
• Prioritize initiatives across platform modernization, technical debt, operational stability, data governance, and new analytics requirements.
• Work closely with engineering, data, architecture, security, compliance, and business stakeholders.
• Translate business requirements into clear epics, features, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
• Manage and prioritize the product backlog using appropriate prioritization frameworks.
• Provide product leadership across two technical delivery teams.
• Support Agile ceremonies and Scrum activities, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, stand-ups, reviews, and retrospectives.
• Partner with technical teams on Databricks / Lakehouse platform capabilities, data architecture, governance, security, lineage, and self-service analytics.
• Help drive platform modernization and cloud/data transformation initiatives.
• Balance short-term operational requirements with long-term platform strategy and technical debt reduction.
• Manage competing priorities across multiple stakeholders and make data-driven product decisions.
• Establish and track measurable outcomes such as platform adoption, data quality, operational efficiency, modernization progress, and analytics enablement.
• Ensure product priorities align with organizational security, governance, risk, and compliance requirements.
• Communicate product strategy, priorities, dependencies, risks, and progress to senior leadership.

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in Product Management, Product Ownership, Agile Delivery, or related technical leadership roles.
• Strong experience supporting technical/data engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience owning a data platform or data product backlog end-to-end.
• Strong understanding of Data Platforms, Lakehouse architecture, cloud data technologies, and modern data engineering.
• Hands-on or strong working knowledge of Databricks or a comparable Lakehouse platform.
• Understanding of Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, data governance, security, and data lineage is highly preferred.
• Strong Agile/Scrum experience with the ability to operate as both a Product Manager and Scrum Master/Agile Lead.
• Proven ability to prioritize technical debt, modernization, operational stability, and business value.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience working with cross-functional technical and business teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in financial services or other regulated environments.
• Experience with enterprise-scale data modernization programs.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Experience enabling self-service analytics and data products.
• Experience with data governance, compliance, security, and audit requirements.
• Experience measuring product outcomes using KPIs and business/technical metrics.