Principal Product Manager, HTS API Marketplace

Hopper; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

Competitive salary with pre-IPO equity packages

Carrot Cash travel stipend

Health, Dental, and Vision insurance

Generous parental leave

Job summary

Hopper is seeking a Principal Product Manager to build the HTS API Marketplace, a pivotal role requiring 7+ years of Product Management experience. You will define capabilities, collaborate with technical teams, and own the commercial model for the marketplace. Strong API design skills and a deep understanding of marketplace economics are essential. This position offers a competitive salary range of $250K to $350K and the flexibility of a fully remote work environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of Product Management experience.
• Experience building developer-facing or B2B marketplace products.
• Strong understanding of marketplace economics.

Responsibilities

• Define and structure the HTS API Marketplace.
• Coordinate with PMs on technical roadmaps.
• Build the developer experience from scratch.

Skills

Product Management

API Product Design

Market Economics

Cross-team Coordination

SQL

Job description

About The Role

We are seeking an exceptional Principal Product Manager to build the HTS API Marketplace — the commercial and developer-facing layer through which enterprise partners access Hopper's lodging and cars capabilities. This is a true 0-to-1 role. You will be the person who defines what it is: how capabilities are packaged and priced, how partners discover and integrate them, and how the marketplace evolves as a platform business. The underlying technical capabilities — connectivity orchestration, pricing and sort, content mapping, the extranet — are owned by dedicated capability teams. Your job is to work closely with those PMs to understand, package, and commercially expose those capabilities as coherent, enterprise-grade API products. We expect this PM to move fast and build scrappily. You should be comfortable using AI tools and vibe coding to prototype workflows, mock APIs, and test partner experiences before handing them off to engineering. The best candidate will reach for a prototype before a PRD. You will partner with Engineering, Data Science, Commercial, Finance, and Supply — and coordinate tightly with other PMs across the organization — to bring the marketplace from concept to a revenue-generating platform. This is a fully remote role.

What Would Your Day-to-day Look Like

• Define what the HTS API Marketplace is: how capabilities are structured, packaged, and priced across a portfolio spanning HTS Connect, Search Polygons, Autocomplete, Ranking, Content & Property Mapping, Room Mapping, Deduplication/Auction, Pricing, Extranet, Taxes, and Custom Deals Engine.
• Coordinate with capability PMs — who own the underlying technical systems — to understand each capability's roadmap, constraints, and customization surface, and translate that into externally-consumable API products.
• Own the commercial model for the marketplace: platform vs. variable fee decisions, take rate structure per capability, enterprise packaging, and the custom deals framework for large partners with differentiated customer segments.
• Build the developer and partner experience from scratch: API specifications, partner onboarding flows, documentation standards, sandbox environments, and integration tooling that minimizes time-to-first-value.
• Use AI tools and rapid prototyping to test ideas quickly — mock API responses, prototype partner portals, simulate pricing and ranking configurations — before committing engineering resources.
• Establish the go‑to‑market motion for the marketplace: work with Commercial to identify the right partners for each capability, sequence launches, and define what a successful commercial rollout looks like.
• Own the marketplace revenue P&L: model and track GBV, take rate, and per-capability unit economics in partnership with Finance.
• Set the sequencing and prioritization across all capabilities — from in-progress work (HTS Connect, Taxes) through scoping-stage products (Content & Property Mapping, Room Mapping, Deduplication/Auction, Pricing) to capabilities not yet started (Search Polygons, Autocomplete, Ranking, Extranet, Custom Deals Engine).

An Ideal Candidate Has

• 7+ years of Product Management experience, with at least one 0-to-1 product you built from concept to commercial launch.
• Demonstrated experience building developer-facing or B2B marketplace products, including ownership of API product design, developer experience, and commercial packaging for enterprise customers.
• AI-native working style: you use LLMs and vibe coding as first-line tools for prototyping, not as novelties. You have built working demos, mockups, or proof-of-concepts using AI before handing work to engineering.
• Strong understanding of marketplace economics: take rates, supply-side incentives, demand-side optimization, and the design of platform vs. variable commercial models.
• Ability to coordinate effectively across multiple product teams — you can synthesize roadmaps, surface dependencies, and drive cross-team alignment without owning the underlying engineering.
• Experience working with external enterprise partners: translating commercial needs into product requirements and managing partner expectations through multi-phase rollouts.
• Strong fluency with SQL and large-scale transactional or operational datasets.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication, including the ability to write crisp API and product documentation.

Bonus

• Experience in travel commerce (lodging, cars, flights) or adjacent industries such as fintech, ads, or marketplace infrastructure.
• Background in connectivity, distribution, or supplier technology (GDS, channel managers, OTA APIs).
• Prior experience in Engineering, Data Science, or a technical role.
• Familiarity with auction or deduplication mechanics, dynamic pricing systems, or recommendation and ranking models.

Perks & Benefits Of Working With Us

• Well-funded and proven startup with large ambitions, competitive salary and the upsides of pre-IPO equity packages.
• Unlimited PTO.
• Carrot Cash travel stipend.
• Access to co-working space on demand through FlexDesk AND Work-from-home stipend.
• Please ask us about our very generous parental leave, much above industry standards.
• Entrepreneurial culture where pushing limits and taking risks is everyday business.
• Open communication with management and company leadership.
• Small, dynamic teams = massive impact.
• 100% employer paid Medical, Dental and Vision coverage for employees.
• Access to Disability & Life insurance.
• Health Reimbursement Account (HRA).
• DCA/ FSA and access to 401k plan.

Compensation Range: $250K - $350K