Product Management Director - Open Source Software

Xanadu; United States; On-site; USD 190,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Xanadu is seeking a Director or Senior Principal Product Manager, Technical to own the PennyLane roadmap and drive execution across quantum software. You will partner with engineering, research, and product teams to translate a bold vision into shipped features.

In this role you will manage developer experience, go-to-market strategy, and community growth, while shaping the framework’s APIs and integrations.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in technical product management, developer product management, or a closely related technical role.
• Experience in open-source software, cloud computing, AI/ML, or deep tech.
• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Proven track record of decomposing and operationalizing a product vision on a roadmap.
• Experience owning go-to-market for a technical or developer product and driving adoption.

Responsibilities

• Own roadmap and execution for PennyLane in collaboration with engineering, research, and product leadership.
• Define developer experience and adoption metrics from onboarding to retention and growth.
• Drive technical direction and API design in collaboration with the engineering team.
• Lead go-to-market, including launches, positioning, documentation, tutorials, and community releases.
• Plan phased rollouts with betas and feature-gated launches to de-risk delivery.
• Provide regular leadership updates on adoption, engagement, and roadmap progress.
• Hire, coach, and lead a team of product managers as the scope grows.

Skills

Technical product mgmt

Open-source software

Cloud computing

AI/ML

Quantum computing familiarity

Education

Bachelor’s or advanced degree in CS/Engineering/Physics/Math

Job description

About Xanadu

Xanadu’s mission is to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere.
At Xanadu, we are learners, innovators, researchers, collaborators and problem solvers. We are creating something that has never been built before. What we are doing is extremely hard, the classic moon shot. Few people in their life will be able to be a part of something like this, where if we are successful, the technologies we develop will solve some of the world’s most challenging problems, and literally change the world. And that is something to be excited about!

Your role and responsibilities

Quantum computing is poised to redefine what is computable, and PennyLane is where the world is learning to build it. Xanadu Quantum Technologies is seeking a Director / Senior Principal Product Manager, Technical to own the roadmap and execution for PennyLane, our industry-leading open-source software framework for quantum machine learning and quantum computing, used by developers, researchers, and enterprise R&D teams around the world.
This is a rare opportunity to shape the software layer of an entirely new computing paradigm. As a Product Manager, Technical at Xanadu, you will stand at the intersection of quantum software, developer experience, and business strategy. Reporting directly to the VP who runs PennyLane, you will take a bold product vision and turn it into shipped reality, partnering closely with engineering, research, and product teams to define how the next generation of quantum developers builds. In this role, you will decompose strategy into a sequenced roadmap, run the cross-functional execution behind it, and own the go-to-market that puts PennyLane in the hands of a fast-growing global community.

• Roadmap & Strategy Execution: Partner directly with engineering, research, and product leadership to translate a defined product vision into a sequenced, measurable roadmap aligned with developer and market needs. Decompose strategy into workstreams, specs, and milestones, and run the weekly execution cadence that keeps teams shipping.
• Developer Experience & Adoption: Own developer experience and adoption end to end, from onboarding and activation through retention and growth, along with the metrics behind them.
• Technical Architecture Alignment: Drive the technical direction of the framework alongside engineering, shaping APIs, developer ergonomics, and integrations across the quantum stack.
• Go-To-Market & Community Growth: Lead go-to-market for PennyLane—launches, positioning, documentation, tutorials, and community releases—to attract new developers, students, and industry scientists.
• Phased Rollouts: Plan and manage controlled, phased rollouts—betas, staged releases, and feature-gated launches—to de-risk delivery and gather user feedback before general availability.
• Metrics & Leadership Reporting: Measure and report on adoption, developer engagement, and roadmap progress, delivering clear product and business updates to leadership on a regular cadence.
• Team Leadership: Hire, coach, and lead a team of product managers as scope expands

Basic qualifications and experience

• 8+ years in technical product management, developer product management, or a closely related technical role within open-source software, cloud computing, AI/ML, or deep tech.
• Bachelor's or Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Demonstrated experience taking an existing product vision and operationalizing it: decomposing, sequencing, and shipping against a roadmap.
• Proven track record of owning go-to-market for a technical or developer product and driving measurable adoption.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with software engineering teams on roadmap, technical tradeoffs, and product strategy.
• Experience operating in both large organizations and fast-moving growth-stage companies.
• Strong analytical, communication, and cross-functional project management skills.

Preferred qualifications and experience

• Experience launching and scaling open-source developer tooling, SDKs, or enterprise deep-tech platforms.
• People-management experience leading a product team (Director / Group PM track).
• Background or familiarity with quantum computing concepts, PennyLane, or classical ML frameworks.

Our values are important. They are fundamental and lay the foundation for culture at Xanadu. Learn more about our values here.

We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. We are committed to building an inclusive, safe, and equitable culture and fostering an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. We are committed to meeting the needs of all individuals and support a barrier-free workplace. Should you require accommodations at any point during the recruitment process please contact Recruiting at [e-mail].

Please be advised that we may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in the screening and assessment of applicants for this position. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.