Product Manager II

Act Inc; Iowa City (IA); Remote; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

ACT is seeking a Product Manager II to lead the development of a new pathway navigation experience for high school students, collaborating with design, engineering, research, and business partners. The role emphasizes rapid prototyping, user discovery, and delivering features end-to-end in a fast-moving, data-driven environment.

Location: Remote in the United States. Salary range: $80,000 to $100,000 annually, with compensation determined by skills and internal equity.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of product management or related discipline.
• Experience building or launching a 0-to-1 product or significant new feature.
• Experience collaborating with design and engineering in agile environments.
• Ability to prototype and test ideas with stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s degree in technology, education, data science/analytics, business or related field.

Responsibilities

• Define and validate product vision and requirements for a new pathway navigation experience.
• Build prototypes to test ideas and determine direction with limited resources.
• Lead discovery with students, counselors, and educators to inform product decisions.
• Own end-to-end product development lifecycle from requirements to launch and post-launch tracking.
• Communicate status, decisions, and risks across stakeholders and leadership.

Skills

PM experience

0-to-1 product

Cross-functional

Prototyping

Data & analytics

Communication

Project management

Ambiguity handling

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Figma

No-code tools

SQL

Job description

At ACT, Your Work Makes a Difference

Education has power - a power that changes lives forever. It creates opportunities that lift up individuals, their families, and sparks societal change that echoes through generations to come. From our grassroots we have fought the good fight for equity in education, and we remain devoted to helping anyone who struggles to access that power. This is what matters to us and we must do better -- we've never been more sure of our purpose.

ACT team members are part of an organization dedicated to a mission that has never been more important: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. Advancing that mission within our organization, by helping our team members achieve education and workplace success of their own, is core to our values. ACT values a diverse workplace and is committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable environment in which every team member has an opportunity to grow.

We want our team members to have the well-being and confidence they need to do their best work, in an environment where both they and ACT thrive. To support this, our total rewards include company paid life insurance, medical, dental, vision, flexible health and dependent spending accounts, 401(k) retirement savings with company match, paid holidays, paid time off, and so much more. You can find a comprehensive list of our benefits here.

We are seeking a Product Manager II to help us fulfill that mission.

ACT is seeking a Product Manager II to help build a new pathway navigation experience that helps high school students explore, plan, and take confident next steps toward college and career. You will work cross-functionally with design, engineering, research, and business partners moving quickly, testing ideas and prototypes, and translating student and customer insights into a product students actually want to use.

The finalist will be hired at the salary and level commensurate with their qualifications. For this position, we anticipate offering an annual salary in the range of $80,000 to $100,000. ACT manages salaries within the range based on relevant factors including, skills, experience, and internal equity.

Location: This is a remote position, based in the United States.

Visa: Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for visa sponsorship.

Please Note: This is a Fixed Term Position that will last 6 months, with the possibility of an extension.

What you will be working on:

Cross-Functional Product Ownership:

• Serve as the connective product lead across different functional teams, aligning roadmap, priorities, and timelines
• Build trusted working relationships with stakeholders in product, design, engineering, and business functions

0-to-1 Product Building:

• Define and validate the product vision and requirements for a new pathway navigation experience for high school students, from early concept through launch
• Build scrappy prototypes to ideas quickly and gather feedback before committing engineering resources
• Make fast, pragmatic tradeoffs to move the team from ambiguity to a validated direction with limited resources and an evolving scope

User Research and Insight:

• Lead lightweight, continuous discovery with high school students, counselors, and educators to understand their pathway planning needs
• Translate research and data into clear product requirements and prioritization decisions
• Socialize findings to build a shared understanding of user needs and product direction

Delivery and Execution:

• Partner with designers and engineers to scope, prioritize, and ship product features on a fast-moving timeline
• Own the end-to-end product development lifecycle, from requirements through launch coordination and post-launch performance tracking

Communication and Project Management:

• Communicate clearly and proactively with stakeholders, keeping everyone aligned on status, decisions, and risks
• Manage project timelines and dependencies across cross-functional teams
• Present product updates and recommendations to leadership

This could be the job for you if you have (minimum requirements):

• At least 3 years of experience in product management or a closely related discipline
• Experience building or launching a 0-to-1 product, or leading a significant new feature or product effort from concept to launch
• Experience working cross-functionally with design and engineering in an agile environment
• Demonstrated ability to build prototypes, mockups, or lightweight proofs of concept to test and communicate product ideas
• Bachelor's degree in technology, education, data science/analytics, business or related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and abilities can be acquired

Knowledge & Skills:

• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and building structure and process where none exists
• A scrappy self-starter who can build their own prototypes (e.g., Figma, no-code AI tools) to test ideas
• Skilled at navigating and influencing across organizations
• Excellent written and verbal communicator who builds trust quickly with new stakeholders
• Strong project management instincts; keeps complex, cross-organizational work on track
• A genuine passion for education and unlocking opportunity for students
• Experience using AI tools to support day-to-day work (e.g., drafting, research, data synthesis), with sound judgment about when human review is required.
• Ability to use data and analytics tools (e.g., SQL, dashboards) to translate research and usage data into product decisions

It's a plus if you have (preferred qualifications):

• Experience working and influencing in cross-functional organizations
• Experience in Edtech, workforce development, or college and career readiness space

About ACT

When ACT was founded in 1959, it disrupted the assessment industry with a new approach to helping students better understand their readiness so they could take steps to improve it. By leveraging our expertise and authority in assessment and research, we will again disrupt the industry-helping more people learn, better measure their progress, and improve their navigation through life's transitions.

More than ever before, ACT is fulfilling its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. We're doing it by pushing the boundaries of learning innovation through the work of our people, who we call team members because we're all in this together.

We know transformation does not come without challenge. That's why ACT invests in a variety of experiences for team members to strengthen their connections, explore ideas, learn from customers, and celebrate success.

Learn more about working at ACT at act.org!

ACT is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. ACT participates in E-verify. ACT's online position announcements are intended only to provide general descriptions of employment opportunities; none of the information provided for any position should be interpreted as a commitment by ACT to specific terms and conditions for employment.

Completion of the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate is recommended. Find a testing site near you to register for the WorkKeys assessments. Finalists for this position will be subject to a criminal background check as a condition of employment.

**If you have received an ACT employment-related communication from an email address that is not affiliated with @act.org and/or that requests personal or financial information, please do not reply. Instead, reach out to us at [e-mail] with the details. ACT's recruitment team appreciates your interest in working with us to transform college and career readiness pathways for all learners and wishes you the best of luck in your career journey.**