Product Manager - San Francisco

Plaud Inc.; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESOP ownership

Hybrid work model

Health benefits

Parental leave

Top-tier equipment

Job summary

Plaud Inc. is building the real-world AI interface for professionals to amplify intelligence and productivity from SF. You will own discovery across professional workflows and shape the end-to-end product experience for next-generation Plaud AI devices.

Join a fast-moving team turning user insights into device capabilities, software, and AI-driven services while collaborating with global teams and aiming for market-leading hardware-software solutions in a dynamic, growth-focused environment.

Qualifications

• Proven ownership of at least one successful 0-to-1 consumer technology, connected-device, wearable, audio, smart hardware, or similar product.
• Exceptional product sense and user insight; able to explain not only what was built, but why the product should exist and which user problem it solved.
• Strong understanding of software and AI products, including how AI capabilities, software workflows, services, and subscriptions affect the value proposition of a physical device.
• Sufficient hardware systems knowledge to work effectively with engineering and reason about trade-offs across form factor, sensors, audio, connectivity, compute, battery, latency, reliability, and cost.
• Strong ownership, structured thinking, communication, and ability to make high-quality decisions under ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Own user and product discovery for next-generation Plaud AI devices, deeply understanding professional workflows, unmet needs, user behavior, and market opportunities.
• Define the complete product experience from first principles: start with user value, define the required AI and software experience, then derive the device capabilities and hardware requirements needed to make that experience possible.
• Develop product theses, target users, key scenarios, value propositions, interaction models, product concepts, and success metrics for new AI devices and major product iterations.
• Work closely with AI, Software, HCI, Industrial Design, Hardware Engineering, and Shenzhen Hardware Product teams to turn experience requirements into coherent system-level product definitions.
• Continuously validate product assumptions through users, prototypes, AI tools, experiments, usage data, and post-launch feedback, and use those insights to guide future products and portfolio strategy.

Skills

User research

Product discovery

AI product understanding

End-to-end experience

Prioritization

Data-informed decisions

Hardware awareness

Job description

About Plaud Inc.

Plaud is building the real-world AI interface for professionals to amplify intelligence, elevate productivity and performance, loved by over 2,500,000 users worldwide since 2023. With a mission to amplify human intelligence, Plaud captures, structures, and compounds the intelligence generated in conversations — so humans can think better, decide faster, and execute with clarity.

Why You Should Join Us

Plaud is building the next generation intelligence infrastructure and interfaces to capture, extract, and utilize intelligence from what people say, hear, see, and think.

• Plaud is a bootstrapped, skyrocketing, profitable company with a $300M revenue run rate achieved in just three years.

• Define the next-gen paradigm for human-AI interaction.

• Gain exposure to cutting-edge AI for Pro tools and play a direct role in our global expansion.

• Work with passionate teammates who value innovation, collaboration, and customer success.

• Grow your career in a culture that champions continuous learning and fast career development.

• Market-competitive compensation, global exposure, and a vibrant, creativity-fueled work atmosphere.

What You Will Do

• Own user and product discovery for next-generation Plaud AI devices, deeply understanding professional workflows, unmet needs, user behavior, and market opportunities.

• Define the complete product experience from first principles: start with user value, define the required AI and software experience, then derive the device capabilities and hardware requirements needed to make that experience possible.

• Develop product theses, target users, key scenarios, value propositions, interaction models, product concepts, and success metrics for new AI devices and major product iterations.

• Work closely with AI, Software, HCI, Industrial Design, Hardware Engineering, and Shenzhen Hardware Product teams to turn experience requirements into coherent system-level product definitions.

• Continuously validate product assumptions through users, prototypes, AI tools, experiments, usage data, and post-launch feedback, and use those insights to guide future products and portfolio strategy.

Minimum Qualifications

• Proven ownership of at least one successful 0-to-1 consumer technology, connected-device, wearable, audio, smart hardware, or similar product.

• Exceptional product sense and user insight; able to explain not only what was built, but why the product should exist and which user problem it solved.

• Strong understanding of software and AI products, including how AI capabilities, software workflows, services, and subscriptions affect the value proposition of a physical device.

• Sufficient hardware systems knowledge to work effectively with engineering and reason about trade-offs across form factor, sensors, audio, connectivity, compute, battery, latency, reliability, and cost.

• Strong ownership, structured thinking, communication, and ability to make high-quality decisions under ambiguity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building products that combine device + app/software + AI/cloud service + recurring revenue or subscription.

• Strong track record serving North American professional or consumer users.

• Experience in AI-native interaction, voice interfaces, agents, wearables, audio, ambient computing, or next-generation HCI.

• Founder, early startup team, or zero-to-one product-team experience is highly valued.

• Demonstrated AI-native working style, including active use of LLMs for research, prototyping, specification, analysis, and product exploration.
  

Required Tech/Soft skills

• Product / AI:

  User research and product discovery

  AI product and workflow understanding

  End-to-end experience definition

  Strong product prioritization and trade-off judgment

  Data-informed product decision making

• Hardware:

  Working understanding of electronics, mechanics, firmware, sensors, audio, connectivity, battery, compute, manufacturing, and reliability

  Ability to translate product experience into device capabilities and system requirements

• Soft skills:

  First-principles thinking

  High ownership and low ego

  Excellent communication and storytelling

  Strong cross-functional influence without authority

  Bias toward action and rapid validation

What we offer

• Meaningful Ownership An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that gives a real stake in Plaud’s long-term success.

• High-Impact Environment Work in a fast-moving, product-driven environment where your ideas directly shape the future of AI productivity.

• Comprehensive Health & Retirement Benefits Top-tier medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents, supported by a generous employer subsidy, plus a 401(k) retirement plan with company matching for full-time employees.

• Time Off & Workplace Benefits Unlimited PTO, plus 13 paid holidays, 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave for all parents, a hybrid work model with a minimum of three in-office days per week, and access to high-quality office snacks, drinks, and equipment.

• Cutting-Edge AI Tools for Productivity Access to best-in-class AI tools, including Gemini, Claude Code, and other frontier AI systems to maximize engineering and execution efficiency.

• Best-in-Class Equipment Choice of top-spec laptops, high-performance workstation setups, and cutting-edge Plaud devices for all new hires.

• Team & Culture Annual company offsites, team events, and a culture that values craftsmanship, ownership, and velocity.

Disclaimer

Plaud is and will continue to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.