Senior Lead Product Manager, Product Operations

Cox Enterprises; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Cox Automotive is seeking a Product Operations Senior Lead Product Manager to steer AI-first product management initiatives and mature enterprise standards across portfolios. You will work with cross-functional teams to embed best practices, drive readiness, and implement AI-driven workflows from discovery to launch.

Expect to lead adoption, build learning programs, and act as a subject-matter expert for AI in product management, enabling scalable improvements across Cox Automotive.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8+ years of experience in a related field.
• Hands-on experience applying AI tools to product workflows with measurable results.
• Experience driving large operational change and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Mature product management processes across Cox Automotive to raise discipline maturity and standards.
• Lead AI-first product management adoption across CAPTG with reusable playbooks and prompts.
• Partner with PM, product readiness, and other teams to coordinate enterprise-wide Product Operations initiatives.
• Educate and evangelize applied AI in product management and drive adoption across the organization.

Skills

AI-first product management

Stakeholder service

Critical thinking

Knowledge sharing

Self-motivation

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive communication

AI tools usage

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Advanced degree or PhD optional

Tools

Claude

Pendo

Job description

The Product Operations Senior Lead Product Manager will be responsible for leading the creation and adoption of strategies to enable Cox Automotive Product team members to deliver best-in-class products. This role includes the management of shared product management discipline standards across Cox Automotive, managing initiatives which enable product management excellence, and supporting product readiness processes for key initiatives across the portfolio.

This role works cross-functionally with key partners in the product development lifecycle to define and operationalize best practices, develop learning and development programs, and drive adoption of enterprise standards. A core function of this role is embedding AI-first methodologies into how product teams discover, define, build, launch, and measure products, shifting the organization from AI-aware to AI-native.

The person in this role is part of the core team that identifies, develops, and administers a range of enterprise-wide initiatives designed to improve Product Operations across portfolios, and works to effect broad change. This is both a strategic and hands-on position requiring a proactive spirit, broad thinking, and strong problem-solving capabilities.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in working with matrixed teams to build relationships, understand needs, consult on the best ways to address them, all while driving change and improvement. They must have excellent communication skills and attention to detail, as well as the ability to think through broad needs across the enterprise. They bring deep product management experience paired with genuine fluency in applied AI and a track record of operationalizing new ways of working.

• Maturing Product Management: Drive processes that improve product management maturity, skills, and consistency across Cox Automotive. Own and evolve the enterprise discipline framework including standards for discovery, specification, delivery, and post-launch measurement.

• AI-First Product Management: Lead the development and adoption of AI-first approaches to product management across CAPTG. Integrate AI tools (e.g., Claude, Pendo AI) into product workflows including discovery, research synthesis, specification writing, and launch readiness. Develop reusable playbooks, skills, prompts, and agents. Serve as internal SME and evangelist for applied AI in product management.

• Enterprise Stewardship: Partner with Product Management, Product Readiness teams, and other teams internal to the Product COE and CAPTG to coordinate efforts and promote awareness for Product Operations initiatives. Catalyze behavioral change through knowledge sharing and compelling, thoughtfully curated resources that drive buy‑in and adoption.

Required Qualifications:

• Lead the adoption of AI-first approaches to product management, with working knowledge of LLMs (Claude preferred), prompt engineering, and agentic workflows

• Provide excellent service to internal clients / stakeholders, always seeking to add incremental value

• Think critically and broadly about how tools, processes, and standards can be integrated to create compounding value

• Teach others and illuminate best practices in a compelling way that drives buy‑in and adoption
• Self‑motivated, able to independently drive initiatives with minimal oversight
• Thinking and operating broadly across diverse teams/stakeholders, macro/enterprise‑level thinking

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; comfortable communicating at all levels including senior leadership

Experience and Education Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8 years’ experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and 6 years’ experience; a Ph.D. and 3 years’ experience; or 20 years’ experience in a related field

• 5–7 years of experience in a Product organization directly in Product Management or a combination of Product Management and Product Operations

• Hands‑on experience applying AI tools to real product management workflows with measurable results

• Direct involvement in driving continuous improvement and large operational change management initiatives

• Strong ability to build key business relationships and contribute to the enterprise vision at Cox Automotive

• Strong ability to assess capabilities, gaps, and build plans for addressing training needs

Working knowledge of:

• AI in Product Management (hands‑on, not theoretical)

• Change Management / ADKAR

• Double Diamond framework

Nice to have:

• Claude

• Pendo

• Consulting experience

• Spec Driven Development

• Certified in Human Centered Design