Senior Product Manager, Platform Engineering

Appian Corporation; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 125,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits package

Development opportunities

Job summary

Appian Corporation seeks a seasoned Product Manager to lead Appian on Kubernetes, driving the roadmap and ensuring reliable, scalable deployments for customers in their managed environments. You will translate enterprise customer needs into the product backlog and collaborate across Engineering, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success to shape go-to-market and product positioning.

The role requires 5+ years in product management or software engineering in enterprise software, a CS/engineering

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Product Management or Software Engineering within an enterprise software organization.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience managing products supporting both SaaS and customer-managed deployments.
• Strong understanding of cloud-native technologies and Kubernetes.
• Experience working with containerized applications throughout the deployment and operational lifecycle.
• Knowledge of enterprise infrastructure concepts including scalability, availability, resiliency, and security.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for both technical and executive audiences.
• Experience partnering directly with enterprise customers to influence product strategy.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the product roadmap for Appian on Kubernetes.
• Prioritize product investments based on customer feedback, business impact, and technical strategy.
• Partner with Engineering to define requirements, refine backlog priorities, and guide implementation.
• Collaborate with architects and engineers to design scalable, cloud-native platform capabilities.
• Establish clear product boundaries between customer-managed infrastructure and Appian-managed functionality.
• Write detailed product requirements and specifications for engineering teams.
• Track feature adoption and success through customer feedback, product metrics, and usage analytics.
• Own the product lifecycle from ideation through documentation, launch, and ongoing enhancements.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success to support go-to-market initiatives and product positioning.
• Build strong relationships with enterprise customers to understand complex deployment challenges and influence future product direction.

Skills

Product management

Enterprise software

Communication

Customer engagement

Cloud-native tech

Kubernetes knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

OpenShift

Job description

Here at Appian, our values of Intensity and Excellence define who we are. We set high standards and strive to deliver care and quality in everything we do, approaching challenges with ambition and accountability. This role focuses on strengthening our self-managed distribution of Appian by analyzing customer use cases, prioritizing essential features, and driving adoption of Appian on Kubernetes.

You will lead the direction and roadmap for Appian on Kubernetes, ensuring reliable, high-performance operations for customers running Appian in their own managed environments. This role emphasizes a strong connection to customers, forming relationships with key contacts within their organizations and translating customer needs into the product backlog.

What You\'ll Do

• Define and execute the product roadmap for Appian on Kubernetes.
• Prioritize product investments based on customer feedback, business impact, and technical strategy.
• Partner with Engineering to define requirements, refine backlog priorities, and guide implementation.
• Collaborate with architects and engineers to design scalable, cloud-native platform capabilities.
• Establish clear product boundaries between customer-managed infrastructure and Appian-managed functionality.
• Write detailed product requirements and specifications for engineering teams.
• Track feature adoption and success through customer feedback, product metrics, and usage analytics.
• Own the product lifecycle from ideation through documentation, launch, and ongoing enhancements.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success to support go-to-market initiatives and product positioning.
• Build strong relationships with enterprise customers to understand complex deployment challenges and influence future product direction.

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Product Management or Software Engineering within an enterprise software organization.
• Bachelor\'s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience managing products supporting both SaaS and customer-managed deployments.
• Strong understanding of cloud-native technologies and Kubernetes.
• Experience working with containerized applications throughout the deployment and operational lifecycle.
• Knowledge of enterprise infrastructure concepts including scalability, availability, resiliency, and security.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for both technical and executive audiences.
• Experience partnering directly with enterprise customers to influence product strategy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Kubernetes platforms such as Amazon EKS, Azure AKS, Google GKE, Red Hat OpenShift, Rancher, or VMware Kubernetes Service.
• Experience building or supporting Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs).
• Familiarity with software deployments in denied, degraded, intermittent, and limited (DDIL) environments.
• Understanding of enterprise data sovereignty and regulatory requirements, including frameworks such as DORA.
• Experience supporting customers in highly regulated industries, including government, financial services, healthcare, or life sciences.

Base Salary Range

$125,000 - $250,000 USD

Appian provides a comprehensive benefits package and a variety of development opportunities. Details vary by location; please consult your Talent Acquisition contact for location-specific information.

About Appian: Appian provides AI automation for mission-critical work. We automate complex processes in large enterprises and governments. Our platform is known for its reliability and scale. For more information, visit appian.com.

Appian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic. Disabled veterans and other protected classes are welcome. Reasonable accommodations are available on request.

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