Senior Product Manager: Research Solutions (SaaS)

Keller Executive Search; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Retirement plans

Job summary

Keller Executive Search is recruiting for a Senior Product Manager on behalf of a client SaaS company serving North American higher education institutions. You will own the research administration product area, shape vision, and drive the roadmap with engineering, design, and GTM partners to deliver measurable customer and business outcomes.

This is an individual contributor role with significant ownership and visibility over product direction, requiring strong customer empathy and domain

Qualifications

• 8+ years of product management experience with ownership of complex SaaS products.
• Experience with research administration in higher education software or institutions.
• Strong understanding of research workflows and compliance in academia.
• Proven ability to develop product strategy and translate it into executable roadmaps.
• Strong product discovery skills and direct customer collaboration.
• Experience partnering with engineering and design teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the product strategy, roadmap, and priorities for the research administration product area.
• Lead customer discovery to understand institutional workflows, challenges, and needs.
• Translate insights and data into clear product opportunities and measurable outcomes.
• Collaborate with engineering and design from discovery through delivery, defining requirements and success criteria.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, configurability, usability, and AI-enabled capabilities.
• Support launches, adoption, and customer outcomes with cross-functional teams.
• Define and track product health, engagement, and customer value metrics.
• Communicate strategy and priorities across teams and stakeholders.
• Drive continuous improvement through experimentation and data-driven decisions.

Skills

PM experience

Research admin

SaaS products

Customer discovery

Cross-functional

Data-driven

Communication

Distributed teams

Job description

Our client is an established SaaS company serving higher education institutions across North America. Its configurable software helps institutions simplify complex administrative workflows, improve operational efficiency, and better support faculty, staff, and students.

The business is entering an important stage of growth, with increased focus in product, technology, and innovation. It combines the stability of an established customer base with the opportunity to meaningfully influence how the product organization evolves.

About the Role

Our client is looking for a Senior Product Manager to take ownership of a research administration product area and help shape its next stage of growth.

This is a strategic, outcomes-focused role for an experienced product leader with strong customer empathy and an understanding of research administration in higher education. You'll shape product vision and roadmap priorities, lead customer discovery, and partner closely with engineering, design, and go-to-market teams to deliver measurable customer and business outcomes.

This is an individual contributor role with significant ownership, visibility, and influence over product direction.

What You'll Do

• Own the product strategy, roadmap, and priorities for a key research administration product area
• Lead customer discovery to understand institutional workflows, challenges, compliance requirements, and emerging needs
• Translate customer insights, market trends, competitive intelligence, and data into clear product opportunities
• Partner with engineering and design from discovery through delivery, defining requirements and measurable success criteria
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, configurability, usability, and AI-enabled capabilities
• Collaborate with sales, marketing, customer success, and other teams to support launches, adoption, and customer outcomes
• Define and track product health, adoption, engagement, and customer value metrics
• Communicate product strategy and priorities effectively across internal teams and customer stakeholders
• Drive continuous improvement through experimentation, customer feedback, and data-driven decision making

• 8+ years of product management experience, including significant ownership of complex SaaS products
• Experience with research administration, either through a software provider serving this market or within a university or research institution
• Strong understanding of research-related workflows such as sponsored programs, grants administration, compliance, research operations, or adjacent areas
• Demonstrated ability to develop product strategy and translate it into an executable roadmap
• Strong product discovery skills and experience working directly with customers
• Experience partnering closely with engineering and design teams
• A curious, resourceful, and self-directed approach to solving complex problems
• Strong analytical skills and comfort using data to inform decisions
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to simplify complex problems and influence stakeholders across different functions and levels
• Experience working successfully in distributed, cross-functional environments

Nice to Have

• Experience in higher education technology or enterprise workflow software
• Experience building highly configurable products or workflow-driven platforms
• Familiarity with the regulatory, compliance, security, and accessibility requirements of higher education institutions
• Experience introducing AI-enabled functionality into established SaaS products
• Experience working with complex enterprise customers and multiple stakeholder groups
• Product management education, certification, or training related to AI and emerging technologies

• Competitive base range of $140,000 to $155,000
• Comprehensive benefits package offered (healthcare and retirement programs)

Equal Employment Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: Both Keller Executive Search and our clients are Equal Opportunity Employers. For all positions, whether with Keller Executive Search or our clients, qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, skin color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected status.

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Note: This job posting may be for a position with Keller Executive Search or one of our clients. The specific employer will be identified during the application and interview process. Employment laws and requirements may vary depending on the employer and location.