Sr. Product Manager, Managed Agents

WPP; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 75,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Job summary

WPP's Data & Technology Solutions is seeking a Product Manager, Managed Agents to own the strategy for centrally-built AI agents. These are complex, code-based agents built to formal briefs by engineers that serve needs the self-serve platform cannot yet address.

The role includes intake prioritisation, defining production-grade standards, and partnering with governance to ensure quality. You will analyze a 150,000+ catalog, drive transition strategies into catalog as super agents, and

Qualifications

• Product management experience in services productisation, internal tools, or AI/ML products.
• Ability to manage a capability with a deliberate evolution/sunset path.
• Analytical skills — ability to mine large datasets for strategic insight.
• Experience managing specialist/senior engineering teams as a product counterpart.
• Excellent stakeholder management — interfaces with every other Product Manager in the pillar.
• Commercial acumen: articulate ROI of managed agent investment vs platform investment.

Responsibilities

• Own the intake process for managed agent requests — validate business cases.
• Decide what gets built: managed agent investment vs self-serve guidance vs feature improvement.
• Maintain a prioritised backlog informed by business value, client need, and strategy alignment.
• Define what production-grade means for managed agents — testing, accuracy, monitoring, documentation.
• Work with Governance Operations on verification processes for managed agents.
• Analyse catalog patterns across 150,000+ agents to identify common needs and signals.
• Transition proven agents into the catalog as super agents and inform future capabilities.
• Collaborate with other Product Managers to align portfolio investments across the pillar.

Skills

Product management

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Strategic thinking

Commercial acumen

Job description

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands.

We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth.
We work with the world's most valuable brands and have global reach across 100+ markets, with deep local expertise.
Our people are the key to our success. We're committed to fostering a culture of creativity, belonging and continuous learning, attracting and developing the brightest talent, and providing exciting career opportunities that help our people grow.
For more information, visit WPP.com.

WPP's Data & Technology Solutions is the unified global data products and technology team. WPP Open is our AI platform for marketing, connecting marketing professionals, data, tools and AI in a single place.

The Product Manager, Managed Agents owns the strategy for WPP's centrally-built, production-grade AI agents. These are complex, code-based agents built to formal briefs by specialist engineers (including ex-Satalia talent) that serve needs the self-serve platform cannot yet address.

Critically, this role has a built-in evolution path. The long-term strategy is to democratise agentic capability across WPP — meaning managed agents should progressively become unnecessary as the platform matures. This Product Manager owns both the current value delivery AND the transition strategy.

What you'll be doing:

Intake and prioritisation

• Own the intake process for managed agent requests — business case validation, deduplication against catalog, feasibility assessment.
• Decide what gets built: which requests warrant managed agent investment vs. self-serve guidance vs. product feature improvement?
• Maintain a prioritised backlog informed by business value, client need, and strategic alignment.

Quality and standards

• Define what "production-grade" means for managed agents — testing, accuracy, monitoring, documentation standards.
• Work closely with Agent Governance Operations team on verification processes for managed agents.
• Ensure managed agents are exemplars of best practice that inform standards for the self-serve platform.

Insight mining and signal generation

• Analyse agent creation patterns across the 150,000+ catalog — identify common needs being solved repeatedly.
• Translate patterns into product signals: "1,500 people/month building insight agents" = signal that Unified Insights needs improvement.
• Feed insights to other Product Managers and the Product Strategist to inform portfolio-level investment decisions.

Transition and democratisation strategy

• For each managed agent: determine the long-term path — become a product feature? Become a catalog super agent? Remain bespoke?
• Work with Product Manager, Agent Hub & Catalog to transition proven agents into the catalog as super agents.
• Work with Product Manager, Agent Builder to feed requirements back: "these are the capabilities that would let users build this themselves."
• Progressively reduce the managed agents backlog as the platform matures — measure success by decreasing dependency.

Team interface

• Act as strategic counterpart to the managed agents engineering team (ex-Satalia specialists in delivery organisation).
• Set direction and priorities without micromanaging technical implementation.
• Champion the team's expertise as an asset for platform intelligence.

What you'll need

• Product management experience, with experience in services productisation, internal tools, or AI/ML products.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a capability with a deliberate evolution/sunset path.
• Analytical skills — ability to mine large datasets for strategic insight.
• Experience managing specialist/senior engineering teams as a product counterpart.
• Excellent stakeholder management — this role interfaces with every other Product Manager in the pillar.
• Commercial acumen: ability to articulate ROI of managed agent investment vs. platform investment.

You are:

• A product manager who thrives in ambiguity — managing a capability that must deliver value today while actively planning its own evolution.
• Experienced in professional services productisation — turning bespoke builds into scalable, repeatable patterns.
• Data-driven: you can mine a catalog of 150,000+ agents to find patterns and translate those into product opportunities.
• Comfortable managing a specialist engineering team as a strategic counterpart — setting direction without micromanaging technical decisions.
• A bridge-builder: you connect the managed agents team's expertise with product strategy across the pillar.

#LI-Hybrid

The base salary range for this position at the time of this posting is indicated below. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package.

$75,000 - $180,000 USD

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

WPP is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

Voluntary Equal Opportunity Questions (US)

WPP is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

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