Staff Product Manager, AI Research & Engineering

Collectors; Sacramento (CA); Hybrid; USD 166,000 - 269,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401(k) Matching

Flexible Hours

Vacation & Holidays

Employee Discounts

Job summary

Collectors is seeking a Staff Product Manager for the AI Research & Engineering (AIRE) team to shape training data strategy and own end-to-end data pipelines that feed scalable machine learning models. You will partner with ML Engineering and SMEs to improve model accuracy, speed, and cost, while influencing cross-functional teams.

You will lead data collection, labeling, and annotation workstreams, ensuring high-quality data and robust feedback loops that translate human corrections into

Qualifications

• 10+ years of product management experience, including building a product, platform, or capability from the ground up.
• Strategic and execution-oriented with ability to set direction and drive decisions in ambiguity.
• Experience with AI/ML or AI-enabled operational workflows.
• Strong systems thinker who can analyze multi-step workflows and their impact on throughput and cost.

Responsibilities

• Set strategy and make the calls for training data capabilities, prioritizing data collection, quality, review depth, confidence thresholds, and cost.
• Build the data collection pipeline end-to-end, including procurement, preparation, capture, labeling, and annotation, with scalable systems at each stage.
• Coordinate across teams and sites to maximize throughput, identify bottlenecks, and plan capacity across locations.
• Define and implement human-in-the-loop review processes and feedback loops with subject matter experts.
• Collaborate across ML Engineering, Operations, and SMEs to align direction and execute without direct authority.
• Define metrics for data quality, model improvement, throughput, and cost, and report progress to leadership.
• Mentor other PMs, contribute to product practices, and develop scalable documentation and processes.
• Build with AI using tools like Claude Cowork, Claude Code, and Codex to accelerate development and workflows.

Skills

Product management

AI/ML experience

Systems thinking

Stakeholder influence

Travel readiness

Tools

Claude Cowork

Claude Code

Codex

Job description

Collectors is the leading creator of innovative technology that provides value-added services for collectors worldwide. We grade, authenticate, vault, and sell millions of record-setting collectibles, all while modernizing and digitalizing the process to further our mission of helping collectors pursue their passions. We’re always on the lookout for talented people to join our growing team.

Our services span collectible trading cards, autographs, comic books, coins, video games, event tickets, and memorabilia. Our subsidiaries include PSA, PCGS, Beckett, SGC, and Card Ladder.

Since our founding in 1986, we have graded and authenticated millions of items. We employ more than 3000 people across our headquarters in Santa Ana, California and offices in New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico, Germany, the UK, and France.

As part of our interview process, we request that candidates have their cameras on during video interviews. This helps foster meaningful conversation and allows us to create an experience that closely resembles our standard working environment. Certain interview steps may take place by phone. For remote roles, and at our discretion, candidates may be asked to participate in an on-site interview as part of the final stages of the process.

We understand there may be occasional circumstances requiring accommodation and are happy to discuss them as needed. Your recruiter will be able to clarify expectations and answer any questions you have.

Overview

This team, AI Research & Engineering (AIRE), builds the applied machine learning systems that run our business at scale, from prototype to production. This role is ideal for a product manager who is equally comfortable sourcing training data and writing evals for our models, standing up production‑ready pipelines, and shipping tools that help internal teams make better decisions. You'll work across computer vision, structured data, and agentic AI workflows, with direct impact on products used by graders, researchers, and collectors. Every one of those products is only as good as the data behind it, and you'll own that data from first capture to final correction.

As a Staff Product Manager, you'll decide what training data we collect, in what order, and how human corrections flow back into our models, partnering closely with ML Engineering and subject matter experts to improve model accuracy, development speed, and cost across the portfolio. You'll bring the technical fluency to earn credibility with engineers, the judgment to turn ambiguous problems into clear strategy, and the systems thinking to build feedback loops that make every model better than the last.

What You’ll Do

Set strategy and make the calls:

• Define the strategy for our training data capabilities, prioritize what data we collect and when, and own decisions around quality, review depth, confidence thresholds, and cost.
• Build the data collection pipeline: Own data collection end to end, including procurement, preparation, capture, expert labeling, and annotation, and build scalable systems across each stage.
• Optimize for throughput: Coordinate work across teams and sites to maximize throughput, identify bottlenecks, and drive capacity planning across specialties and locations.
• Own human‑in‑the‑loop workflows: Partner with subject matter experts and power users to define review processes and feedback loops that turn human corrections into valuable training data.
• Partner across functions: Work closely with ML Engineering, Operations, and subject matter experts to set direction, align priorities, and drive execution without relying on direct authority.
• Measure and iterate: Define the metrics that demonstrate data quality, model improvement, throughput, and cost efficiency, and communicate progress and tradeoffs to senior leadership.
• Raise the bar across Product: Mentor other Product Managers, contribute to product practices, and build documentation and mechanisms that help scale product thinking across the organization.
• Build with AI: Use emerging AI tools and coding agents, including Claude Cowork, Claude Code, and Codex, to accelerate product development, improve workflows, and find new ways to operate at scale.

Who You Are

10+ years of product management experience, including experience building a product, platform, or capability from the ground up.

Strategic and execution-oriented: You can set direction, make tradeoffs, influence operational decisions, and drive execution in ambiguous environments.

Experience with AI/ML or AI‑Enabled Operational Workflows: You’ve worked on products where both models and human expertise play a role, and understand how to design workflows that leverage both effectively.

Strong systems thinker: You can identify constraints across complex, multi‑step workflows and understand how changes in one part of a system impact throughput, quality, and cost elsewhere.

Comfortable owning business outcomes: You’ve owned metrics tied to cost, efficiency, quality, or other measurable business outcomes and use data to drive decisions.

Strong partner and influencer: You build credibility with technical teams, operators, and subject matter experts and can influence effectively without direct authority.

Hands‑on builder: You’re comfortable rolling up your sleeves to establish new processes, pipelines, documentation, and operating mechanisms. The first year will involve significant 0‑to‑1 work.

Exceptional written communication: You can clearly articulate strategy, plans, tradeoffs, and decisions for both technical and business audiences.

Willingness to travel: This role will require travel to multiple data collection sites, approximately once per month to once per quarter.

Salary Range

The salary range for this position is $165,848 - $269,259 . Actual compensation on this range varies based on a variety of non‑discriminatory factors, including location, job level, prior experience, and skill set. This role may be eligible for bonuses, commissions, or other forms of compensation, please ask your recruiter for details.

Reasons To Join Us

• Health Insurance: All full‑time employees are eligible to enroll in Medical, Dental, and Vision
• Additional Benefits: Full‑time employees are eligible for fertility, commuter, and educational assistance benefits.
• 401(K) Matching Plan: We are proud to offer a competitive 401k matching plan to our employees to support their future financial goals
• Vacation: All salaried employees are eligible for flexible time‑off.
• Holiday Pay: All regular, full‑time employees are eligible for ten company paid holidays
• Employee Discounts: Employees receive discounts on select grading services for approved submissions
• Flexible Hours: Many of our teams offer flexible schedules with varying shifts and will work with you to accommodate your needs
• Fun Working Environment: Our team members are invited to participate in celebrations, holiday events, and team building activities

Collectors uses e‑Verify to validate your ability to work legally in the United States.

We are aware that there are instances where individuals are receiving job offers that fraudulently allege to be from Collectors or one of our business units. This type of fraud can be carried out through false websites, through fake e‑mails claiming to be from the company or through social media. We never ask for personal information such as your bank account, Social Security numbers or National IDs, nor do we send or request payments for the purchase of business‑related equipment. If you suspect fraud, please reach out to .

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, national origin, gender, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or parental status, disability, veteran status, or other class protected by applicable law. We believe that a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills will better service the diverse community of collectors we support.

If you require an accommodation to apply or interview with us due to a disability or special need, please email .

U.S. residents: for disclosures relating to personal information we collect during the employment application and recruitment process, please see our Privacy Notice for U.S. Applicants

For New York Residents: In connection with hiring, Collectors Universe, Inc. uses an automated employment decision tool (Brighthire) to assist in evaluating candidates. Collectors Universe, Inc. began using this tool in October 2026. In accordance with NYC Local Law 144, a summary of the most recent independent bias audit of this tool is available from Brighthire. To request information about the type of data collected, its source, and our data retention policy, contact .