Senior Director, Product Management

We are seeking a Senior Director of Product Management to take on a high-visibility, high-impact role at the intersection of product strategy, customer engagement, and partner ecosystem development. This is not a traditional product role. It requires a rare combination of deep product expertise, commercial instinct, and the ability to move fast - from whiteboard to working prototype.

You will serve as a critical bridge between the product organization, our engineering teams, our sales teams, and our growing partner ecosystem. You will be in the room during key customer and partner conversations, representing the product, demonstrating platform capabilities, and helping close deals by bringing the product to life in real time.

If you thrive at the intersection of strategy and execution, love engaging directly with customers, and have a builder's mindset - this role was designed for you.

Role Responsibilities

• Product Strategy & Roadmap Leadership

• Own and drive product strategy for a critical portion of the Cornerstone platform, aligning roadmap priorities to business objectives, customer needs, and market opportunities

• Partner cross-functionally with Engineering, Design, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success to define and deliver a compelling product vision

• Translate market signals, customer feedback, and competitive intelligence into actionable product decisions

• Define success metrics and KPIs that measure product impact, adoption, and revenue contribution

Partner Ecosystem Development

• Lead the strategy, design, and build-out of Cornerstone's partner ecosystem capabilities, working closely with Engineering to define the technical and functional requirements needed to support partner integrations and extensibility

• Identify partner capability gaps through customer discovery, market research, and sales engagement - and translate those gaps into product requirements and roadmap priorities

• Define the partnership product model including APIs, integration frameworks, marketplace architecture, and partner-facing developer tooling

• Collaborate with Strategic Alliances, Business Development, and Engineering to bring partner integrations from concept to market

• Serve as the internal product authority on what it takes to build a scalable, enterprise-grade partner ecosystem

Sales Prototyping & Customer Demo Development

• Partner directly with the Sales and Pre-Sales teams to support strategic deals, acting as the senior product voice in key customer conversations

• Rapidly design and build early-stage prototypes and proof-of-concept demos that illustrate platform capabilities and future product vision to prospective customers

• Translate complex customer requirements into compelling, visually demonstrable product experiences that accelerate sales cycles

• Drive a culture of "show, don't tell" within the product team - creating reusable demo assets, reference architectures, and capability showcases

• Collaborate with Solutions Engineering and Pre-Sales to build a library of tailored prototype frameworks for key verticals and use cases

Customer Engagement & Sales Partnership

• Serve as a named product leader in strategic sales cycles, representing the product organization in executive-level customer meetings, RFPs, and product capability reviews

• Engage directly with prospects and customers to deeply understand unmet needs and translate those insights into near-term and long-term product investments

• Build trust with customers as a credible, knowledgeable product partner - going beyond the pitch to demonstrate genuine product command and platform depth

• Collaborate with Account Executives, Sales Engineers, and Customer Success Managers to identify product gaps that are blocking or accelerating revenue

• Feed customer and sales intelligence back into the product roadmap through a structured discovery and intake process

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead and mentor a team of Product Managers, setting a high bar for product rigor, customer empathy, and commercial awareness

• Act as a thought leader internally and externally - contributing to product positioning, analyst briefings, and industry conversations

• Drive alignment across stakeholders on priorities, tradeoffs, and go-to-market readiness

Required Skills & Qualifications

• 10+ years of product management experience, with at least 3-5 years in a senior or director-level role

• Demonstrated experience building or scaling a partner ecosystem, integration marketplace, or API platform within an enterprise SaaS environment

• Proven track record of engaging directly in the sales cycle - including executive customer meetings, RFPs, and product demonstrations

• Experience building or overseeing rapid prototyping and demo development for sales or customer discovery purposes

• Background in HCM, Talent Management, Learning Technology, or adjacent HR Tech strongly preferred

• Strong command of product strategy, roadmap development, and OKR/metrics-based product management

• Ability to write crisp, clear product requirements and user stories while also thinking at the strategic level

• Experience with partner/ecosystem product modeling including API design, developer experience, and marketplace frameworks

• Comfort with prototyping tools (Figma, Axure, or similar) and ability to produce or direct high-quality product mockups and demos

• Executive-level communication skills - ability to present confidently to C-suite stakeholders, both internally and with customers

• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to connect product decisions to revenue impact

• Proven ability to lead, influence, and align cross-functional teams without direct authority

• Experience managing and developing high-performing product managers

• Technical Aptitude

• Comfortable engaging with engineering teams at a technical level - able to discuss architecture, integration patterns, and platform constraints

• Familiarity with enterprise SaaS architecture, cloud platforms, and modern integration methodologies (REST APIs, webhooks, event-driven architecture)

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or equivalent business/strategy experience

• Experience at a company that successfully scaled a partner or ISV marketplace

• Prior experience in a Product-Led Growth (PLG) or sales-assisted growth motion

• Familiarity with the HR Technology vendor landscape and key ecosystem players

Equal Employment Opportunity has been, and will continue to be, a fundamental commitment at Cornerstone OnDemand. All qualified applicants are given consideration regardless of race, color, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, citizenship status, disability, veteran status, or any other protected class as provided in applicable Federal, State, or Local fair employment laws. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact us at View email address on jobs.institutedata.com