CEA A, Head of Product

Job Description and Duties

Under the guidance of the Chief of the Data and Digital Services Division (DDS), the Head of Product establishes and leads Caltrans’ enterprise Product, Product Marketing and Customer Success functions. This position is responsible for developing and implementing Product policy, governing the full product life-cycle, from discovery and prioritization through delivery, adoption, and continuous improvement, for customer-facing digital products and modal technologies, grant systems, data-enabled services that support Caltrans’ role as a statewide transportation network manager and any other product assigned to DDS.

The incumbent will hire, train, and lead Product and Customer Success teams; establish product governance, standards, and performance measures; and maintain the authoritative DDS product road-map and backlog. Working in close partnership with Service Design, Data, and Mobility Standards Engineering, the Head of Product ensures that adopted policy, business strategy, and legislative direction are translated into coherent, scalable products that achieve measurable outcomes for local agencies and Californians using the transportation system.

This role focuses Caltrans on outcomes rather than compliance and project close-out, aligning investment decisions with customer readiness, adoption, and sustainability. By institutionalizing product management and customer success as core state capabilities, the Head of Product enables Caltrans to deliver transparent, equitable, and effective digital services and modal technologies that advance multi-modal mobility, climate, and equity goals.

See attached duty statement for additional information.

You will find additional information about the job in the .

Special Requirements

Statement of Qualifications

A Statement of Qualifications is required to participate in the examination.

Candidates must provide detailed and specific examples f rom their professional education, experience, and training that directly answer each of the Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) questions outlined below. In addition to the examples, candidates  must also include their overall length of time of their experience as it relates to each SOQ question in the space provided. Each question will be scored individually, therefore, candidates must provide length of time and specific examples to each question.

Responses to the SOQ must be submitted on the Department of Transportation's CEA Statement of Qualifications Form (PM-0503). Any SOQ responses that are not submitted on the PM-0503 will not be scored. Each box provided on the form for your response has been limited to 2000 characters . Additional documents to supplement the PM-0503 will not be reviewed during the examination scoring. 

Submit your competed PM-0503 in the “Additional Documents” section. Select “Other” from the drop-down menu for Type of Document and enter SOQ for the Description. Upload your completed PM-0503, then Save & Review Application.

The Statement of Qualifications must address the applicant’s qualifications relative to the following:

1. Describe your experience developing a product strategy that transformed how an organization serves its customers. Include how you resolved situations where internal preferences conflicted with customer needs and explain how you achieved organizational alignment.

2. Describe a product or portfolio you led from concept through implementation in the public sector or similarly complex regulated or legislated environment. Explain how you defined success and measured outcomes.

3. Caltrans is transforming from primarily administering grants to delivering integrated products and services—including Customer Relationship Management (CRM), consolidated grant applications, customer success, technical assistance, mobility management services, and statewide planning tools. Describe an experience leading a comparable organizational transformation. What was your role, what resistance did you encounter, and what results did you achieve?

4. Describe your experience building or maturing a product management organization. Include how you established governance, product management practices, customer research, product research, prioritization, and performance measures.

5. Provide examples from your work experience that demonstrate your ability to guide product and design milestones.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Academic course work at the university level. Training and experience in the area of supervision and management principles.

• Ability to reason logically and creatively.

• Ability to develop and maintain a level of professional integrity to ensure that the best interests of Caltrans and the program are served.

• Ability to work well with partners and clients.

Benefits

Information to be Included on Application

Please include the CEA Exam Number (26CEA23) and title of the position applying for on the STD. 678 application form.

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is optional. It may be included, but is not required.
• Statement of Qualifications -

  Candidates must provide detailed and specific examples from their professional education, experience, and training that directly answer each of the Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) questions. In addition to the examples, candidates must also include their overall length of time of their experience as it relates to each SOQ question in the space provided. Each question will be scored individually, therefore, candidates must provide length of time and specific examples to each question.

  Responses to the SOQ must be submitted on the Department of Transportation's CEA Statement of Qualifications Form (PM-0503). Any SOQ responses that are not submitted on the PM-0503 will not be scored. Each box provided for your response has been limited to 2000 characters. Additional documents to supplement the PM-0503 will not be reviewed during the examination scoring.

  - PM0503 SOQ Exam Form