Product Manager, Web & Apps

Job Description

Job Description

About the California Academy of Sciences

Founded in 1853, the California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned, AZA-accredited non-profit scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, rainforest, research institute, and natural history museum—all under one living roof—our mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.

Our living collection reflects Earth's vast biodiversity, consisting of nearly 60,000 animals representing over 800 species. Our research collections are the largest west of the Mississippi,  spanning nearly 46 million plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. Our diverse team includes leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who are passionate about advancing knowledge and catalyzing action through science and storytelling.

Whether you're conducting research behind the scenes or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it.

About the Opportunity

The Product Manager for Web & Apps is the central owner of the Academy's public-facing website and select digital surfaces. The website is both a global science communication platform and one of the institution's most important revenue engines — driving ticket sales, membership enrollment and renewal, donations, event attendance, program registrations, retail purchases, and digital product engagement.

This role blends product strategy, content platform leadership, UX rigor, experimentation, insight-driven decision-making, and complex cross-functional orchestration. You will shape how global audiences discover our science, plan their visit, support our mission, and return again and again, while managing a team of 4 to 6 direct reports who support the work.

You will bring structure, clarity, and momentum to a large ecosystem of stakeholders — Science, Creative Studio, Marketing, Membership, Philanthropy, Education, Guest Experience, Sales, Operations, Business Applications, and Retail.

What You Will Lead

1. Ownership of the Website as a Revenue & Growth Engine  

You will drive measurable improvements across all revenue-critical flows, including:

• Ticketing and attendance growth
• Membership join and renewal paths
• Donor and philanthropic giving journeys
• Event attendance and ticket sales
• Educational program bookings
• Retail and e-commerce (digital + physical)
• Digital product engagement and monetization

You will own the multi-year vision and roadmap to improve funnel efficiency, reduce friction between user and purchasing experience, and increase conversion across channels.

2. Stewardship of the Digital Science & Storytelling Platform

You will ensure the Academy's online presence:

• Makes scientific content accessible, engaging, and emotionally resonant
• Translates research, exhibits, and conservation work into intuitive digital formats
• Supports exhibitions, events, and programs through dynamic content
• Maintains scientific accuracy, representational integrity, and public trust
• Strengthens the Academy's voice in biodiversity, climate, and conservation

3. Product Strategy & Multi-Year Roadmap

You will:

• Define the long-term product vision across web and digital experiences
• Maintain a sequenced roadmap for UX improvements, content evolution, revenue growth, and platform modernization
• Align roadmap priorities with institutional goals and executive direction
• Connect digital experiences to the Academy's Museum 3.0 transformation
• Build structured processes for prioritization, resourcing, and trade-offs.

4. Platform Modernization & Technical Excellence

You will strengthen the Academy's digital foundation through:

• CMS improvements, structured content models, modular templates, and workflow upgrades
• Performance, accessibility, and mobile-first optimization
• SEO health, discoverability, and technical search improvements
• Responsible use of AI tools for content creation, translation, optimization, and personalization
• Close collaboration with Business Applications, Ops, and Sales to align digital flows with back-end ticketing, POS, CRM, and membership systems
• Familiarity with Tessitura, Shopify, Stripe, Salesforce Commerce, WooCommerce, or similar tools (experience a plus , not required).

5. Cross-Functional Alignment & Leadership

You will unify and streamline collaboration across:

• Marketing & Communications:  Audience growth, campaigns, acquisition, landing pages
• Creative Studio: Design systems, visual identity, storytelling, component libraries
• Science & Research: Accuracy, content translation, scientific integrity
• Membership:  Conversion, retention, segmentation, benefits communication
• Philanthropy & Development: Donor journeys, fundraising pathways, impact storytelling
• Guest Experience: Visit planning, wayfinding, operational clarity
• Education & Events: School programs, family events, community learning
• Retail & E-Commerce: Product sales, order flows, merchandise storytelling
• Sales: Group sales, institutional offerings, partnerships
• Operations & Business Applications: Ticketing, POS, identity systems, CRM, backend integrations

You will define processes, establish decision-making frameworks, and ensure the website serves as a unified gateway to everything the Academy offers.

Organizational Culture

When you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation, and celebrates its accomplishments together. Staff share a commitment to executing a new strategic plan that will strengthen the organization's financial foundations, cultivate a vibrant internal culture, and foster smart growth to secure the Academy's future.

We hope you are inspired by what we do and are motivated to contribute to our mission. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position.

This position is based in San Francisco, California. The specific onsite/hybrid schedule for this position is listed below.

About the Experience & Revenue Team

This role sits within the California Academy of Sciences' Experience & Revenue Division and reports directly to the Head of MarComm. The Experience & Revenue Division strengthens the Academy's  relevance, reach, and revenue by uniting storytelling, design, science, and technology to reimagine how audiences engage with the Academy — onsite, online, and out in the world. We create emotionally resonant, insight-driven experiences that deepen belonging, spark wonder, and support financial sustainability through increased attendance, member engagement, donations, diversified revenue streams, and modern digital platforms. The Product Manager for Web & Apps is a central contributor to this mission.

Key Responsibilities

Revenue Growth & Conversion Optimization

• Own all digital funnels and conversion pathways
• Build dashboards and analyses that reveal bottlenecks and drive enhancements
• Lead A/B testing and experimentation cycles
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Guest Experience to optimize acquisition and conversion
• Drive continuous improvements in average order value and LTV

Content & Experience Governance

• Establish content standards that ensure clarity, consistency, accuracy, and accessibility
• Maintain information architecture, navigation, structured content, and taxonomy systems
• Support sustainable content operations through improved workflows and governance
• Balance scientific depth with an intuitive public-facing narrative

UX, Design & Accessibility

• Lead UX improvements across critical user journeys
• Maintain accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1+)
• Partner with Creative Studio to sustain a cohesive, modern design system
• Ensure mobile-first excellence across devices and browsers

Execution, Delivery & Product Operations

• Own backlog prioritization and sprint planning
• Write user stories, specs, and acceptance criteria
• Manage QA, release readiness, and cross-team communication
• Translate institutional goals into buildable, measurable digital initiatives

Qualifications: A successful candidate will have the following:

• 5 to 7+ years of product management experience with consumer-facing websites or digital content platforms
• 2+ years of experience leading a team.
• Proven success optimizing revenue (ticketing, membership, donations, e-commerce)
• Strong experience with CMS platforms, structured content, and workflow systems
• Fluency in UX, analytics, SEO, IA, accessibility, and responsive design
• Experience collaborating across creative, scientific, operational, and technical teams
• Ability to lead through clarity, diplomacy, and structured decision-making
• Analytical fluency with GA4 and experimentation frameworks
• Exceptional communication skills — written, visual, and verbal

Physical Environment: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. 

Compensation and Benefits: The salary range for this position is $110,000 - 120,000. Actual compensation will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualifications and experience, including skills, knowledge, relevant education, certifications and aligned with the internal peer group. We believe in fair and equitable compensation practices and are committed to providing competitive salaries within the industry and market standards. The Academy offers a total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits based on the hours per week worked. Further details regarding compensation and benefits will be discussed during the interview process.

Schedule : Full-time, 40 hours per week, hybrid

How to Apply:  Interested candidates should submit a resume and application through our Careers Page portal.

The California Academy of Sciences will give full consideration for employment to all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code, Article 49).