Product Manager

Product Manager

Location: Preferd Hybrid Bowie, MD | Open to Remote

Travel: Approximately once per quarter

Employment Type: Full-Time, Direct Hire

Position Overview

We are seeking a hands-on Product Manager to support the modernization and ongoing development of complex, data-intensive software platforms within a highly specialized, scientific environment. This position will focus on data platforms responsible for collecting, validating, processing, and integrating information from internal and external sources. The Product Manager will work closely with software development, quality assurance, technical project management, scientific subject-matter experts, and business stakeholders to translate complex requirements into actionable product improvements.

The ideal candidate combines strong Product Management judgment with hands-on Product Ownership and Business Analysis capabilities. This is an execution-focused position requiring someone who enjoys getting into the details of product requirements, understanding how systems and data work, managing backlogs, and partnering directly with development teams.

The organization is modernizing legacy technology and establishing its Product Management function, offering an opportunity to take meaningful ownership of critical platforms while contributing to the development of product processes and future initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Product Management & Ownership

• Own the ongoing development, improvement, and modernization of assigned data platforms and applications.
• Translate organizational priorities and stakeholder needs into actionable product requirements and development priorities.
• Manage and prioritize product backlogs, including user stories, acceptance criteria, refinement, and development tickets.
• Develop detailed product documentation, including Product Requirements Documents (PRDs), functional requirements, user journeys, and product roadmaps.
• Make informed product decisions by balancing business value, user needs, technical constraints, and system dependencies.
• Partner with Product Leadership on product planning, performance metrics, and continuous improvement opportunities.

Product Discovery & Business Analysis

• Conduct discovery sessions with scientific, technical, and operational stakeholders to understand business processes, challenges, and user needs.
• Investigate and document complex business rules, data flows, system behavior, integrations, and legacy application functionality.
• Translate technical and business requirements into clearly defined development work.
• Identify underlying problems, evaluate potential solutions, and recommend product improvements.
• Work closely with subject-matter experts to clarify requirements and ensure development teams understand expected outcomes.

Technical Collaboration & Delivery

• Partner with software engineers, data engineers, QA, and technical project managers throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Support modernization of legacy data processing and ingestion systems into modern cloud-based environments.
• Work with products involving APIs, data pipelines, system integrations, databases, and cloud technologies.
• Participate in Agile/Kanban development activities, including backlog refinement, stand-ups, and planning discussions.
• Evaluate technical changes, defects, and system dependencies to understand their impact on product functionality and data quality.
• Coordinate User Acceptance Testing (UAT), release readiness, product launches, and adoption activities.
• Ensure continuity of critical functionality and data integrity throughout modernization initiatives.

Stakeholder Management & Product Improvement

• Serve as a key connection between technical teams, business stakeholders, scientific experts, and leadership.
• Communicate product priorities, requirements, risks, trade-offs, and progress to both technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Review user feedback, recurring issues, and product performance to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Help establish practical Product Management processes and documentation standards within a growing product function.

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of hands-on Product Management experience within a software development environment.
• Demonstrated experience owning product requirements, backlog management, prioritization, and product delivery.
• Strong Product Ownership and Business Analysis skills, including discovery, requirements gathering, user stories, acceptance criteria, and PRD development.
• Experience working with complex, data-intensive software products or platforms .
• Experience supporting legacy application modernization or migration to modern cloud-based environments .
• Strong understanding of software development processes and experience working directly with engineering and QA teams.
• Ability to understand complex data flows, business rules, system integrations, and technical dependencies.
• Strong product judgment, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience working within Agile software development environments.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to collaborate with technical and nontechnical teams.
• Ability to work independently, navigate ambiguity, and succeed in an evolving organization.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with data ingestion, data pipelines, ETL/ELT, APIs, or enterprise data platforms.
• Familiarity with AWS, Snowflake, SQL, or similar cloud and data technologies.
• Experience supporting internal enterprise applications or partner-facing B2B platforms.
• Experience working in scientific, research, agriculture, life sciences, or other data-intensive environments.
• Experience with Kanban-based development teams.
• Experience helping establish or improve Product Management processes within a growing organization.
• Bachelor's degree preferred; equivalent relevant professional experience will be considered.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a hands-on Product Manager who enjoys solving complex problems and working closely with development teams. They bring strong product judgment and business perspective but are equally comfortable getting into the details of requirements, data flows, system dependencies, and backlog prioritization. This individual is naturally curious, analytical, collaborative, and comfortable working with specialized subject-matter experts. They understand how to connect user needs with technical decisions and measurable business outcomes.

We are looking for someone who can take ownership of day-to-day product execution while working within established strategic direction, bringing structure to complex initiatives without introducing unnecessary processes.