Principal Product Manager, Paid Search and AI Search Advertising

Job Description

Job Description

Company Overview

At Fluency, we come together under two shared passions that drive our culture: the scaling of digital ad operations, and fostering a workplace environment rooted in open communication, inclusivity, and a growth-oriented mindset. These passions not only set us apart in the industry, but also fuel our collective drive to reshape the industry and reinvent ourselves along the way. We're not just revolutionizing the digital advertising horizon, we're shaping an organization where every member feels a sense of pride and is inspired to do their best work.

As the Principal Product Manager for Paid Search and AI Search Advertising, you are a deep domain specialist who owns the most mature, complex, and high-impact surface area of Fluency's platform. You will be the definitive internal expert on search-platform mechanics, likely having owned the product on the system side of a major search platform (such as Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising).

This role requires a blend of high-level product strategy, technical depth, and the disciplined management of a partner-driven roadmap. You will bridge the daily reality of technical API requirements with proactive investments in next-generation, AI-driven search environments. You will shape how Fluency's platform helps enterprise brands and agencies manage billions in ad spend across traditional search and emerging conversational AI interfaces.

Who You Will Work With

At Fluency, Product and Engineering operate in highly collaborative, lean pods to minimize bureaucracy and maximize shipping velocity. In this role, you will lead the Paid Search & Automation Pod, which is composed of:

• You, acting as the Principal PM and strategic anchor for the surface area.
• A team of 4–6 specialized Software Engineers (spanning backend architecture and API integration specialists) and a dedicated Engineering Lead.
• Direct, recurring collaboration with a designated Product Designer (UX/UI) and a Product Marketing Manager to drive feature adoption.

• Drive the end-to-end vision, strategy, and roadmap execution for Fluency's Search and AI Search Advertising integrations, with Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising at the core.
• Simultaneously manage reactive, deadline-driven integration maintenance dictated by partner API update and deprecation cycles, while proactively making the case for long-term internal investments that compound over multi-quarter horizons.
• Deeply collaborate with your engineering pod to translate complex partner roadmaps into actionable internal plans, navigating architecture conversations at scale and championing invisible maintenance work that protects platform reliability.
• Lead Fluency's execution against emerging AI-driven surfaces, including Performance Max, Demand Gen, ads in ChatGPT, Copilot, and AI Overviews, while designing test programs with strategic agency and enterprise brand customers.
• Partner across Sales, Client Services, and Product Marketing on positioning, enablement, and customer-facing implications of roadmap decisions, leading through influence and clear, evidence-based product definitions.
• Conduct deep-dive opportunity sizing and competitive research to anticipate how foundational shifts in the search ecosystem will impact our clients before they land.
• Synthesize product requirements through the eyes of the operator using Fluency every day, the agency executive whose P&L depends on us, and the internal support teams enabling adoption.

• 10+ Years of Product Management experience running complex software products through the full lifecycle, with at least 5+ years of deep technical domain expertise in Paid Search.
• Direct experience as a Product Manager at Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, a comparable search platform, or an ad tech product that integrates deeply with these ecosystems, giving you an inside understanding of search mechanics, API behavior under load, and deprecation cycles.
• Strong technical depth and product judgment, with a clear understanding of the underlying systems, infrastructure, and technical nuances of how search platforms function at scale.
• High comfort level with the deadline-driven rhythm of partner integrations and the ability to treat a major platform deprecation cycle as a logic puzzle rather than a crisis.
• A proven track record of building deep cross-functional trust and leading through technical integrity, data, and clear communication rather than volume or title.
• Expert familiarity with Agile methodologies and modern collaboration, design, and analytics tools like ClickUp, Figma, and Looker.

Fluency is headquartered in Vermont. This position is remote US based. If local, you have the option to go into the office.

At Fluency, we're proud to be an equal opportunity employer.
We're committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and supportive workplace where everyone can thrive. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and identities and do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind.

Employment decisions at Fluency are made based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications—without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws.