Forward Deployed Product Lead

4M Analytics Ltd • Austin, TX

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

4M is hiring a foundational product leader to define and build its Utility Owners business segment. The role combines product management with hands-on AI-assisted software building. The person will work directly with utility owner customers to understand their workflows and needs, prototype and validate product concepts, and partner with Engineering to move validated concepts into production. Reporting directly to the VP Product, the role works closely with engineering leadership, the CEO, and the Chief Growth Officer. It also owns the segment strategy and commercial outcomes, including adoption, revenue, and land-and-expand. Utility expertise is not required; the successful candidate will learn the technical and regulatory domain. The role requires flexibility to travel to customer sites and the Austin, Texas offices.

Requirements

• Relevant educational background such as a BA, BS, BE, or MBA in business, computer science, architecture, industrial engineering, or a related area.
• At least 7 years of experience spanning reputed management consulting and/or product management at a B2B SaaS, data, or AI-native company.
• Ability to independently design, prototype, and ship working software using modern AI tools, and to understand and correct the generated output rather than relying solely on 'vibe coding.'
• Comfort operating in a 0-to-1, forward-deployed role shaping a new product and market directly with executives and customers without an established playbook.
• Ability to combine strategic problem decomposition with hands-on solution building.
• Strong, credible communication skills, including translating between customer needs and engineering and working with executives and customers.
• Flexibility to travel to customer sites and the Austin, Texas offices.
• Genuine enthusiasm for using AI tools such as Claude to prototype, iterate, and demonstrate functioning software.

Nice To Haves

• Prior engineering experience or a technical degree.
• Top-tier consulting experience combined with hands-on product experience.
• A side project, startup, or open-source project built substantially with AI tools.
• Prior exposure to utility infrastructure, civil or damage-prevention work, or regulations such as permitting, compliance, fines, or infrastructure-project risk.

Responsibilities

• Run continuous discovery with Utility Owner customers through calls, site visits, and workflow shadowing.
• Map the market, identify customer pain points and budget opportunities, and turn customer feedback into a scalable product roadmap and productization strategy.
• Define the strategy for winning the Utility Owners segment, including target sub-segments, positioning, and the market-entry wedge, in partnership with the CEO, Chief Growth Officer, and engineering leadership.
• Use AI-native tools to rapidly build demonstrable product prototypes and validate them with customers.
• Translate validated concepts into production-ready work for Engineering and stay involved through the handoff.
• Define and track business outcomes for the segment, including adoption, revenue, and land-and-expand, partnering with Growth on go-to-market.
• Develop fluency in civil infrastructure, damage prevention, and the regulatory landscape to work credibly with customers.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior