Principal Data Product Manager

Zendesk•Madison, WI

27d•$166,000 - $248,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a highly analytical and strategic Data Product Manager for our Foundational Data Assets to own and drive the strategy, roadmap, definition, implementation, and maintenance of our company's critical business metrics. This role is pivotal in ensuring that our data-driven decision-making is accurate, consistent, and aligned with our strategic objectives. You will play a crucial role in understanding the company's overall strategy and partnering with senior stakeholders to define the metrics that best reflect progress towards those goals. You will act as a bridge between these stakeholders and technical teams, translating business needs into actionable data requirements and working with the technical team to drive the implementation and adoption of these metrics, ensuring the integrity and reliability of our key performance indicators (KPIs).

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in a quantitative field (e.g., Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Economics, Business Analytics).
5+ years of experience in data product management, data strategy or analytics
Strong understanding of data platforms (Snowflake, dbt etc.), data modeling and enterprise analytics ecosystem
Proven experience within a software company or as a consultant.
Strong understanding of software business models and key performance indicators.
Strong understanding of the use of core business systems (ERP, CRM etc.).
Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly and concisely.
Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience of a transaction (private equity buyout or IPO) as an operator or advisor is preferred.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with senior stakeholders across departments (Product, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Engineering) to define and refine core business metrics.
Establish clear definitions, calculation methodologies, and data sources for all KPIs.
Justify decisions made on definitions to senior stakeholders (including C-Suite).
Develop and maintain a comprehensive data dictionary and documentation for all key metrics in collaboration with the Data Governance team.
Work closely with engineering and data teams to implement metric calculations and reporting dashboards.
Make recommendations to stakeholders on implementation approaches for metric calculations and reporting.
Prioritize enhancement requests based on level of effort and business value.
Ensure timely and accurate updates to metrics in response to business changes and requirements.
Collaborate with relevant teams to proactively identify and resolve data discrepancies and inconsistencies.
Provide insightful analysis of key metrics to identify trends, opportunities, and risks.
Develop and deliver regular reports and dashboards to senior management, highlighting key performance and actionable insights.
Effectively communicate complex data concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders and technical teams.
Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to ensure alignment on metric definitions and data requirements.
Ensure broad organizational awareness on key data assets and business metrics.
Promote data literacy across the organization, ensuring that all stakeholders understand the available data and its implications.
Act as a subject matter expert, providing guidance and support to business users on data interpretation and analysis.