Product Development Manager

Ryan Specialty • Chicago, IL

2d • $112,000 - $140,000

About The Position

The Product Development Manager is responsible for developing and implementing the new product development strategy and prioritizing niche markets within specialty insurance. The role drives innovation, establishes KPIs, provides regular updates to senior management, engages with clients, and partners, and develops training materials on new specialty insurance products. They lead a collaborative team of product development professionals overseeing design, risk analysis, pricing, and end-to-end product management. What will your job entail?

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree; Product Management, Business Administration, Engineering or related field.
• 3+ years of experience in Insurance Product Management.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree
• Certified Professional in Insurance Regulation (CPIR), Certified Professional in Product Management (CPM), or Certified New Product Development Professional (NPDP).

Responsibilities

• Leads and manages a team of product development professionals—including product managers, analysts, and specialists—while fostering a collaborative and innovative culture that drives the successful delivery of new insurance product initiatives.
• Develops and executes the overall product development strategy, ensuring alignment with company goals, market trends, financial performance expectations, and specialty insurance growth priorities.
• Oversees the design, enhancement, and customization of specialty insurance products, ensuring they address the needs of targeted industries, distribution partners, and niche markets.
• Leverages underwriting and MGU operational knowledge to guide product design, ensuring alignment with the full policy lifecycle—including submission intake, quoting, binding, endorsements, cancellations, renewals, and compliance considerations.
• Manages FP&A elements of product performance, including revenue forecasting, loss ratio analysis, budget oversight, and financial modeling to inform pricing, portfolio optimization, and long‑term strategic planning.
• Collaborates with underwriting teams, actuaries, and finance partners to assess risk, set pricing strategies, evaluate profitability, and ensure products are financially viable across their lifecycle.
• Leads the development and management of AI‑driven underwriting platforms, including evaluating system outputs, optimizing underwriting rules, and partnering with technology teams to refine automation and decision-support tools.
• Oversees the end‑to-end lifecycle of product development and enhancement projects, ensuring timelines, budgets, resource allocations, and cross-functional deliverables are met.
• Drives innovation and differentiation within specialty insurance, introducing new product features, underwriting capabilities, and technology integrations that enhance competitiveness.
• Defines KPIs and monitors product performance, leveraging data analytics, financial insights, and underwriting trends to identify opportunities for improvement and drive continuous optimization.
• Engages with clients, brokers, and distribution partners to gather market intelligence, understand needs, and ensure product offerings remain relevant and competitive.
• Identifies strategic partnerships—including reinsurers, brokers, technology vendors, and specialty service providers—to strengthen product offerings and expand market reach.
• Creates training materials and provides education to internal teams, agents, and customers, ensuring effective understanding of new products, underwriting workflows, and AI‑driven tools.
• Serves as a subject-matter expert on underwriting operations, offering guidance on submission workflows, routing, risk selection, documentation standards, and policy lifecycle management.

Benefits

• In addition to paid time off for company holidays, vacation, sick and personal days, Ryan offers paid parental leave, mental health services and more.
• For additional information on Ryan Specialty Total Rewards, visit our website https://benefits.ryansg.com/.

What This Job Offers

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