Product Manager, Subscription Systems

Crain Communications•Washington, DC

1d•$115,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Crain Communications is seeking an experienced Product Manager to lead the development and optimization of the systems and experiences that drive subscriber conversion and monetization across our portfolio of media brands. This role sits at the intersection of customer experience, subscription technology, and business growth. The Product Manager will shape the platforms, workflows, and decisioning systems that convert audiences into subscribers. They will partner closely with engineering, subscriptions, marketing, analytics, and customer service teams. At Crain, we embrace AI-enabled product development as part of our operating model and are looking for a product manager who uses modern AI tools to accelerate discovery, prototyping, experimentation, and delivery. The ideal candidate is comfortable leveraging AI to rapidly explore ideas, create product artifacts, build prototypes, and improve team effectiveness. The ideal candidate has experience building and optimizing subscription platforms, checkout experiences, and paywall technologies. They are comfortable balancing strategic planning with hands-on execution. The Product Manager will work from one of the Crain offices if within commuting distance or remote from a state in which Crain has employees: AZ, CA, CO, IL, MD, MA, MI, MN, NV, NY, NC, OH, OR, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, and Washington, DC.

Requirements

3+ years of product management experience, including experience supporting subscription businesses, recurring revenue models, or digital commerce platforms.
Hands-on experience with subscription technologies, checkout and payment systems, entitlement platforms, identity management, or customer lifecycle solutions.
Demonstrated understanding of subscription business models, including subscriber acquisition, conversion optimization, retention strategies, churn reduction, pricing, and customer lifetime value.
Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives that drive targeted business outcomes.
Strong analytical skills and experience using data, experimentation, and customer insights to inform product decisions and measure impact.
Proven experience partnering with engineering teams to define requirements and deliver scalable platform capabilities.
Comfortable discussing technical concepts such as APIs, platform architecture, identity management, experimentation frameworks, and integrations with third-party subscription and payment technologies.
Experience developing and optimizing conversion funnels, paywalls, pricing experiences or customer journey workflows.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate technical and business concepts for diverse stakeholders.
Comfortable operating in matrixed environments with multiple brands, priorities, and stakeholder groups.
Experience using AI-powered tools to accelerate product discovery, user research, requirements development, prototyping, and experimentation.
Experience creating user flows, wireframes, prototypes, or product concepts using modern AI-assisted design and prototyping tools.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with customer data platforms (CDPs), CRM systems, marketing automation tools, and subscription analytics platforms preferred.
Background in media, publishing, SaaS, or other subscription-based businesses preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the development and optimization of products and capabilities that improve subscriber conversion and monetization.
Collaborate with stakeholders across the organization to shape and execute the roadmap for subscription systems and platforms.
Develop and enhance paywall technologies, including decisioning, targeting, messaging, and offer presentation capabilities.
Lead experimentation programs and use customer insights, analytics, and testing to improve business outcomes and reduce friction for audiences.
Collaborate with research, analytics, and business stakeholders to identify customer needs, evaluate competitive subscription offerings, and inform product strategy and prioritization.
Partner with colleagues to develop audience segmentation and personalization capabilities that improve conversion and ultimately subscriber lifetime value.
Work closely with engineering teams to define requirements and deliver scalable, reliable subscription platform capabilities, including entitlement and account management systems.
Manage the product lifecycle from discovery and ideation through launch, optimization, and ongoing enhancement, ensuring subscription products deliver measurable value to both customers and the business.
Develop and track success metrics to evaluate product performance and optimize subscription outcomes.
Communicate product vision, priorities, performance, challenges, and opportunities to stakeholders across the organization.