Product Manager

Robots and Pencils•Phoenix, AZ

About The Position

At Robots & Pencils, we build meaningful, scalable digital products that solve real business problems. We are seeking an experienced Product Owner to work embedded within cross-functional delivery teams, owning product execution across complex digital platforms. About the role One of the key initiatives this role may support involves building a next-generation academic degree planning platform for a large public university. The platform is designed to help students and advisors navigate degree requirements, course sequencing, and graduation planning through a centralized, interactive experience. It aims to reduce friction for students making critical academic decisions while giving advisors better visibility into student progress.

Requirements

6–10 years of experience in a Product Owner, Product Manager, or similar role.
Strong understanding of agile delivery practices and product ownership responsibilities.
Strong client communication and relationship management skills.
Strategic thinking paired with a pragmatic, delivery-focused mindset.
Consultative problem-solving and the ability to guide conversations beyond immediate deliverables.
Adaptable, calm under pressure, and comfortable navigating ambiguity.
High accountability, ownership, and follow-through.
Collaborative, outcome-driven, and user-centered.

Responsibilities

Manage the product backlog, ensuring work is clearly defined, prioritized, and aligned to business outcomes
Translate business needs and stakeholder requests into structured requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria
Partner closely with engineering and design to ensure requirements are well understood and delivered with quality
Support sprint planning, backlog refinement, and day-to-day execution to keep delivery on track
Identify and manage dependencies, risks, and scope changes throughout the delivery lifecycle
Elicit, analyze, and document functional and technical requirements across multiple stakeholders
Break down complex business processes into clear, actionable work for delivery teams
Ensure traceability between business needs, requirements, and delivered solutions
Continuously refine requirements based on feedback, testing, and evolving priorities
Support QA and UAT efforts by clarifying expected behavior and validating outcomes
Facilitate working sessions, requirement discussions, and decision-making forums
Communicate progress, risks, and tradeoffs clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
Build strong relationships with client stakeholders and serve as a trusted partner in delivery
Frame requests in terms of user and business outcomes, not just features
Support prioritization decisions by balancing business value, technical constraints, and delivery timelines
Contribute to defining scope and iterative delivery plans
Identify opportunities to improve processes, workflows, and product experience
Leverage data, feedback, and team insights to continuously improve the product