Product Operations Lead, PDO

Dotdash Meredith•New York, NY

8h•Hybrid

About The Position

About The Position | Major goals and objectives and location requirements: Hybrid 3x a week- (New York, NY) In-office Expectations: This position is hybrid in-office, with the ability to work remotely for up to 2 days per week. At People Inc., we take our Agile culture seriously. We embrace change in a fast-paced environment while keeping our plans organized, our goals at the forefront, and our teams motivated and high performing. The Product Operations Lead streamlines product development, improves efficiency, and enables better user experiences by overseeing data pipelines, establishing effective intake and prioritization processes, and setting clear expectations, roles, and responsibilities. This role serves as a strong bridge across functions and competing priorities, using modern tools, process optimization, and strong communication and relationship-building to turn data needs into a strategic advantage. You will play a pivotal role in defining and leading the strategy for our Data Ops portfolio, ensuring our operating practices are best-in-class and our culture remains collaborative and high-performing. As a leader, you will leverage your operational expertise and collaborate with Data leadership to evolve and mature our data practices as well as grow and develop our talent. You will guide execution of initiatives within data programs that directly contribute to our business vision and strategy. Ultimately, you should be motivated by a desire to share expertise, optimize productivity and nurture delivery success from inception to completion. About the Positions Contributions: Operating Model Optimization: Streamline workflows and operating rhythms, leverage relevant tools (including AI), and enable smooth cross-functional collaboration to improve data collection and delivery. Cross-Functional Alignment: Serve as the primary liaison across stakeholders, ensuring teams have the data, systems, and clarity needed to align on goals and improve outcomes. Request Intake & Prioritization: Own and continuously improve the intake and prioritization process by triaging demand, clarifying requirements, aligning on tradeoffs, and maintaining a transparent, outcomes-driven backlog. Portfolio Assessment Protocols: Establish regular stakeholder touchpoints to understand objectives and pain points, identify improvement opportunities, and reinforce a culture of continuous improvement. Learning & Development: Partner with Data Leadership to define and implement an effective learning and development approach that strengthens capabilities and adoption. Roadmaps & Planning: Collaborate with Data Leadership to shape, maintain, and communicate short- and long-term roadmaps, plans, and dependency awareness. Risk Management & Delivery: Proactively identify and mitigate risks, keep stakeholders informed, and drive initiatives to completion through clear accountability and follow-through.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree preferred and/or equivalent experience.
Experience working with cross-functional, distributed teams across multiple time zones is required, along with 7+ years of experience in a Data Operations role.
The ideal candidate is a transparent, highly organized facilitator and communicator who empowers teams, builds a cohesive culture, and drives continuous improvement with strong situational awareness and positive energy.
This role requires a trusted leader capable of building strong relationships, aligning diverse stakeholders, and navigating ambiguity to support clear, timely decision-making.
The candidate is a pragmatic advocate of Agile principles, able to balance flexibility with planning and forecasting while adapting practices to meet team and organizational needs.
A proactive, hands-on approach is essential, with the ability to anticipate needs, remove blockers quickly, and consistently demonstrate a “roll up your sleeves” mindset.
The position requires a deep understanding of data, data products, and analytics tools such as Looker and BigQuery.
Experience working with cross-functional, distributed teams across multiple time zones is required, along with 7+ years of experience in a Data Operations role.

Responsibilities

Operating Model Optimization: Streamline workflows and operating rhythms, leverage relevant tools (including AI), and enable smooth cross-functional collaboration to improve data collection and delivery.
Cross-Functional Alignment: Serve as the primary liaison across stakeholders, ensuring teams have the data, systems, and clarity needed to align on goals and improve outcomes.
Request Intake & Prioritization: Own and continuously improve the intake and prioritization process by triaging demand, clarifying requirements, aligning on tradeoffs, and maintaining a transparent, outcomes-driven backlog.
Portfolio Assessment Protocols: Establish regular stakeholder touchpoints to understand objectives and pain points, identify improvement opportunities, and reinforce a culture of continuous improvement.
Learning & Development: Partner with Data Leadership to define and implement an effective learning and development approach that strengthens capabilities and adoption.
Roadmaps & Planning: Collaborate with Data Leadership to shape, maintain, and communicate short- and long-term roadmaps, plans, and dependency awareness.
Risk Management & Delivery: Proactively identify and mitigate risks, keep stakeholders informed, and drive initiatives to completion through clear accountability and follow-through.