Senior Product Manager

CA Office of Data and Innovation • San Diego, CA

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About The Position

The Senior Product Manager leads and manages the Innovation Lab, a new ODI consulting service that helps state departments make better decisions before making major investments. The Lab conducts time-boxed, structured engagements to define problems, identify gaps, align stakeholders, set priorities, and reduce complexity, enabling research- and data-informed decisions. The role brings product management, consulting best practices, and human-centered design practices to state departments in practical, scalable, and durable ways.

The Senior Product Manager leads a dedicated, cross-functional, multidisciplinary team in collaboration with state departments to de-risk complex projects and deliver actionable, evidence-based recommendations. The role establishes product vision and delivery cadence for engagements, translates complex problems into scopes of work and client deliverables, and integrates findings from UX research, service design, data strategy, technical strategy, and project management into recommendations and handoff materials. The position also helps mature the Innovation Lab service model, including its methods, repeatable patterns, referral criteria, feedback loops, performance measures, and continuous-improvement approaches.

The employee’s workstation is located in Sacramento, Los Angeles, Oakland, or San Diego. Travel may be required for meetings in Sacramento, offsite events, conferences, and training classes. Telework opportunities are available in accordance with agency telework policies. This position is appointed by the Governor of California. Applications are accepted until filled.

Requirements

• Extensive product management experience in the digital or technology space, including translating ambiguous problems into scopes, roadmaps, backlogs, milestones, and deliverables.
• Experience managing cross-functional teams to deliver discovery insights, recommendations, services, or products.
• Experience identifying and understanding internal or external customer needs and interests and delivering customer-centric solutions.
• Experience dealing with change and ambiguity and adjusting to new information and constraints.
• Experience using qualitative and quantitative research, analytics, service mapping, and process analysis to inform product delivery and service design.
• Experience with agile delivery methods, backlog management, sprint planning, retrospectives, and iterative product development.
• Experience creating clarity, accountability, and structure for multidisciplinary teams amid ambiguity and changing information.
• Experience gathering input from and communicating with many internal and external stakeholders, including executive, technical, program, and non-technical audiences.
• Experience proactively, clearly, and kindly managing expectations, facilitating consensus, negotiating conflicting needs, and advocating for user needs.
• Experience applying accessibility, equity, privacy, security, compliance, and other constraints relevant to public digital services.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail; comfort working across collaboration platforms and adapting to client tools and processes.

Nice To Haves

• Consulting experience, including navigating complex client and stakeholder relationships.
• Relevant experience in UX research, service design, data analysis, technical strategy, software engineering, content strategy, project management, or department operations.
• Experience conducting user research and/or creating visual design, such as presentation decks.
• Experience in government, government procurement, or implementing and/or procuring large technology systems; this is a bonus but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the cross-functional, multidisciplinary Innovation Lab team, working with state departments to de-risk complex projects and deliver actionable, evidence-based recommendations.
• Translate complex problems into clear scopes of work and client deliverables, including recommendations and roadmaps.
• Own the delivery cadence and day-to-day priorities for Innovation Lab engagements, ensuring the team delivers value to departments and other stakeholders.
• Integrate UX research, service design, data strategy, technical strategy, and project management findings into coherent recommendations and handoff materials.
• Set a clear product vision for Innovation Lab engagements and the service, drive an iterative approach, and ensure effective delivery.
• Help mature the Innovation Lab service model, including methods, repeatable patterns, referral criteria, feedback loops, performance measures, and continuous-improvement approaches.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed