Sr. Technical Product Manager

Panera Bread•Saint Louis, LA

5d•$145,305 - $174,366•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Senior Technical Product Manager at Panera, you are responsible for owning the strategy, roadmap, and delivery of critical digital platforms across the eCommerce and in-café ecosystem. This role operates with broad scope and high autonomy, leading complex, cross-functional initiatives that span multiple teams, systems, and vendor partnerships. You serve as a bridge between product strategy and technical execution, translating business and customer needs into scalable, high-performing platform capabilities. In addition to driving delivery, you are accountable for product outcomes, platform reliability, and long-term technical evolution. The Sr. TPdM also acts as a senior leader and mentor, elevating product management practices, influencing cross-functional decisions, and serving as a trusted advisor to Product, Engineering, and executive stakeholders.

Requirements

8–10+ years of experience in Technical Product Management, Product Management, or related roles
Proven experience owning product strategy, roadmaps, and delivery for complex digital platforms
Strong background in software development lifecycle, system architecture, and scalable systems
Experience leading large-scale, cross-team initiatives and high-visibility product launches
Demonstrated ability to influence technical and business decisions at a senior level
Experience working in Agile / SAFe environments at scale
Strong ability to translate business needs into technical solutions and architectural considerations
Deep understanding of APIs, microservices, and distributed systems
Experience with performance optimization, scalability, and reliability engineering principles
Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills
Executive-level communication and stakeholder management skills
Ability to operate as both a strategic leader and hands-on executor
Strong cross-functional leadership and influence without direct authority
Proven ability to drive alignment in complex, fast-paced environments

Nice To Haves

Experience in eCommerce, mobile apps, kiosks, or omni-channel platforms
Experience with enterprise-scale, high-availability systems
Background in platform or backend product management
Experience managing third-party integrations and vendor ecosystems

Responsibilities

Own and define the technical product strategy and roadmap for one or more critical domains (Web, Mobile, Kiosk, Shared Services)
Partner with Digital Product Managers to translate customer needs and business goals into scalable technical solutions
Drive product discovery, solution design, and prioritization decisions
Balance trade-offs across customer value, performance, scalability, technical debt, and speed to market
Identify opportunities to evolve platform capabilities and support long-term growth and extensibility
Own the end-to-end lifecycle from ideation through delivery and post-launch optimization
Translate roadmap initiatives into execution plans, backlog structure, and measurable outcomes
Proactively identify cross-team dependencies, risks, and architectural constraints and drive resolution
Ensure high-quality, predictable delivery across multiple teams and workstreams
Act as a senior advisor on feasibility, sequencing, and solution trade-of
Own and drive measurable product and platform outcomes, including: Conversion and digital revenue impact, System performance and latency, Reliability and stability (99.99% uptime target), Customer and operational experience metrics
Use data and insights to inform prioritization and continuously optimize product performance
Monitor platform health and proactively identify areas for improvement and innovation
Partner with Engineering and Architecture to define system design and technical direction
Influence platform architecture decisions to support scalability, resilience, and maintainability
Participate in and challenge technical design reviews
Ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture, security, and performance standards
Advocate for investments in technical health, modernization, and platform sustainability
Own a multi-team, outcome-driven backlog aligned to strategic roadmap objectives
Drive prioritization decisions balancing: Feature delivery, Production stability, Technical debt reduction, Long-term platform evolution
Ensure consistent quality of user stories, acceptance criteria, and readiness standards
Mentor Product Managers/Owners on backlog strategy and prioritization best practices
Own execution of complex, high-impact releases across multiple teams and systems
Ensure releases meet readiness standards including: Documentation and traceability, Testing and certification, Risk and dependency alignment
Lead go/no-go decisions, release coordination, and issue resolution
Serve as the primary escalation point for production issues
Drive continuous improvement in release quality, predictability, and operational readiness
Own, document, and execute release management process and calls, ensuring the product is deployed successfully and making precise business and technical judgment calls for issues found before or during the call
Own visibility and improvement of platform health metrics: Stability and crash trends, Order and transaction performance, Customer and operational feedback
Lead strategic planning and execution of technical debt and platform modernization initiatives
Ensure technical investments are proactively planned and aligned to roadmap priorities
Partner with Engineering to maintain a healthy balance of feature delivery and platform sustainability
Act as a thought partner and decision-maker across Product, Engineering, and business teams
Influence roadmap trade-offs and investment decisions
Provide clear, concise communication on: Roadmap progress, Delivery status and forecasts, Risks, blockers, and mitigation plans, Product and platform performance
Translate complex technical concepts into business-relevant insights for leadership
Own delivery outcomes and performance for external vendor partners
Lead vendor governance, execution reviews, and continuous improvement efforts
Ensure alignment between vendors and internal teams on standards, timelines, and quality expectations
Escalate and resolve vendor-related risks impacting delivery or platform health
Serve as a mentor and coach to Technical Product Managers, Product Owners, and cross-functional peers
Elevate standards across backlog management, delivery execution, and product thinking
Drive consistency and maturity in product management practices across the organization