Product Manager, Software Integration, Oakland, Calif,

We combine the power of Big Data, technology, and lean economics. We discover the information people are searching for and provide it. We help transform lives. Our company will be unmatched in providing products, services, and experiences to a diverse universe. From mainstream populations to groups that traditional companies believe are too small or economically unfeasible to address, we will meet their needs.

Today, we’re the fastest growing company in the $106 billion global publishing industry, and our primary method for meeting peoples’ needs is through long-form content in books. But creating books for them is only the beginning.

As a Product Manager working in Third-Party Software & Integration on the R&D Internal Product team, you will apply the principles of product management to the selection and integration of enterprise software and other digital tools at Our Company. You will also facilitate software improvements through every step in the product lifecycle—from the idea stage to launch and adoption, and sometimes to system retirement. 

Responsibilities:

• Familiarize yourself with our existing suite of employee-facing digital tools—which includes both custom built products and third-party applications—and understand their value to each department and to the company as a whole
• Understand the high-level processes and priorities for every department, and use this knowledge to advocate for an increasingly unified approach to digital tools 
• Suggest and prioritize digital tool improvement ideas that will help us scale our processes, improve user experience, manage our data more effectively, and unlock new business opportunities
• Communicate clearly with stakeholders to understand their needs, negotiate on solutions, manage their expectations, and train them on how to get the most from our digital tools 
• Oversee a templated procedure for evaluating and deciding on any new software acquisition, guiding subject matter experts within the company through vendor research and due diligence
• Work with key stakeholders to present software recommendations to executive leadership for approval
• Provide clear information to employees about approved digital tools, recommendations for usage, and cross-departmental usage agreements
• Communicate clearly with our team of engineers, data analysts, project managers, and QA engineers to define actionable projects for system integration and feature enhancement
• Using principles of iterative development, design minimum viable products (MVPs) that can be released quickly, and then learn from their usage and work to improve them
• Write product requirements, instructions, and user manual documentation as needed
• Work with software vendors to help optimize our use of applications and facilitate necessary improvements
• Test new features and applications to ensure they meet expectations and report any bugs
• Practice discretion when discussing product features and roll-outs, and maintain confidentiality
• Research industry best practices including UI patterns, trends in publishing, leading software applications, and evolving standards in data-driven decision making

Key Projects:

• Drive the selection and roll-out of a company-wide project management system
• Guide research and due diligence for a supply chain management system
• Plan API-based integrations of multiple systems to ensure KPI data will be available in our Data Warehouse 

Desired Skills & Experience:

• 4+ years experience selecting, integrating, and facilitating improvements to digital tools
• A passion for studying best practices, emerging trends, and industry leaders in enterprise software and productivity tools
• Experience or training in the principles of software product management 
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Technical writing experience (manuals, instructions, bug reports)
• Proven ability to quickly earn the credibility and trust of colleagues
• Proactive and creative problem-solving skills 
• Strong time management skills
• Aptitude for working in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities 
• Bachelor’s Degree in a related field

Join us! We are a team where data drives our decisions. Where culture matters. We put our customers first and they embody our core values. We’re entrepreneurial and focused in our approach. We challenge each employee to experiment and drive results while feeling empowered to do their best work each and every day.

Our Company offers a competitive salary, full benefits, 401k, stock options, for full-time employees, as well as a friendly working environment.