Technical product management is an in-demand organizational function among large companies across the globe.
Organizations that build software or technology-based products need professionals who have the knowledge to bring these assets from the design stage all the way to a successful launch.
Traditional product managers still have important roles in the product management process. According to data curated in an article from UX Cam, optimized product managers have the potential to increase company profits by as much as 34.2%.
That said, some products require team leads to have a deep knowledge of the technical aspects of the design and development process. This is crucial in order to provide the right guidance and support to the development team that enables them to achieve their goals and build a successful product.
While reports from McKinsey & Company indicate that product managers tend to have solid design and analytic skills, most product managers lack the hardcore technical expertise to navigate complex technical product development processes. In such cases, companies hire technical product managers to fill in the gap.
As team leads, technical PMs rely on a strong understanding of software engineering process management skills to help the team overcome the technical challenges of building complex technological products.
With reports from Statista evidencing the steady rate at which organizations across the globe are growing, companies must have someone who is capable of scaling their technology expansion efforts.
Technical product managers do just that, ensuring the alignment of professionals within a technical team while working alongside and with product managers to ensure that the company meets its overarching product goals.
In this article, we examine technical product manager job descriptions across various industries.
Let’s dive in.
Technical Product Manager Job Description Example 1 – Cloud Hosting
The technical product manager is responsible for driving the success of cloud development efforts through effective goal-setting practices, strong, team leadership, and efficient roadmap management. So, technical PMs leverage their strong understanding of data architecture to provide support to the development team in designing and executing APIs that lay the foundation for functional cloud solutions and seamless cloud experiences for end users.
In said capacity, technical product managers occupy a cross-functional role where they collaborate with software, product, and business stakeholders to flesh out a suite of successful robust, cloud-related solutions.
The technical product manager, therefore, sits at the intersection between the strategic aspects of product management and the technical aspects of cloud development to strengthen the working relationship between both teams and help each one meets its corresponding goals. In doing so, the technical PM coordinates efforts between both teams to ensure proper alignment of the cloud development team with the overarching goals of the company as it relates to product success.
The technical product manager is expected to:
- Leverage in-depth research and market insights to ideate and execute API strategies that lead to successful cloud product experiences
- Work with product managers to identify opportunities for application integration and cloud product experience improvement
- Provide guidance to the product team on technical feasibility while leading the development team in executing and implementing solutions for the cloud product
- Develop a deep understanding of the cloud ecosystem market and possible competitors
- Keep abreast with the introduction or refinement of new technologies that simplify or help your team carry out their responsibilities in an easier way
- Participate in the prioritization and definition of the product roadmap throughout the development of the product’s lifecycle
- Work with the product manager to prioritize product features according to the value they bring to the user base and product value proposition
- Collaborate with the cloud engineering team to create and deploy cloud features
- Assess the pros and cons of leveraging in-house services as opposed to cloud-native solutions
- Help the product team deliver successful solutions by finding clarity in a field noted for its uncertainty
Requirements
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or a related field
- At least 6 years of experience managing workloads on GCP/AWS platforms
- Extensive experience building and executing products in the SaaS, cloud, enterprise, or supply-chain networks
- Up-to-date with the latest developments in public cloud technologies (GCP/AWS)
- SW engineering experience with cloud services and solutions architecture
- Knowledgeable about security issues, compliance, data protection, and networking principles in cloud development
- Has had experience communicating engineering-related challenges that affected a business’ ability to meet its timelines
- Fluent in agile methodology principles
- Strong leadership and collaborative skills
- Excellent communicator who believes in the value of teamwork in achieving a common goal
Technical Product Manager Job Description Example 2 – Fintech
The technical product manager works alongside the product manager and IT team to facilitate the delivery of digital financial services from the company to its end users. As such, you help the product manager define verticals and opportunities for product expansion while balancing the need for technological feasibility and restraints.
In doing so, the technical product manager carries out a cross-functional, multidimensional role as they bridge the gap between product management, technology, finance, and IT to deliver functional fintech product solutions.
Technical product managers leverage their knowledge of industry-related software development practices to provide the IT team with the right guidance and support to achieve its goals. TPMs also bring a solid understanding of the fintech market, its trends, tendencies, ebbs, and flows, all in an effort to prioritize tasks and make the right decisions for the betterment of the product.
The technical product manager is expected to:
- Ensure adequate project delivery within budget and on time, adhering to the specifications set for execution
- Minimize the product’s exposure to risk while ensuring full compliance within the team for project methodologies and standards
- Lead the IT team in developing and executing the software implementation process from design to delivery and all sub-tasks that come with it
- Conduct client-facing activities to gather data on user satisfaction and translate that feedback into meaningful product updates and features for end-users
- Develop and relay comprehensive, regular reports on project progress to relevant stakeholders
- Assist the engineering team in user-testing, debugging, resolving technical issues, and other forms of issue management
- Ensure the upkeep of system configuration and procedure documentation
- Act as a consultant for the product team on test plans and processes for product upgrades
- Provide progress reports on the team’s ability to adhere to project structure and meet product metrics
Requirements
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Systems Engineers, Computer Science, or a related field
- At least 4 years of experience working as a software developer or engineer
- Working knowledge of Windows Operating Systems or Linux Operating Systems
- Experience working in the finance/fintech sector
- Up-to-date with the latest developments in fintech software development
- Understanding of scripting, shell scripts, and CMD
- Experience communicating engineering-related challenges that affected a business’ ability to meet its timelines
- Fluent in agile methodology principles
- Strong leadership and collaborative skills
- Excellent communicator who understands the value of teamwork in helping achieve a common goal
Technical Product Manager Job Description Example 3 – Data Platform
The technical product manager supports the management team in leading the development and implementation of data intelligence products. In this role, you are responsible for planning the requirements that the engineering team needs in order to carry out their tasks and build amazing product experiences for end users. You must also schedule key milestones, set expectations for project delivery for the rest of the team, and ensure that the engineering team has the resources needed to accomplish their goals.
This role is crucial to the success of such a complex data product since you provide guidance and counsel to the rest of the product team on technical product decisions. You therefore own the delivery and implementation of the data platform’s capabilities, features, and deliveries. Your management skills are critical to ensuring the expansion of the data platform and the product portfolio to which it belongs.
All in all, you aid the company in reducing the time-to-market for the data product, conducting trials to test product features, and deploying impactful solutions that better the experience of platform users.
The technical product manager is expected to:
- Drive impact through the execution and delivery of tasks established on the product roadmap
- Work in collaboration with the data product manager to understand the data product’s vision
- Communicate product requirements to the engineering and development team and deliver the resources needed to help them execute
- Spearhead planning, scheduling, resource allocation, and technical implementation tasks within the engineering team
- Voice the technical restraints of the engineering team to relevant product stakeholders
- Liaise with the data governance, product management, and engineering teams to optimize new features and translate company requirements into user stories
Requirements
- At least 2 year of experience working as a technical product manager, product owner, or a similar role
- Excellent analytical skills that help convert a business’ needs into real product requirements
- Strong prioritization and communication skills
- Solid understanding of data product engineering best practices and methodologies
- Experience working in engineering or software development teams
- Understanding of SQL and NoSQL databases
- Experience working with large data sets
- Strong verbal and written skills
Technical Product Manager Job Description Example 4 – Machine Learning
The technical product manager is responsible for converting the priorities of the platform team into attainable goals that they work toward in order to achieve them. In doing so, your goal is to assist the company in fleshing out an engineering platform that maintains the availability of the system, keeps developers productive, and improves the value proposition of the product.
As the technical product manager responsible for spearheading the success of the machine learning product, you are a key liaison figure that sits at the intersection where engineering and product management meet. You, therefore, ensure that the technical team understands product requirements while also setting limitations with the product team on technical feasibility and schedule delivery.
All in all, you assist the product team in driving scalable machine learning development practices that span across teams while being a strong, central figure that glues engineering and product management together.
The technical product manager is expected to:
- Prioritize the facilitation, execution, and deployment of machine learning platform development processes while ensuring the delivery of project requirements on time
- Align the engineering team with the real issues, needs, and demands of the product’s end-users
- Assist the machine learning product manager in conducting regular planning, scheduling, and definition of user stories, the roadmap, and validation of new ideas
- Help the product team build an amazing product experience for end-users
Requirements
- At least 3 years of experience developing machine learning products
- A strong background in software engineering and product development
- A solid understanding of platform-specific areas such as product integration, cloud services, automated testing, observability, and infrastructure as code
- A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
- Practical experience working in agile environments
- Solid knowledge of software architecture and design
- Successful track record navigating complex technical projects and product development scenarios