Director of Product Management

The Director of Product Management is responsible for leading the day-to-day operations, execution, and people leadership of Northwoods’ Product Management function, ensuring product initiatives are delivered with clarity, consistency, and measurable business impact. Working in close partnership with leadership, this role helps translate Northwoods’ product vision, strategic priorities, and market opportunities into scalable products, disciplined operating rhythms, and high-quality execution. This role frequently shifts between cross-functional leadership and hands-on coaching, from guiding roadmap execution and delivery excellence to developing Product Managers, strengthening product practices, and ensuring teams deliver with confidence. The Director of Product Management partners closely with Engineering, Design, Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, Delivery, and Executive Leadership to ensure Northwoods’ products remain differentiated, scalable, and aligned with long-term business objectives. As Northwoods expands AI-enabled capabilities, this role will help operationalize how AI is embedded across products and internal product practices in ways that are practical, trustworthy, explainable, and aligned with real-world customer needs. This role serves as the operational leader of the Product Management function, establishing clear ownership, coaching Product Managers, improving operating rhythms, and building a high-performing product organization that consistently translates strategy into execution. Experience Required: 8+ years of experience in product management, product strategy, or related leadership roles within software or technology-enabled organizations. 3+ years of experience leading, coaching, or managing Product Managers, Product Owners, or cross-functional product teams. Proven ownership of complex products or platforms with long-term roadmaps and cross-functional dependencies. Demonstrated experience building product processes, improving operating rhythms, and scaling product organizations. Experience partnering deeply with Engineering, QA, and Design to improve delivery quality and release confidence. Practical experience applying AI, automation, or workflow intelligence in enterprise products strongly preferred. Experience operating within regulated or mission-critical environments strongly preferred. Relevant degree preferred (computer science, business, design, marketing, or related field). Must be authorized to work in the U.S. What you’ll be doing Product Strategy & Portfolio Leadership Reinforce the strategic direction, portfolio roadmap, and investment priorities across Northwoods’ product ecosystem, ensuring alignment with company goals, customer outcomes, and long-term growth. Define and communicate a clear product vision across the organization, balancing near-term delivery with long-term platform evolution. Translate customer, market, competitive, and business insights into prioritization, sequencing, and investment decisions. Partner with Commercial and Executive Leadership on product positioning, packaging, pricing, partnerships, and market expansion opportunities. Guide product strategy related to emerging technologies, including AI, automation, and workflow intelligence. Team Leadership & Coaching Help coach and develop Product Managers and Product Owners, creating clear ownership, accountability, and growth opportunities across the team. Assist in establishing role clarity, performance expectations, and development plans for product team members. Provide ongoing coaching through working sessions, roadmap reviews, requirement reviews, and strategic planning. Help build a strong product culture grounded in ownership, curiosity, customer empathy, accountability, and continuous improvement. Promote and actively foster an inclusive, collaborative, and mission-driven culture. Product Operating Model & Delivery Excellence Establish and continuously improve Northwoods’ product operating model, including discovery practices, prioritization frameworks, roadmap planning, and execution standards. Ensure product requirements, acceptance criteria, and product artifacts are clear, testable, and implementation-ready before development begins. Partner closely with Engineering and QA to improve delivery predictability, release confidence, and first-pass quality. Drive alignment between strategic priorities, sprint execution, and measurable business outcomes. Reduce avoidable rework by improving upstream clarity, decision-making, and cross-functional alignment. Customer &