Job Summary:

The Director Product Operations is accountable for defining, implementing, and continuously evolving Surescripts' Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC) to ensure product and technology processes run effectively across the organization. Reporting to the Chief Product Officer, this leader operates at the intersection of Product Innovation and Software Engineering, optimizing how both functions work together to deliver the best products for Surescripts' customers efficiently and predictably.

This role establishes and maintains process health metrics and KPIs that provide executive-level visibility into how products move from concept through delivery. The Director drives a vision for how AI is embraced and integrated into the PDLC, helping the Product Team adopt AI-enabled practices that accelerate decision-making, improve prioritization, and enhance product outcomes. AI fluency is foundational to this role.

This leader serves as a strategic partner to the VPs and Directors of Product Innovation, the VPs and Directors of Software Engineering, the VP of Product Quality and Delivery, and other shared services leaders. The Director also partners closely with the Strategy function to ensure new strategic initiatives are effectively translated into the PDLC with appropriate investment planning and resource alignment. Success in this role requires exceptional skill at building trust-based relationships across organizational boundaries while maintaining an unwavering focus on driving results.

Responsibilities:

PDLC Ownership & Strategy

• Define, implement, and continuously improve Surescripts' Product Development Lifecycle, ensuring it reflects current best practices, organizational needs, and the evolving role of AI in product development.

• Establish and maintain PDLC governance frameworks that create clarity on roles, decision rights, stage gates, and handoffs between Product Innovation, Software Engineering, and Product Quality and Delivery.

• Champion a process-as-product mindset, treating the PDLC as a living system that requires ongoing iteration, stakeholder feedback, and measurable improvement.

• Align PDLC practices with enterprise strategy, ensuring product and technology processes support Surescripts' growth objectives and market commitments.

• Partner with the Strategy function to translate new strategic initiatives into the build phase, ensuring a structured intake process with clear investment rationale, resource alignment, and prioritization within the PDLC.

• Support investment planning by providing the process frameworks and data that enable leadership to make informed decisions about where to allocate product and engineering resources.

• Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with leaders across Product Innovation, Software Engineering, Product Quality and Delivery, Strategy, and shared services to facilitate cross-functional alignment and buy-in on PDLC decisions.

AI-Enabled Product Operations

• Lead the integration of AI tools, practices, and methodologies into the PDLC, building on the foundation Surescripts has established and accelerating adoption across the Product Team.

• Identify and implement AI-enabled workflows that enhance product discovery, requirements definition, prioritization, and validation throughout the lifecycle.

• Serve as a catalyst for AI adoption within Product Innovation, helping product managers and leaders develop fluency and incorporate AI into their daily practices.

• Stay current on emerging AI capabilities and assess their applicability to product operations, bringing a practical and results-oriented lens to adoption decisions.

Metrics, KPIs & Process Health

• Define and manage a comprehensive framework of process health metrics and KPIs that provide visibility into PDLC performance, bottlenecks, and improvement opportunities.

• Develop and publish executive-ready dashboards and insights that quantify operational performance and inform leadership decision-making.

• Monitor process adherence and effectiveness across teams, proactively identifying areas where the PDLC is not being followed or is creating friction.

• Establish feedback loops with Product Innovation and Engineering leadership to ensure metrics drive actionable improvement, not just reporting.

Tool Strategy & Enablement

• Provide strategic oversight of lifecycle tooling (e.g., Jira/Confluence, SharePoint) to ensure tools support the PDLC and enable cross-team transparency.

• Drive tool integration and data standards that reduce manual effort and improve the accuracy of process health metrics.

• Evaluate and recommend new tools and technologies-including AI-powered platforms and bespoke tools built using AI software development-that enhance product operations capabilities.

People Leadership

• Build and lead a focused product operations function, starting with an analyst role and scaling as organizational needs evolve.

• Provide coaching, development, and recognition to direct reports, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.

• Set development priorities and performance standards that align with the strategic objectives of the product operations function.

Qualifications:

Basic Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in product operations, product management, program management, or related fields within technology-driven organizations.

• 5+ years of experience working directly with senior leadership (VP+) across multiple functions, with a track record of influencing without authority.

• 3+ years of experience leading teams or managing cross-functional program delivery.

• Demonstrated experience defining and implementing product development lifecycle frameworks or equivalent operational governance models.

• Strong AI fluency with hands-on experience integrating AI tools and practices into product or operational workflows.

• Proven ability to build trust-based relationships and drive results across multiple functions with competing priorities.

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to translate complex process concepts into clear, actionable guidance for diverse audiences.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in healthcare, health IT, e-health, or related regulated industries.

• Experience driving AI adoption within product management or product operations teams.

• Experience with change management methodologies and organizational transformation initiatives.

• Familiarity with lifecycle management tooling (Jira/Confluence or similar).

• In-depth knowledge of Surescripts products, services, and operating environment.

• Advanced degree in business, technology, or a related field.

Surescripts embraces flexibility through its Flexible Hybrid Work model for most positions. This model allows employees to work virtually while still utilizing our offices as collaboration centers. With alignment and agreement from your leadership, you can come and go from the office as needed .

Physical and Mental Requirements

While performing duties of this job, an employee may be required to perform any, or all of the following: attend meetings in and out of the office, travel, communicate effectively (both orally and in writing), and be able to effectively use computers and other electronic and standard office equipment with, or without, a reasonable accommodation. Additionally, this job requires certain mental demands, including the ability to use judgement, withstand moderate amounts of stress and maintain attention to detail with, or without, a reasonable accommodation.

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