Lead Product Manager, APIs & MCPs for Global Aviation Data

ForeFlight

• $188K — $230K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of product management experience, specifically with APIs.
  • Hands-on experience building and driving AI adoption in previous roles.
  • Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence senior stakeholders.
  • Strong curiosity and customer-focused discovery skills, especially with technical audiences.
  • Ability to operate independently and make decisions in ambiguous situations.

Responsibilities

  • Define and own the multi-year strategy and roadmap for APIs and MCP servers.
  • Lead the launch of a new API platform, making build-vs-buy decisions and setting design standards.
  • Conduct customer and stakeholder discovery to identify value creation through APIs and MCPs.
  • Define data packaging, access, and monetization strategies, establishing success metrics.
  • Set standards for AI consumption of products and data, leveraging hands-on AI expertise.
  • Collaborate with engineering leadership to scope technical delivery and resolve tradeoffs.
  • Align senior stakeholders around a shared platform vision and communicate progress.

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer-paid premiums.
  • Open PTO policy for flexible time off.
  • 401(k) plan with up to 10% company matching and immediate vesting.
  • 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
  • 2 days off annually for volunteering.
  • Employee Assistance Program for support services.
  • Flight Training Stipend for aviation enthusiasts.
Full Job Description
As our Lead Product Manager for APIs & MCPs, you'll set the vision and strategy for how Global Aviation Data reaches developers, partners, customers, and AI systems. You'll own our API and MCP portfolio end to end. That includes standing up a new API platform and deciding what to build, buy, and expose on top of it. This is a net-new, staff-level individual contributor role. It exists to give AI-enabled product development a dedicated owner with real technical depth. You'll work closely with engineering and shape how the platform is built, governed, and adopted across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

  • Define and own the multi-year strategy and roadmap for our APIs and MCP servers. This covers platform selection and rollout, what data and workflows we expose, and how we sequence the work
  • Lead the launch of our new API platform, including the build-vs-buy decisions and the tradeoffs on architecture, security, and cost. Set the standards for API design, versioning, documentation, and developer experience
  • Run customer and stakeholder discovery with internal and external technical users to find where APIs and MCPs create the most value. Turn what you learn into clear investment cases and priorities
  • Define how our data is packaged, accessed, and monetized through APIs and MCPs, working with commercial, legal, and data governance partners. Establish success metrics for adoption, usage, and business impact
  • Set the standard for how our products and data are consumed by AI agents and assistants. Bring hands-on AI expertise to product workflows while keeping a grounded view of where AI is and isn't the right solution
  • Partner with engineering leadership to scope and sequence technical delivery, and to resolve tradeoffs across teams
  • Align senior stakeholders across product, engineering, security, sales, and customer success around a shared platform vision, and communicate progress and risk to leadership
  • Mentor and raise the bar for other product managers on API and AI product practices, including how to work with the platform and how to evaluate AI opportunities
  • Operate as a self-starter who identifies the highest-leverage problems and drives them to outcomes with minimal guidance
  • Learn a new technical domain quickly and turn it into a clear, prioritized roadmap


Basic Qualifications:

  • 8+ years of product management experience, including recent, hands-on ownership of APIs as a product. You should be able to speak concretely about design, lifecycle, adoption, and tradeoffs
  • Demonstrated experience building with AI and driving AI adoption in a previous organization. You should be able to describe specifically what you built, what worked, and what didn't
  • Track record of leading cross-functional initiatives that shaped strategy beyond a single team, and of influencing senior stakeholders without formal authority
  • Track record of curiosity and customer-focused discovery, including with technical and developer audiences
  • Ability to operate independently at a senior level and make sound decisions in ambiguity, with minimal oversight


Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience building or shipping MCP servers or similar context and integration layers for AI systems
  • Experience selecting, launching, or scaling an API management or developer platform (gateway, portal, developer onboarding, analytics)
  • Experience defining API monetization, packaging, or data-licensing models
  • Background in aviation or another regulated technical domain, where data quality, security, and compliance matter. This is less critical than technical depth, but a plus
  • Pilot or aviation enthusiast


  • Medical, dental, vision insurance with employer-paid health premiums
  • Open PTO policy
  • 401(k) with up to 10% company matching and immediate vesting
  • 12 weeks paid parent leave
  • 2 days off to volunteer annually
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Flight Training Stipend


Pay is based upon candidate experience and qualifications, as well market and business considerations: Summary Base Pay Range: $188,000-$230,000 USD.

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