Staff Product Manager - San Francisco

Plaud AI

• $150K — $180K *
Consumer Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree or above in engineering, industrial design, computer science, or related fields.
  • 5+ years of product management experience in wearable devices or consumer electronics.
  • Strong understanding of hardware product development processes.
  • Familiarity with AI applications in wearables, such as sensors and edge computing.
  • Global perspective on international business professionals' behaviors and aesthetics.

Responsibilities

  • Shape the vision and roadmap for next-generation AI-native smart hardware.
  • Dive deep into user needs and trends to craft engaging products.
  • Partner with cross-functional teams to seamlessly bring concepts to life.
  • Lead the journey from concept sketches to mass production with quality and innovation.
  • Use data and insights to continuously refine and evolve products.

Benefits

  • Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) for a real stake in success.
  • Fast-moving, product-driven environment where ideas directly impact AI productivity.
  • Top-tier medical, dental, and vision insurance supported by employer subsidy, plus an employee-matching 401(k).
  • Unlimited PTO, 13 paid holidays, and 12 weeks fully paid parental leave.
  • Access to cutting-edge AI tools to maximize efficiency.
  • Choice of top-spec laptops and high-performance workstations for new hires.
  • Annual company offsites and team events that celebrate craftsmanship and ownership.
Full Job Description
What You Will Do
  • Own user and product discovery for next-generation Plaud AI devices, deeply understanding professional workflows, unmet needs, user behavior, and market opportunities.
  • Define the complete product experience from first principles: start with user value, define the required AI and software experience, then derive the device capabilities and hardware requirements needed to make that experience possible.
  • Develop product theses, target users, key scenarios, value propositions, interaction models, product concepts, and success metrics for new AI devices and major product iterations.
  • Work closely with AI, Software, HCI, Industrial Design, Hardware Engineering, and Shenzhen Hardware Product teams to turn experience requirements into coherent system-level product definitions.
  • Continuously validate product assumptions through users, prototypes, AI tools, experiments, usage data, and post-launch feedback, and use those insights to guide future products and portfolio strategy.


Minimum Qualifications
  • Proven ownership of at least one successful 0-to-1 consumer technology, connected-device, wearable, audio, smart hardware, or similar product.
  • Exceptional product sense and user insight; able to explain not only what was built, but why the product should exist and which user problem it solved.
  • Strong understanding of software and AI products, including how AI capabilities, software workflows, services, and subscriptions affect the value proposition of a physical device.
  • Sufficient hardware systems knowledge to work effectively with engineering and reason about trade-offs across form factor, sensors, audio, connectivity, compute, battery, latency, reliability, and cost.
  • Strong ownership, structured thinking, communication, and ability to make high-quality decisions under ambiguity.

Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience building products that combine device + app/software + AI/cloud service + recurring revenue or subscription.
  • Strong track record serving North American professional or consumer users.
  • Experience in AI-native interaction, voice interfaces, agents, wearables, audio, ambient computing, or next-generation HCI.
  • Founder, early startup team, or zero-to-one product-team experience is highly valued.
  • Demonstrated AI-native working style, including active use of LLMs for research, prototyping, specification, analysis, and product exploration.

Required Tech/Soft skills
  • Product / AI:
    User research and product discovery
    AI product and workflow understanding
    End-to-end experience definition
    Strong product prioritization and trade-off judgment
    Data-informed product decision making
  • Hardware:
    Working understanding of electronics, mechanics, firmware, sensors, audio, connectivity, battery, compute, manufacturing, and reliability
    Ability to translate product experience into device capabilities and system requirements
  • Soft skills:
    First-principles thinking
    High ownership and low ego
    Excellent communication and storytelling
    Strong cross-functional influence without authority
    Bias toward action and rapid validation


What we offer
  • Meaningful Ownership An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that gives a real stake in Plaud's long-term success.
  • High-Impact Environment Work in a fast-moving, product-driven environment where your ideas directly shape the future of AI productivity.
  • Comprehensive Health & Retirement Benefits Top-tier medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents, supported by a generous employer subsidy, plus a 401(k) retirement plan with company matching for full-time employees.
  • Time Off & Workplace Benefits Unlimited PTO, plus 13 paid holidays, 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave for all parents, a hybrid work model with a minimum of three in-office days per week, and access to high-quality office snacks, drinks, and equipment.
  • Cutting-Edge AI Tools for Productivity Access to best-in-class AI tools, including Gemini, Claude Code, and other frontier AI systems to maximize engineering and execution efficiency.
  • Best-in-Class Equipment Choice of top-spec laptops, high-performance workstation setups, and cutting-edge Plaud devices for all new hires.
  • Team & Culture Annual company offsites, team events, and a culture that values craftsmanship, ownership, and velocity.

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