Position SummaryWe are seeking a Product Manager to lead the vision, strategy, and execution of The Stacks, a new open-access platform for publishing, exploring, and connecting scientific and technical knowledge. We're looking for a product leader who can translate a bold conceptual vision into a clear roadmap, partner closely with engineering and design, and ensure the final product truly serves researchers, writers, and knowledge-seekers. We're a nimble team, so looking for someone who is comfortable being scrappy and wearing multiple hats - from user research to analytics to prototyping. The ideal candidate brings a strong understanding of open science, digital publishing, and modern web product design, alongside technical fluency that allows them to collaborate effectively with software teams.
Key Responsibilities- Drive the product vision and strategy for The Stacks in alignment with Astera's mission.
- Develop and maintain a clear product roadmap with thoughtful prioritization of features and milestones.
- Translate conceptual ideas and user needs into clear product requirements, specifications, and user stories.
- Work closely with engineering and design to ensure features are delivered with high quality, usability, and technical feasibility.
- Lead iterative development cycles by clarifying requirements, making tradeoff decisions, and keeping teams aligned.
- Conduct user research and gather structured feedback from researchers, writers, and early adopters to inform product direction.
- Analyze workflows, pain points, and habits of scientific and technical users to shape product design decisions.
- Ensure The Stacks maintains high standards for performance, accessibility, reliability, and user experience.
- Coordinate with internal teams and external partners to ensure cohesive development and smooth collaboration.
- Communicate product decisions, timelines, tradeoffs, and progress clearly to leadership and stakeholders.
- Drive usage by understanding performance metrics and qualitative feedback to prioritize opportunities for improvement.
- Advocate for open science principles and incorporate them into product decisions and long-term planning.
Qualifications- 4-7+ years of product management experience, ideally in content platforms, digital publishing, research tools, or adjacent fields.
- Demonstrated ability to lead product development from 0 1.
- Familiarity with open science concepts and contemporary research workflows.
- Experience working closely with engineering and design; able to translate technical constraints into product decisions.
- Technical fluency (comfortable reading specs, understanding system architecture, and discussing tradeoffs), ideally with prior experience in:
- software development, or
- technical product management roles, or
- overseeing complex web products.
- Exceptional communication skills (clear, structured, succinct).
- High product intuition with a strong sense for usability, information architecture, and content experience.
- Ability to operate in fast-paced, ambiguous environments and bring structure to open-ended problems.
LocationOn site at our office in Emeryville, CA. Some travel may be required from time-to-time for in-person collaboration and work.
CompensationThe posted salary range is based on location in the Bay Area. The successful candidate will receive a competitive compensation package, commensurate with their experience and location.
