Technical Product Manager

About Activate Global 

Activate empowers scientists to reinvent our world and address climate change by bringing their research to market. We partner with leading funders and research institutions—including a groundbreaking new partnership with the National Science Foundation—to offer the Activate Fellowship, providing the funding, technical support, networking, community, and time that scientists need at the outset of their entrepreneurial journey. 

The results are game-changing: Activate Fellows have launched 147 new companies since 2015. These companies have raised nearly $1.9B in follow-on funding, created more than 1,800 U.S.-based high-tech jobs, reached scientific breakthroughs, and defined new market categories. Activate supports fellows in Berkeley, CA; Cambridge, MA; New York, NY; Houston, TX; and across the U.S. through Activate Anywhere.

Activate exists to create a better future, for all. In service of this purpose, we are building a foundation of equity and inclusivity across our business, including our operations, our fellowship, our partnerships, and our brand.

The Opportunity

Activate is looking for a Technical Product Manager to work closely with stakeholders across the organization to define and drive the evolution of Activate’s technology, with a current focus on internal tools and data management. You’ll lead the development of the technology roadmap, build a culture of ROI-driven technology development, and manage technical implementations through external resources and internal team members. This role will create a dashboarding and data management strategy, enabling Activate to mature its approach to measurement and optimize for its data-driven culture. In this role, you’ll be critical to enabling Activate to scale.

This role reports to our COO and works closely with a team of two engineers.

Responsibilities:

Develop product & tools strategy, goals, and roadmap

• Uncover and understand customer needs across the organization and its programs
• Develop and communicate a strategy to focus Activate’s technology work aligned with business goals, including a defined product and tools vision, goals, and roadmap
• Build alignment among cross-functional stakeholders through clear and consistent two-way communication

Build culture of right-sized technology development

• Develop framework for evaluating ROI of potential technology projects.
• Manage ongoing prioritization of technology needs in alignment with business priorities and clear ROI hypotheses.
• Lead communication with stakeholders across the organization to provide transparency into prioritization decisions and roadmap.
• Build culture across the organization to enable the discovery, definition, and design of right-size technology solutions that enable effective and efficient program delivery.
• Manage cross-functional stakeholders and lead change management for technology transformations.

Establish and lead on best practices for technology development and cross-functional stakeholder management

• Partner with technology team personnel to scope projects, define priorities, and communicate progress against the technology roadmap
• Manage priorities of the technology team and manage external technology resources 
• Mentor and motivate technology team, vendors, and consultants with clarity on successful project outcomes and consistent support and feedback
• Establish or refine processes to support the technology team in optimizing output and transparency to organizational stakeholders
• Develop architectural strategy across Activate’s tech stack, in close collaboration with Data Solutions Architect
• Strengthen Activate’s approach to technology resilience with a small team

Lead technology implementations

• Set goals for technology implementations, in relation to business goals, that allow for clear evaluation, with a plan for data collection.
• Lead the transition to new technology, ensuring that the right stakeholders across the organization are engaged in build versus buy decisions, tool selection, and implementation.
• Lead technology implementations as PM, including conducting discovery, problem definition and requirements, and implementation design, aligned with cross-functional stakeholders. Project manage technical resources for implementation.
• Develop testing procedures and establish standards for product success.
• Plan and execute technology launches, conduct internal training, and create documentation for internal tools at Activate. Drive adoption of key tools at launch and on an ongoing basis.
• Evaluate success of new technology against goals, collecting data to understand performance, identify areas for improvement, and plan for future needs.
• Manage Activate’s existing technology and required enhancements or maintenance, including Hubspot CRM.

Business Analytics

• Design business analytics reports and dashboards across all departments at Activate to support impact measurement and the management of business metrics, working closely with stakeholders across the organization to understand their analytics and reporting needs.
• Direct technical resources to develop and maintain dashboards and reporting.

Experience:

• At least 7-10 years of product management experience; experience developing/managing product roadmap/tech stack for an ambitious, scaling organization
• At least 3-5 years of data analytics and dashboarding experience
• Familiarity with CRM tools, with Hubspot experience being a plus
• Ability to work with cross-functional teams, with outstanding communication and stakeholder management skills. Experience facilitating conversations between engineering, operations, and stakeholder groups, including executives.
• Excellent communicator in a variety of settings and modes (leading meetings, 1:1, developing written resources)
• Experience leading people through complex projects to concrete results without direct reporting authority
• Demonstrates accountability in meeting deadlines, advancing stakeholder conversations, and driving forward decisions 
• Experience writing highly technical documentation as well as simplifying for general audiences
• Flexibility and initiative, as well as the ability to work independently
• Entrepreneurial spirit, including the ability to embrace uncertainty and ambiguity. Passion for continuous improvement
• Humility, and sense of humor. Ability to connect with diverse people and personalities, including a demonstrated commitment to DEIB
• Willingness to travel to Activate’s offices and Activate Fellows program events, as needed
• Bonus: located near one of Activate’s hubs in Berkeley, Boston, Houston, or New York.

This is a full-time position with a salary base of $147,000. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes professional development, $2,000 in annual wellness funds, unlimited paid time off, 90% paid healthcare premiums for employees and dependents, and the opportunity to join a retirement plan with a 3% match after 3 months of employment.

Encouraging Applications from All Backgrounds 

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status. We will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Activate Global, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.