Staff Product Manager (Contract-to-Hire)

Rockstar is recruiting for a leading SaaS company in the workforce and economic development sector. This client is a high-growth, mission-driven organization focused on transforming how talent flows in one of the largest and fastest growing metro areas in the US. The team is known for its high velocity, high trust, and high-impact culture, and is dedicated to building innovative, data-driven platforms that create meaningful change for job seekers, employers, educators, and community partners.

High velocity, high intensity, high trust, high bar, high impact, and a will to win.

If those words resonate deeply, this could be the next career move for the right candidate. The client is seeking an individual who leads with humility, pursues audacious goals, and is motivated by meaningful impact on people and the world.

This is a 3-month contract position (September 15, 2025 - January 1, 2026) with strong potential to convert to full-time upon successful completion. The selected candidate will lead a high-visibility, strategically important engagement with a major enterprise client to implement a first-of-its-kind workforce platform for this region.

Important note: Data shows that men typically apply when meeting 3/10 requirements, while women often wait until it's 10/10. Applicants are encouraged to apply if they see a strong (not necessarily perfect) fit.

The Project

The selected candidate will lead the design and delivery of a first-of-its-kind regional platform that connects job seekers, employers, educators, and community partners in one integrated system—transforming how talent flows in one of the largest and fastest growing metro areas in the US.

Working with a major enterprise customer in the workforce and economic development sector, the mission is to translate strategic goals and early insights into a validated, implementation-ready product design and delivery plan aligned with the SaaS product vision and architecture.

Project Scope

- Review existing research and technical documentation to refine priorities

- Facilitate stakeholder engagement across employers, educators, community partners, and job seekers through interviews, workshops, and field visits

- Design and test high-fidelity product prototypes aligned with the product vision and architecture

- Map data and API integration requirements

- Document scalable technical architecture aligned with the SaaS strategy

- Create deliverables that de-risk future development and ensure seamless handoff to engineering

- Build alignment among diverse stakeholders to ensure adoption and measurable outcomes

This engagement will directly shape a large-scale deployment and serve as a model for workforce transformation in other regions.

What This Role Owns

Product Discovery & Planning

- Lead structured discovery sessions with enterprise leadership, employer partners, workforce providers, and ecosystem stakeholders

- Map user journeys and system touchpoints across all user types

- Define, document, and prioritize product requirements aligned with the product roadmap

- Identify and mitigate delivery risks (technical, operational, stakeholder alignment)

Stakeholder Engagement

- Serve as primary product liaison between the client, the enterprise customer, and ecosystem partners

- Coordinate onsite workshops and design sessions (25-40% travel to the southwest US)

- Ensure clear communication between internal teams (Product, UX, Engineering) and external stakeholders

User Testing & Prototyping

- Develop and execute structured user testing plans with mockups and clickable prototypes

- Synthesize findings into actionable design and implementation recommendations

Implementation Readiness

- Produce a detailed next-phase implementation blueprint with phased milestones and success metrics

- Collaborate with Engineering and Design to estimate effort, dependencies, and timelines

- Acting as both strategist and operator, manage end-to-end client relationship through the critical definition and testing phase

- Ensure all deliverables are aligned, feasible, and ready for seamless handoff to engineering

Required Experience

- 5+ years in product management or adjacent product/solutions leadership

- 2+ years in a startup/growth-stage environment with a track record of launching customer-facing products with measurable impact

- Enterprise SaaS experience in B2B2C or B2G2C contexts; comfortable leading complex, multi-stakeholder implementations

- AI/data-driven product experience (personalization, recommendations, decision support); able to collaborate on model validation and data flows

- Complex integration skills: WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility, responsiveness, localization, white labeling, large/heterogeneous data sources

- Exceptional stakeholder facilitation skills from executive workshops to front-line user sessions with proven ability to drive alignment—comfortable in a boardroom with executives as well as in working sessions with end-users

- Skilled at orchestrating and executing strategic and tactical operations: Shape product direction AND write clear PRDs, app flows, acceptance criteria, RFCs

- Agile fluency: Scrum and iterative delivery; skilled in prioritization, estimation, and risk management in high-visibility environments

- Data-informed decision-making using product analytics, user feedback, and sound judgment

Bonus Points

- Background in software engineering, data science, or UX/UI

- Domain experience in workforce development, edtech, civic tech, or public-impact spaces

- Exposure to labor market/workforce data and third-party integrations

- Experience with multi-tenant, configuration-driven platforms

Education

The client is not focused on alma maters. Grit, hunger, and drive are valued. Continuous learners who tackle challenges head-on and know their strengths and gaps intimately are encouraged to apply.

Logistics

Location

- Remote within United States

- 25-40% travel to the southwest US for onsite discovery, workshops, and user testing (all approved travel will be covered by the client)

- For full-time conversion: Optional relocation to NYC HQ with relocation package