Group PM / Director of Product, Core Services

About Us Academia.edu is a venture-backed, for-profit, and profitable company based in San Francisco. We are recognized as the world’s leading platform for researchers and scholars to share work, discover research, and connect with academics globally. Our bold vision is to democratize and accelerate the world's research, enhancing the speed of scientific discovery and technological progress for the benefit of everyone. We imagine a world where accessing academic papers is effortless, keeping track of cutting-edge research is seamless and collaborating with researchers is easier than ever before. Our platform empowers millions of scholars worldwide to push the boundaries of human understanding. We believe in the power of knowledge to change lives and the world, and our commitment to this mission drives everything we do.

Join us as we continue to redefine what's possible in the world of research. Discover careers that challenge, inspire and propel you toward a future where your ideas can truly change the world. At Academia.edu, we're not just shaping the future of research—we're shaping the future of possibilities.

Please note that this role is in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our office comes alive on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays! Three times a week, our Bay Area team gathers in our office located in San Francisco's Financial District (580 California St) for All Hands meetings, collaborative sessions, innovation-driven brainstorming, and events that bring us closer together. Our space has everything we need—from cozy rooms for 1:1 mentoring and focused work to larger rooms designed for team activities.

The RoleWe are seeking a high-performing Product Leader to lead our ‘Core Services’ Products group. This group of product teams is responsible for key technologies and platforms leveraged across the company (including recommendations, payments, profile/identity management, and more). In this role, you will power the product teams responsible for providing our key technologies across the site. The area of responsibility spikes on platform services, including experiences that serve customers directly and that power experiences that support other teams internally. You will be responsible for 2 product teams to start, both with PMs in seats and the need to develop (and hire) the area further, with an initial goal of building out the team upwards of 4 product teams by early 2025.

Key Responsibilities

• Define the roadmap for our ranking / recommendation efforts, driving alignment with exec stakeholders
• Own the payment platform globally; help us identify merchants, banks, vendors, methods that drive more subscription (and reduce cancellations) on Academia
• Hire and support a high-performing product team; both with current roles and with expected future roles soon to emerge
• IC a product team in the early stages of your time with us, in order to show execution excellence and model performance to your reports
• Advocate for and provide best practices for product as a function, in both your area and across the company

Requirements

• 7-12 years of product experience, with a focus on B2C products
• Previous experience in one of recommendations/ranking/relevance work, the payments tech stack, or user identity / data management work
• Previous experience hiring and leveling-up PMs
• Strong IC product skills; you know how to “lead from the front” and teach best practices
• Demonstrated ability to make a significant business impact, autonomously
• Exceptional communication skills, both written and oral
• Customer-centric approach with a knack for data-driven validation
• Extensive experience with A/B testing and user research (both qualitative and quantitative)
• Experience working with cross-functional teams (ENG, UXR, Data, Design) and exec leaders
• Startup experience is essential; bonus for a history of successful product pivots
• Technical understanding and ability to engage in high-level technical discussions
• Proven expertise in launching and scaling systems that support millions of users

Nice to Haves

• Experience in Edtech or academia
• A stint in growth-stage tech companies during a ‘high-growth’ period