Technical Product Manager

Overview

Draper is an independent, nonprofit research and development company headquartered in Cambridge, MA. The 2,000+ employees of Draper tackle important national challenges with a promise of delivering successful and usable solutions. From military defense and space exploration to biomedical engineering, lives often depend on the solutions we provide. Our multidisciplinary teams of engineers and scientists work in a collaborative environment that inspires the cross-fertilization of ideas necessary for true innovation. For more information about Draper, visit www.draper.com.

 

Our work is very important to us, but so is our life outside of work. Draper supports many programs to improve work-life balance including workplace flexibility, employee clubs ranging from photography to yoga, health and finance workshops, off site social events and discounts to local museums and cultural activities. If this specific job opportunity and the chance to work at a nationally renowned R&D innovation company appeals to you, apply now www.draper.com/careers.

 

 

Equal Employment Opportunity

Draper is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer.   We understand the value of diversity and its impact on a high-performance culture.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information.   

 

Draper is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request reasonable accommodation, please contact hr@draper.com.

Responsibilities

Draper is building web applications to tackle some of our nation's hardest problems. We're motivated to deliver apps that at the end of the day get deployed to save and protect lives, serve the national interest, and solve problems that allow others to sleep well at night.

 

We are seeking a product manger who understands software, communicates clearly, and effectively leads teams to high levels of execution. This work isn't for everyone as it can be demanding and requires commitment to learning and challenging yourself every day. In our group, we find joy in delivering excellence and through technical discovery. Our days are devoted to really understanding complex problems and then delivering the most simple and elegant solution.

 

About the work

In this role, you will:

• tackle unique, complex problems tied to specific customer needs based on mission success criteria that change from project to project

• learn and comprehend the architecture of a deployed, operational full stack web application in order to provide oversight and management of continued application development

• prep and lead team leadership in short-term and long-term planning
• provide high-level technical direction and make final decisions on path forward for the product

• facilitate collaboration between internal multi-disciplinary teams

• run weekly planning meetings 

• provide on-site support for customer events

• build relationships with government program offices and their product staff

• devise iterative roadmaps for program increments within the Agile SAFE framework

• attend and represent the project at program meetings (weekly, quarterly)

• lead multiple direct reports

This position requires:

• a current US security clearance, or the ability to obtain one
• frequent on-site customer interactions and meetings
• travel for customer meetings, conferences, and test events 

Qualifications

You have...

• 5+ years experience as an individual contributor on a full-stack web application
• 2+ years experience responsibility for directing a software team
• familiarity with an issue-tracking system (e.g., Jira, Gitlab)
• a preference for thinking big-picture versus getting into the weeds
• the ability to balance and sort through competing product needs
• a desire to punch a hole through ambiguity and forge a path to success
• experience developing project briefs and presenting them to large audiences (50+)
• Secret clearance (minimum), with a preference for holding TS, or are willing to obtain clearance

It would be great if you have...

• Knowledge of container technology (e.g. Docker) and container orchestration (e.g. Kubernetes)

• Familiarity with developing on cloud services (e.g. AWS, GCP, Azure) and deploying to them