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Explore common roles and job titles for product managers at every career stage.
Product management roles are dynamic, complex, and essential to the success of a product or company. This article explores common job titles for early-, mid-, and late-career product management professionals. Whether you’re exploring entry-level positions or advancing into leadership roles, understanding the nuances behind job titles can guide you on your professional journey.
Read on to learn more about common product management jobs, or use the link below to skip to the section that most interests you.
What is product management?
Product management is an essential function in any product organization that balances the practical, ensuring that teams efficiently develop data-informed products with the strategic, ensuring that delivered products support business goals like revenue generation or customer retention. Product management encompasses the entire product life cycle, from initial market research through ideation, development, launch, growth, and retirement. However, product management takes on many responsibilities beyond those listed here. Therefore, product management responsibilities may fall to a single product manager or be shared between employees.
Common product management roles (with descriptions)
Product professionals can take on common early- and mid-career product management roles.
Product Manager (PM)
The Product Manager is a generalist who is responsible for the product strategy, roadmap, and feature definition for a product or product line. PMs often the product lifecycle, ensuring that products evolve smoothly from conception to launch. After launch, they guide the product through the product lifecycle through growth and ultimately to retirement. Product managers are also often responsible for communication and stakeholder management, ensuring that all teams and stakeholders have the information they need to help the product succeed.
Associate Product Manager (APM)
The Associate Product Manager is an entry-level role often given to individuals early in their product management careers. During their work, APMs learn the essentials of product strategy, roadmapping, and feature definition that established PMs have demonstrated proficiency in. APMs focus on learning the basics of product management and supporting established PMs in their key roles.
Technical Product Manager (TPM)
The Technical Product Manager specializes in managing technically complex products. TPMs have the same critical responsibilities as regular product managers but may need to apply their technical knowledge more frequently, such as by developing technical specifications for products. TPMs often work closely with engineering teams and may have an engineering background which helps them facilitate collaboration between engineering and product teams.
Senior Product Manager (Sr. PM)
Product Managers may advance into a Senior Product Manager Role. Sr. PMs are experienced product managers who can oversee complex projects with more technical requirements, larger or more diverse teams, or more sensitive stakeholder management responsibilities.
Product Owner
Product Owners are similar to Product Managers in that both are responsible for helping build, launch, and grow successful products. However, Product Owners are often found in Agile environments and have a more focused, internal scope of work than Product Managers. While PMs look to market data to guide product decisions, product owners often manage product backlogs, define user stories, and ensure the development team delivers value in each sprint.
Advanced product management roles (with descriptions)
Beyond the early and mid-career job titles that professionals can take on, there are many advanced roles in product management.
Lead Product Manager
The Lead PM typically oversees multiple product managers, product lines, or specific large projects. They often have extensive experience in product management. To become a Lead PM, product managers much prove they can balance product strategy, tactical execution, and coordination.
Principal Product Manager
The Principal Product Manager is a senior-level role with deep expertise in product management. They often lead strategic initiatives and mentor other product managers.
Group Product Manager (GPM)
Group Product Managers typically manage a group of product managers, hence the name. They are responsible for the success of the people they manage and the products they oversee. Those products might include multiple different products or similar products within the same portfolio.
Director of Product Management
The Director of Product Management is a strategic leadership role that oversees the product management team. The Director is responsible for setting the strategic direction for products and ensuring that the strategy aligns with business goals. Furthermore, they are accountable for the team’s success and ensure that all teams have the necessary resources to succeed.
VP of Product (Vice President) / Chief Product Officer (CPO)
While the VP of Product and CPO are distinct titles, the responsibilities are often similar. Companies sometimes only have a VP or a CPO, so one person will fulfill these responsibilities. The VP or CPO has an executive-level role and is responsible for a company’s entire product function, including individual products or product portfolios. Their work includes strategy, leadership, and cross-functional alignment that influence the daily work of product management. They ultimately set the vision for the product and guide innovation for the entire team.
A product management professional can take on many different roles or job titles in a single career. Regardless of where you started or where you are in your career, you can find a product managment role that’s right for you.
