Principal Product Manager, Personalization

About the role

Upside is on a mission to create an advanced system for personalized user engagement, utilizing artificial intelligence and marketing technologies to provide customized messages and incentives. This position is centered around the development of a fundamental personalization engine that enhances user acquisition, boosts frequency, improves retention, and drives revenue. You will play a crucial role in translating a broad vision into a detailed product roadmap that guides our initiatives.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Develop and execute the strategy and roadmap for Upside's personalized growth engine, translating an ambitious vision into actionable phases.
• Create comprehensive requirements and specifications, prioritizing tasks across the growth technology stack, which includes data infrastructure, multi-channel outreach, app interfaces, creative personalization, and incentive systems.
• Establish key performance indicators and success metrics for the growth system, leveraging data to inform prioritization and validate the impact of initiatives.
• Spearhead efforts to enhance network adoption within the fuel, grocery, and restaurant sectors, pinpointing relevant users and delivering localized, personalized communications based on their proximity.
• Conduct rapid testing of messaging and incentives, analyzing results to identify repeatable user behaviors before scaling successful strategies.
• Foster a strong collaboration with Upside's internal consumer marketing team, grasping their requirements and translating them into precise product specifications.
• Lead cross-functional teams, including engineering, design, data, and marketing, to ensure alignment on a unified roadmap and priorities, even without direct authority.
• Monitor industry trends and competitor strategies to inform product development and maintain a competitive edge in personalization.
• Collaborate with data scientists to refine algorithms that enhance personalization and user engagement.
• Advocate for user-centric design principles, ensuring that product features resonate with user needs and preferences.
• Prepare and present product updates and strategic recommendations to senior leadership, ensuring transparency and alignment with company goals.

Requirements

• Over 10 years of experience in product management, with a proven track record of leading complex or platform-level projects.
• Demonstrated expertise in building scalable personalization platforms, CRM systems, or new products from the ground up, rather than just developing isolated features.
• Strong quantitative and analytical capabilities, with hands-on experience in utilizing data and experimentation to inform product decisions.
• Technical proficiency with the ability to distill complex information into clear, strategic narratives suitable for diverse audiences.
• Outstanding communication skills to foster cross-functional trust and effectively influence senior stakeholders.
• Solid business acumen, linking product decisions to retention, revenue, and overarching company strategy.
• Profound understanding of consumer behavior and the factors that drive user motivation.

Nice to have

• Experience in the travel or hospitality industry, particularly in personalization strategies.
• Familiarity with agile methodologies and experience working in fast-paced environments.
• Knowledge of machine learning principles and their application in personalization.
• Previous experience in a startup or high-growth company environment.

Skills & tools

• Product management methodologies
• Personalization technologies
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems
• Data analysis and interpretation
• Experimentation and A/B testing
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications
• Marketing technology platforms

Practical notes

• This position is hybrid, requiring in-office presence on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
• Benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage starting from day one, equity options (ISOs), a 401(k) plan, family planning support, paid parental leave, wellness memberships, mental health resources, unlimited paid time off, 10 paid federal holidays, an annual week-long Winter Break, a flexible work environment, lunch reimbursement for in-office staff, and a stipend for learning and development.
• Upside is committed to diversity and inclusion; candidates requiring accommodations for disabilities or special needs during the application process can reach out via accommodations@upside.com.
• Please note that this is an in-house search; recruiters and placement agencies should refrain from submitting resumes.