Product Manager

Job Description

At Agile Defense, we know that action defines the outcome, and new challenges require new solutions. That’s why we embrace change with an unmovable spirit and the courage to build for what comes next.
We are seeking a Product Manager to support the CDAO CES Program, a high-impact initiative advancing AI-enabled decision support, data integration, and mission capabilities across the Department of War. This role is responsible for defining product strategy, guiding investment decisions, and maintaining roadmaps that align customer priorities with mission outcomes across supported Combatant Commands (CCMDs).
 
As the Product Manager, you will operate at the intersection of mission, technology, and delivery. Working closely with customer leadership, Product Owners, the UX Lead, Solution Architect, Release Train Engineer, and CCMD Technical Leads, you will ensure mission priorities are translated into a clear, actionable product roadmap. Success in this role requires balancing mission value, technical feasibility, delivery capacity, and operational priorities while enabling cross-functional teams to deliver meaningful outcomes.
 
This role is ideal for someone who thrives in complex environments, enjoys building strong customer relationships, and can guide product strategy across multiple teams and mission areas. While the UX organization leads research and discovery activities, the Product Manager enables those efforts and incorporates their findings into product planning, investment decisions, and long-term roadmap development.

Education and Background

The ideal candidate brings experience leading product strategy, roadmap development, and delivery for complex digital products or enterprise technology initiatives, preferably within federal, defense, intelligence, or other mission-driven organizations. They have successfully balanced customer priorities, technical constraints, and delivery capacity while guiding cross-functional teams toward measurable mission outcomes. This individual is comfortable operating in environments where requirements evolve, stakeholders have competing priorities, and strategic decisions must be made with incomplete information.
Unlike traditional commercial product roles, this position emphasizes mission outcomes, customer partnership, and long-term capability planning over revenue generation or market growth. Successful candidates have experience working within Agile or SAFe delivery environments, partnering closely with UX, engineering, and technical leadership to translate customer objectives into actionable product roadmaps and delivered capabilities. They are equally comfortable facilitating executive-level discussions, making product investment decisions, and guiding teams from strategic planning through successful delivery.

Required Skills

Responsibilities:

Product Strategy and Mission Alignment
• Define and maintain the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for assigned mission areas and supported CCMDs.
• Ensure product investments align with customer priorities, mission objectives, and program strategy.
• Balance mission value, UX research findings, technical feasibility, operational risk, and delivery capacity when making product investment decisions.
• Establish product goals and success measures focused on mission outcomes, operational effectiveness, and customer value.
• Continuously evaluate emerging mission needs, technologies, and organizational priorities that may influence product direction.
Customer Engagement and Product Leadership
• Build trusted relationships with customer leadership and mission stakeholders across assigned CCMDs.
• Own and communicate the product roadmap, ensuring priorities reflect customer objectives and operational needs.
• Partner with the UX Lead and design team to enable research, discovery, and strategic planning activities that inform roadmap decisions.
• Facilitate product planning discussions that align customer priorities, technical capabilities, and delivery capacity.
• Serve as the primary advocate for mission value throughout the product lifecycle.
  Product Planning and Prioritization
• Own product-level prioritization across Use Cases, Epics, and Features.
• Collaborate with Product Owners to translate roadmap priorities into executable backlogs.
• Support Program Increment (PI) Planning by establishing priorities, sequencing work, and defining success criteria.
• Evaluate trade-offs and make prioritization decisions that maximize mission impact while maintaining delivery predictability.
• Ensure roadmap decisions remain aligned with evolving customer needs and program objectives.
Cross-Functional Leadership
• Partner closely with the UX Lead, Solution Architect, Release Train Engineer, CCMD Technical Leads, and Product Owners to align product, design, technical, and delivery strategies.
• Ensure customer priorities, user insights, technical constraints, and operational realities are reflected in planning decisions.
• Resolve competing priorities across stakeholders while maintaining alignment to mission outcomes.
• Promote transparency, collaboration, and shared ownership throughout the product lifecycle.
• Support continuous improvement of product management practices across the program.
Product Performance and Continuous Improvement
•  Monitor product performance using customer feedback, operational metrics, adoption trends, and delivery outcomes.
• Evaluate delivered capabilities against intended mission objectives and customer expectations.
• Identify opportunities to improve product strategy, delivery effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.
• Communicate roadmap updates, product performance, and strategic recommendations to program leadership and customers.
• Foster an evidence-based approach to product planning and continuous improvement.

Preferred Skills

Preferred Skills and Qualifications
• Demonstrated experience managing product strategy and roadmaps within Agile or SAFe environments.
• Strong understanding of product management principles, backlog management, and roadmap planning.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams that include UX, engineering, data, and technical leadership.
• Ability to balance customer priorities, technical constraints, and delivery capacity when making strategic product decisions.
• Strong facilitation, communication, and stakeholder management skills with executive and customer leadership.
• Experience supporting federal or Department of Defense programs preferred.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled products, data platforms, analytics, or mission systems is highly desirable.
• Experience supporting Program Increment (PI) Planning and Agile Release Train (ART) execution.

Working Conditions

• Normal working conditions

• Happy - Be Infectious. Happiness multiplies and creates a positive and connected environment where motivation and satisfaction have an outsized effect on everything we do.
• Helpful - Be Supportive. Being helpful is the foundation of teamwork, resulting in a supportive atmosphere where collaboration flourishes, and collective success is celebrated.
• Honest - Be Trustworthy. Honesty serves as our compass, ensuring transparent communication and ethical conduct, essential to who we are and the complex domains we support.
• Humble - Be Grounded. Success is not achieved alone, humility ensures a culture of mutual respect, encouraging open communication, and a willingness to learn from one another and take on any task.
• Hungry - Be Eager. Our hunger for excellence drives an insatiable appetite for innovation and continuous improvement, propelling us forward in the face of new and unprecedented challenges.
• Hustle - Be Driven. Hustle is reflected in our relentless work ethic, where we are each committed to going above and beyond to advance the mission and achieve success.