Product Manager

ABOUT THE ROLE

Aureon is seeking a strategic, technically fluent Product Manager to lead the development and lifecycle management of its Managed IT Services and Managed Security product portfolio. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role at the intersection of technology, market strategy, and customer experience, one that will help shape how Aureon competes and grows.

The ideal candidate brings a solid understanding of the managed services and technology landscape, including cloud productivity platforms, endpoint and infrastructure management, cybersecurity services, and data connectivity, combined with the product management discipline to turn market insight into well-defined, successfully launched products. You will own the product roadmap, manage strategic vendor relationships, and serve as the internal expert on how technology trends affect Aureon's portfolio and competitive position.

This role requires someone who is equally comfortable presenting a product vision to the executive team, negotiating with a technology vendor, and writing a detailed product requirements document. You thrive in a fast-moving environment, think in systems, and care deeply about the customer experience behind every product decision.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Product Strategy & Roadmap Ownership

• Own and maintain a multi-horizon product roadmap covering Managed IT Services & Managed Security, balancing near-term deliverables with long-term strategic positioning.
• Develop and communicate a clear product vision and strategy that aligns with Aureon's business goals, market opportunities, and customer needs in Iowa and the Upper Midwest.
• Define product success metrics (KPIs) for each portfolio segment and track performance against them on a regular cadence.
• Lead quarterly roadmap reviews with leadership, sales, and operations to align priorities and surface emerging customer requirements.

Managed IT & Security Product Management

• Serve as the internal subject matter expert on Aureon's managed services portfolio, including endpoint and server management, device monitoring, patching, backup and disaster recovery, and Microsoft 365-integrated services.
• Lead the design and ongoing refinement of Aureon's managed services bundle architecture, including pricing models, service inclusions, and competitive positioning.
• Drive the product definition and go-to-market strategy for managed security services, including email security, identity protection, endpoint security, and advanced threat management offerings.
• Monitor the evolving cybersecurity landscape and provide strategic recommendations on product direction, platform partnerships, and service enhancements.
• Translate Microsoft's evolving licensing, compliance, and security mandates into actionable product enhancements that protect and deliver value for Aureon's customer base.

Microsoft 365 & Cloud Productivity Alignment

• Maintain a strong working knowledge of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, including its productivity, collaboration, identity, and security capabilities, and how businesses deploy and rely on it day to day.
• Ensure that Aureon's managed services offerings are designed as natural complements to a customer's cloud productivity investment, making it easier for businesses to get full value from the tools they already pay for.
• Partner with Aureon's Microsoft licensing team to align product offerings with Microsoft's partner program requirements and customer licensing strategies.
• Stay ahead of Microsoft roadmap changes that may affect Aureon's customers and proactively surface product or service implications to the team.

Cloud Infrastructure & Hybrid Environment Awareness

• Develop a working understanding of how businesses build and operate cloud and hybrid IT environments, including infrastructure-as-a-service, cloud storage, virtual servers, and cloud networking, across major platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud.
• Identify how Aureon’s managed IT and security services can extend into cloud-hosted and hybrid customer environments, ensuring Aureon’s portfolio remains relevant as customers accelerate their migration away from traditional on-premises infrastructure.
• Stay current on major cloud platform roadmaps and emerging cloud-native services to anticipate how customer infrastructure decisions will shape demand for Aureon’s managed offerings.

AI, Automation & Product Innovation

• Bring a genuine curiosity and aptitude for applying AI tools and automation to enhance Aureon’s products, internal workflows, and customer experiences, from intelligent alerting and automated remediation to AI-assisted reporting and customer self-service.
• Identify opportunities where AI can reduce friction in the managed services delivery model, including predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, automated ticket resolution, and intelligent service recommendations for customers.
• Evaluate how AI capabilities embedded in platforms Aureon already uses, including Microsoft Copilot and AI features across the managed services stack, can be surfaced as customer-facing value rather than background functionality.
• Champion a culture of continuous innovation, staying ahead of how AI is reshaping the managed services industry and translating that awareness into concrete product decisions and roadmap priorities.

Vendor & Partner Management

• Own Aureon's strategic technology vendor relationships across the managed services and the security stack, including Microsoft and emerging security, cloud, and infrastructure platforms.
• Lead vendor evaluations, RFP processes, and platform selection decisions; develop detailed comparison frameworks across technical capability, pricing, MSP program quality, support, and strategic fit.
• Manage contract negotiations, performance reviews, and escalations with technology partners to ensure Aureon receives maximum value and competitive pricing.
• Maintain awareness of the broader managed services and security vendor landscape to ensure Aureon's platform decisions remain current and competitive.

Product Lifecycle & Go-to-Market

• Lead products through the full lifecycle — from concept and requirements definition through development/onboarding, market launch, and ongoing optimization.
• Develop launch plans in partnership with marketing, sales, and operations — including pricing, packaging, sales enablement materials, and customer-facing collateral.
• Define acceptance criteria and participate in product and integration testing to ensure launched services meet defined quality and performance standards.
• Gather and synthesize customer, sales, and market feedback to continuously improve existing products and inform new product development.

Stakeholder Communication & Collaboration

• Serve as the primary bridge between product strategy and execution — communicating roadmap status, product decisions, and market context to executive leadership, sales, operations, and engineering teams.
• Facilitate cross-functional product reviews, sprint demos, and backlog grooming sessions to maintain alignment and momentum.
• Work closely with the sales team to develop competitive displacement messaging, battlecards, and proposal support for managed services and security opportunities.
• Partner with marketing to develop vertical-specific campaigns (healthcare, finance, manufacturing) that leverage Aureon's product portfolio as a competitive differentiator.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 5+ years of product management experience in a managed services provider (MSP), telecommunications company, or technology solutions organization.
• Demonstrated experience owning a product roadmap in a managed IT or managed security environment, not just backlog management, but strategic roadmap ownership with clear business outcomes.
• Hands-on working knowledge of Microsoft 365, including its productivity, security, and identity capabilities, and familiarity with how businesses license and deploy it.
• Working knowledge of managed IT service delivery concepts — including device monitoring and management, patch management, backup and disaster recovery, and endpoint security.
• Demonstrated understanding of cybersecurity as it applies to small and mid-size businesses — including the threat landscape, common security service categories, and how managed security is positioned and sold.
• Experience managing vendor relationships including contract negotiation, performance management, and platform evaluation/selection.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to frame market opportunity, build business cases, and define pricing strategies.
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure concepts and major cloud platforms (Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud) including an understanding of how businesses are migrating workloads and what that means for managed service delivery.
• A demonstrated aptitude for leveraging AI tools to solve complex problems, improve workflows, and enhance product or customer experiences — comfort with AI is not optional; it is an expectation of how this role will operate and innovate.

CORE COMPETENCIES & SKILLS

Technical & Domain Knowledge

Product & Business Skills

Microsoft 365 ecosystem (productivity, security, identity, licensing)

Strategic product roadmap development and management

Managed IT services: device management, patching, backup and recovery

Backlog ownership, prioritization, and sprint facilitation

Cybersecurity services: endpoint protection, email security, identity management

Market analysis, competitive positioning, and TAM sizing

Cloud and data center technologies: IaaS, hybrid infrastructure, virtualization

Vendor evaluation, RFP management, and contract negotiation

Cloud platforms: Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, hybrid infrastructure

Go-to-market planning and sales enablement

AI tools, automation, and technology innovation aptitude

Problem-solving and analytical thinking

WHY AUREON

• Aureon is Iowa's most integrated technology partner — combining owned fiber infrastructure, managed IT services, managed security, contact center, and consulting under one roof. No competitor in the region can match this combination.
• You will own a meaningful, high-visibility product portfolio — not manage a feature list. This role has real influence on company strategy and market positioning.
• The managed IT and managed security markets are growing rapidly, and Aureon is investing in product, sales, and technology infrastructure to capture that growth. This is an opportunity to build something — not maintain something.
• Des Moines is consistently ranked among the best places to live and work in the Midwest — with a low cost of living, strong business community, and genuine quality of life.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Primarily office-based at Aureon's corporate headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, with flexibility for hybrid work arrangements.
• Occasional travel required for vendor partner meetings, industry conferences, and customer engagements.
• Standard office environment with regular use of computer, video conferencing, and collaboration tools.

Qualifications Behaviors Preferred Team Player: Works well as a member of a group Functional Expert: Considered a thought leader on a subject Detail Oriented: Capable of carrying out a given task with all details necessary to get the task done well Innovative: Consistently introduces new ideas and demonstrates original thinking Education Preferred Bachelors or better. Bachelors or better. Bachelors or better. Equal Opportunity Employer
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