Product Development Manager

Primary Job Summary:

The Times Publishing Company is seeking a Product Development Manager to lead our engineering team in building and scaling our digital ecosystem. This role requires an experienced candidate with deep expertise in news/media/publishing technology. This strategic technical leader will oversee the development and maintenance of web platforms, mobile applications, content management systems, subscription systems, and reader-facing products.

This role will partner closely with business stakeholders, product leaders, and the engineering team. The role leads technical architecture, team management, project delivery, and vendor relationships while ensuring code quality, system performance, and team development. This position is critical to our digital transformation as we modernize platforms with AI-powered personalization, mobile apps, and data-driven audience engagement tools.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Design and maintain scalable, secure architecture for Times Publishing Company's digital products supporting 500K monthly active users
• Lead architectural decisions for web platforms, mobile apps, APIs, and system integrations.
• Oversee Times Publishing Company' core technology stack: ArcXP (CMS), Sophi (paywall), Naviga/Piano/FlipPay (subscriptions), Auth0 (authentication), Zephr (access control), Marfeel/GA4 (analytics), and AWS infrastructure.
• Establish and enforce coding standards, design patterns, and development methodologies.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and security best practices.
• Evaluate and recommend new technologies that align with business goals.
Conduct architecture and design reviews for major initiatives (mobile app redesign, CMS migrations, and new product implementations).

Project Delivery & Execution

• Lead Agile/Scrum practices: sprint planning, daily standups, retrospectives, sprint reviews
• Partner with the Product Owner on backlog refinement and prioritization.
• Own technical delivery of major initiatives, including:
• Mobile app redesign using AI technologies in backend
• Core website design, digital subscription product implementation, and email campaign management
• Create detailed project plans with timelines, milestones, and dependencies.
• Manage risks, track progress, and provide weekly status updates to leadership.
• Lead 8 to 10 developers and QA engineers (offshore and onshore), manage vendor partnerships, and execute production releases with deployment coordination and rollback capabilities.

Stakeholder Communication & Vendor Management

• Translate business requirements into technical solutions for non-technical stakeholders.
• Collaborate with newsroom, advertising, circulation, and audience teams.
• Manage vendor relationships with ArcXP, Sophi, Naviga, Auth0, and Zephr.
• Present technical demos and architecture reviews to leadership.
• Coordinate support tickets, SLA negotiations, and vendor evaluations.
• Document decisions and maintain project artifacts in Jira/Confluence.

Educational Qualifications

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or related field, or equivalent professional experience. MBA is a plus.

Industry Experience

At least 5 years in news/media/publishing technology with a deep understanding of:

• Content Management Systems (preferably ArcXP, Arc Publishing, Brightspot, or WordPress VIP)
• Google Analytics (GA4) and audience analytics platforms
• Subscription and paywall systems (Sophi, Piano, Naviga, or similar)
• Digital advertising platforms and programmatic ad tech
• Editorial workflows and newsroom operations
• Audience analytics and engagement metrics

Leadership Experience

Minimum of 5 years in a technical leadership role managing development teams of 8 to 10 people, including offshore teams.

Technical Experience

8 years hands-on software development experience with strong proficiency in:

• Modern web development (React, Node.js, TypeScript, HTML5, CSS3)
• Mobile development (iOS/Swift, Android/Kotlin, or React Native)
• Cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• RESTful APIs and microservices architecture
• Databases (SQL and NoSQL: PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, Redis)
• CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices

Additional Requirements

Proven track record of managing multiple concurrent projects with on-time, on-budget delivery. Excellent communication skills with ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Experience with vendor management and external partnerships.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at medium to large news organizations (e.g., newspapers, broadcast TV, broadcast radio, streaming etc.)
• CSPO Certified, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, or similar cloud certification
• Knowledge of AI/ML personalization engines and recommendation systems
• Mobile app development and App Store/Play Store submission experience
• Familiarity with video streaming and CDN technologies
Experience with Auth0, Auth 2.0, and modern authentication systems

Working Conditions

Hybrid position; Remote considered if located in the Eastern Time Zone (EST) - occasional evening/weekend work required during critical releases. Early morning or late evening meetings are needed to coordinate with the offshore team. On-call rotation for production issues. Occasional local travel to Tampa to meet stakeholders as required. Must be able to sit and work at a computer for extended periods. Standard office mobility required. May need to travel to Tampa for leadership meetings.

INDTBT

Benefits for Full-Time Employees

• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 100% employer-paid short-term and long-term disability
• 100% employer-paid basic life insurance
• Tax-Deferred Savings Plan for retirement.
• Generous PTO program
• Flexible work arrangements