What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Product Manager – Core People Platforms (Infra) position at The D. E. Shaw Group?
OVERVIEW:
The D. E. Shaw group seeks a senior product manager to lead its Core People Platforms—a critical infrastructure vertical responsible for the systems that power the employee lifecycle globally, from onboarding and employee relations to benefits, compensation, and mobility operations.
This newly established mandate reflects the growing scale, complexity, and strategic importance of these platforms to the firm. The role sits within the Human Capital (HC) Products team, which manages HC’s systems infrastructure—combining in‑house and third‑party platforms—and is responsible for designing new products from the ground up while exploring thoughtful applications of AI. This dynamic position offers the opportunity to flex creative skills by leading the development of innovative, data‑oriented products in a collaborative environment, while partnering closely with leaders across the firm.
WHAT YOU'LL DO DAY-TO-DAY:
The D. E. Shaw group seeks a senior product manager to lead its Core People Platforms—a critical infrastructure vertical responsible for the systems that power the employee lifecycle globally, from onboarding and employee relations to benefits, compensation, and mobility operations.
This newly established mandate reflects the growing scale, complexity, and strategic importance of these platforms to the firm. The role sits within the Human Capital (HC) Products team, which manages HC’s systems infrastructure—combining in‑house and third‑party platforms—and is responsible for designing new products from the ground up while exploring thoughtful applications of AI. This dynamic position offers the opportunity to flex creative skills by leading the development of innovative, data‑oriented products in a collaborative environment, while partnering closely with leaders across the firm.
WHAT YOU'LL DO DAY-TO-DAY:
- Support the product strategy and roadmap for core people infrastructure, with scope expected to evolve over time.
- Partner directly with senior business leaders to translate complex, high-stakes operational needs into clear product direction and prioritized investment.
- Lead discovery and delivery across a multi-year roadmap, balancing near-term operational reliability with longer-term platform modernization.
- Work closely with an international engineering team to build internal systems, integrate third-party platforms, and explore where AI can add real leverage.
- Establish structure for ambiguous, cross-functional initiatives—defining scope, success metrics, dependencies, and delivery approach.
- Oversee end-to-end execution: requirements, design, development, testing, rollout, and ongoing iteration.
- Play a key role in shaping how this new vertical operates, with the opportunity to take on broader leadership over time.
- A bachelor’s degree or higher and at least ten years of relevant experience, with evidence of progressive responsibility.
- Product management experience and an interest in internal-facing software; experience with human capital systems or operations is a plus.
- The ability to take initiative, dive into details, and manage projects to completion.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, an aptitude for translating the needs of non-technical users into technical requirements, and the judgment to exercise extreme discretion with confidential information.
- A knack for solving open-ended problems and seeing how small details interrelate to impact the bigger picture (i.e., systems thinking).
- The expected annual base salary for this position is $250,000 to $300,000. Our compensation and benefits package includes variable compensation in the form of a year-end bonus, guaranteed in the first year of hire, and benefits including medical and prescription drug coverage, 401(k) contribution matching, wellness reimbursement, family building benefits, and a charitable gift match program.
Salary : $250,000 - $300,000