Data Product Manager

Job Title: Data Product Manager

Employment Type: Full-Time

Engagement Type: Staff Augmentation

Work Setup: Hybrid

Location: DCYF Offices, 444 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, Minnesota 55155, United States

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, during regular business hours between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Central Time

Anticipated Start Date: September 2026

Anticipated End Date: August 2027, with the possibility of extension

Interview Process: Interviews will be conducted through Microsoft Teams

About The Methodical Group

The Methodical Group, or TMG, is a technology consulting and talent solutions firm that connects organizations with highly skilled professionals across technology, data, digital transformation, and business operations. TMG supports public and private sector organizations by providing strategic expertise, innovative solutions, and exceptional talent for complex initiatives involving data modernization, cloud transformation, analytics, enterprise applications, and operational improvement.

Position Overview

The Minnesota Department of Information Technology Services, or MNIT, is partnering with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, or DCYF, on a significant data modernization initiative. TMG is seeking an experienced Data Product Manager to lead the strategy, roadmap, and execution of scalable, high-value data products, including curated datasets, analytics platforms, and modern data infrastructure.

The Data Product Manager will collaborate with technical and business teams to develop trusted, governed, reusable, and accessible data assets. The role will also support the transition from legacy mainframe systems to modern data lakes and data curation platforms while managing data products throughout their full lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the vision, strategy, roadmap, prioritization, and full lifecycle management of enterprise data products, from discovery and design through development, deployment, monitoring, enhancement, and deprecation.
• Transform organizational data into scalable, governed, and reusable products, including curated datasets, analytics platforms, reporting solutions, and data infrastructure that improve decision-making and operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with data architecture, data engineering, data science, analytics, policy, and business teams to define requirements, develop sustainable solutions, and align technical delivery with organizational priorities.
• Drive data modernization efforts, including the transition from legacy mainframe systems to modern data lakes, data curation platforms, cloud-based environments, and enterprise data architectures.
• Translate complex business and stakeholder needs into product roadmaps, technical requirements, user stories, prioritized backlogs, success measures, and actionable initiatives.
• Promote strong data management practices involving data quality, metadata, governance, security, compliance, stewardship, documentation, and enterprise data-sharing agreements.
• Facilitate stakeholder engagement, product discovery, user research, feedback sessions, and continuous improvement while communicating product priorities, progress, risks, dependencies, and outcomes to technical teams and organizational leadership.

Qualifications

• Four to seven years of experience in data management, data analytics, data engineering, product management, or a related field, including experience as a Data Product Manager, Product Manager, Product Owner, or similar role supporting data-focused initiatives.
• Demonstrated product leadership skills, including the ability to establish direction, manage ambiguity, prioritize competing requirements, guide products through the full lifecycle, and deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Strong understanding of enterprise data systems and modern data architectures, including data pipelines, ETL processes, data lakes, data warehousing, data modeling, metadata management, governance, quality, security, compliance, and stewardship.
• Proven ability to collaborate with data architecture, data engineering, data science, analytics, policy, business operations, and leadership teams while translating complex technical concepts into clear, business-friendly language.
• Experience with SQL, Databricks, cloud-based data platforms, and analytics or business intelligence tools such as dbt, Looker, Tableau, Power BI, and Google Analytics, with familiarity in Java and Python.
• Experience building internal platforms, enterprise data products, or developer-facing solutions and implementing modern data architectures within large or complex organizations.
• Understanding of enterprise data-sharing constraints, governance requirements, and data-sharing agreements, particularly within highly regulated organizations.
• Experience performing statistical analysis and reporting and supporting compliance, governance, and reporting requirements. Public sector or other highly regulated industry experience is preferred.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, prioritization, decision-making, and stakeholder management skills, with familiarity in Agile methodologies, product management frameworks, backlog management, and iterative delivery.
• Must be located within the United States and available to work full-time during regular Central Time business hours in a hybrid work arrangement.