Lead Product Manager
Description
IGN Entertainment, a division of Ziff Davis, Inc., is one of the world’s largest gaming and entertainment media platforms and the go-to destination for fans to explore and celebrate games, film, TV, comics and much more. Across its 16 digital properties, IGN Entertainment reaches more than 490 million monthly users in 110 countries and engages with 85 million fans on social media. Its portfolio includes favorites such as IGN, Eurogamer, Digital Foundry, Rock Paper Shotgun, and MapGenie, delivering daily content across 46 platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and connected TV. Through its online digital store Humble Bundle, IGN Entertainment has donated over $250 million to more than 38,000 charities worldwide, underscoring its commitment to making a positive impact. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IGN Entertainment's content is localized in 20 languages. Learn more at corp.ign.com.
The Opportunity
As a Lead Product Manager at IGNE, you'll play a pivotal role in ensuring our products are not only usable and feasible but also valuable and viable. You'll collaborate closely with designers and engineers to shape the direction of our offerings. This individual contributor position offers the unique opportunity to contribute to our annual product strategy and quarterly objectives. Your ability to leverage data, sound logic, and a passionate drive will be instrumental in driving the success of our products.
We expect our Product Managers to bring a profound understanding of our users and customers, underpinned by data-driven insights into customer engagement. Keeping a close eye on industry trends and the competitive landscape is also a core responsibility, ensuring that our products remain innovative. Additionally, you'll need to become well-versed in navigating the intricacies of our business, considering factors such as editorial, sales, service, finance, legal, privacy, and social media.
Joining IGNE’s Product Team means tackling a substantial and diverse set of responsibilities. We frequently receive requests from collaborators in various departments of the company. Our cross-functional team is tasked with striking a balance between long-term, sustainable enhancements for our portfolio of sites and apps and shorter-term revenue growth opportunities on a quarterly basis. To excel in this role, you'll need to be a dynamic relationship builder and able to prioritize, ensuring that we stay focused on what truly matters for the business, all under the supportive guidance of our Director of Product.
Key Responsibilities
- Product Strategy - Develop and communicate a clear product strategy and vision for IGNE's digital platforms and products, aligning it with the company's goals and objectives.
- Product Leadership - Lead multiple product teams and drive product strategy for a larger portfolio of products.
- Team Leadership - Lead and mentor a team of product managers, providing guidance and support to help them achieve their goals and deliver high-quality products.
- Product Roadmap - Define and maintain the product roadmap for multiple products, ensuring it aligns with business priorities, user needs, and market trends. Make data-driven decisions and prioritize features accordingly.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration - Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including engineering, design, editorial, and marketing, to ensure successful product development and delivery.
- User Research - Conduct and analyze user research to gain a deep understanding of user needs, preferences, and struggles. Use this data to inform product decisions and improvements.
- User Experience (UX) - Work with UX/UI designers to create user-friendly and visually appealing products. Ensure a seamless and engaging user experience across IGNE's digital platforms.
- Data Analysis - Use data analytics and key performance indicators to monitor product performance, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to optimize the product.
- Product Development - Oversee the end-to-end product development process, from ideation to release. Coordinate with development teams to deliver high-quality products on schedule.
- Project Management - Identify and prioritize product improvements, features, and needs using feedback from customers, research on the market, and business impact. Collaborate with product managers to ensure that product feature prioritization aligns with the overall product strategy and roadmap.
- Product Launch - Plan and implement successful product launches, including marketing strategies and user communication. Monitor product performance post-launch and iterate based on user feedback.
- Stakeholder Communication - Keep stakeholders informed about the status of ongoing projects, achievements, and potential roadblocks. Maintain transparency and ensure alignment with business goals.
- Market and Competitive Analysis - Stay informed about industry trends, emerging technologies, and the competitive landscape to find opportunities and threats in the market.
- User Feedback and Support - Engage with user feedback, reviews, and support channels to address user concerns, gather insights, and drive product improvements.
Job Qualifications
- Solid understanding of digital media platforms, technologies, and industry trends.
- Proven track record of building intuitive content management systems that meet both internal and external customer needs
- Experience in building subscription based products with a track record of driving growth
- Led product development on complex features from 1st to Nth interaction
- A history of deep, and demonstrated understanding of the techniques and methods of modern product discovery and product delivery.
- 5-7 years working on technology-powered products as either a product manager, product designer, engineer, data analyst, data scientist, or user researcher.
- Demonstrated ability to figure out solutions to hard problems with many constraints, using sound judgment to assess risks, and to lay out your argument in a well-structured, data-informed, written narrative.
- Proven ability to engage with engineers, designers, and company leaders in a constructive and collaborative relationship.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
Bonus Points
- Deep understanding of gaming trends.
- Strong background in app development and design.
Work Environment:
- Work Schedule: 40 hours per week, M-F.
- Travel Requirements: No travel is required for this role.
- Physical Requirements: This role involves standard office-based activities, including extended periods of sitting, standing, and working at a computer.
- Work Model: For applicants who reside in or around New York or Los Angeles, there will be a requirement to go into our offices, 2 to 3 days per week. For others located in different areas around the US, this position will be remote.
Our Culture and Values
At IGN, we believe diversity stimulates creativity, promotes the exchange of new ideas, and enriches our personal and professional lives. We are committed to championing diversity in all that we do, weaving fairness and equity into the fabric of our organization, and achieving a safe, welcoming, inclusive, and antiracist culture where everyone belongs and everyone can thrive.
Here’s the good stuff about us…
- You’ll make an impact. We reach 490MM monthly unique users. We’re big time, but we’re not afraid to give you real opportunities to be epic and make a difference immediately.
- We’ve got a big presence, but a small team.
- We have fun. It’s all about games and games are fun. Anyone can offer a casual work environment, flexible hours, and benefits. We can offer that and a place where you can squad up with your coworkers in the arcade/game room.
- We’re passionate about what we do. IGN employees understand our users, because they are our users. We have a personal interest in providing the best possible product.
Why Join Us:
- Join a forward-thinking, distributed team in one of the most exciting sectors—gaming and entertainment.
- Work with innovative programmatic technologies and tools.
- Enjoy a collaborative and dynamic environment.
IGN Entertainment offers competitive salaries in addition to robust health and wellness focused benefits including medical, dental, vision, life and disability benefits; Flexible Spending accounts, 401(k) with company match, an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, Pregnancy and Parental leave, Family Planning Support via Maven, Flexible Time Off, Volunteer Time Off, Fitness Reimbursement as well as employee-focused engagement and education programs, including Employee Resource Groups and company-sponsored events. If you’re seeking a dynamic work environment where you can see the direct impact of your performance, then IGN is the place for you.
Ziff Davis is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
Salary Disclosure: Ziff Davis provides a range for the base pay. Factors that may be used to determine your actual pay may include your specific job related knowledge, skills, experience, and geographic location. The base pay for this position ranges from $120k-140k, plus incentive compensation (for eligible roles only), 401K with company match, medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, short and long-term disability, and a flexible time off policy.