Director of Product Development Operations

About the Role

This leadership role involves overseeing the operational functions supporting the Product, Engineering, and Design teams. The Director will build and expand teams, systems, and processes that empower these groups to plan, develop, and deliver impactful, user-centered solutions efficiently and consistently.

The position requires setting strategic direction across product and engineering operations including managing release processes, tooling, workflow standards, product analytics enablement, and research operations. The Director also directly manages a dedicated product operations team, including Senior Product Operations and UX Design personnel. The role balances long-term strategic planning with hands-on operational problem solving, leading through direct management and collaborative influence.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and lead a high-performing Product Development Operations team with focus on hiring, coaching, performance management, and career advancement.
• Manage and develop the UX Design team ensuring strong support and growth in design expertise.
• Set priorities and allocate resources to maximize team impact across Product and Engineering.
• Serve as a mentor and operational escalation resource for product lines and partner closely with leadership across divisions.
• Establish and own operational frameworks for Product and Engineering, managing planning, prioritization, and execution processes.
• Define and monitor KPIs and leadership-level reports tracking team performance, velocity, predictability, and outcomes.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration aligning Product, Design, Engineering, Data, Marketing, and customer-facing teams.
• Lead end-to-end release management ensuring dependable and quality delivery, including coordinating dependencies, timelines, risk management, calendar maintenance, communications, and post-release reviews.
• Develop expertise and oversee enterprise tool administration including Jira, Airfocus, Pendo, ensuring efficient workflows, accurate reporting, and adherence to standards supporting agile methodologies.
• Manage ticket hygiene, workflow configuration, automation, and compliance with governance standards.
• Lead Pendo administration and tagging to maintain reliable product usage data for reporting and user insights.
• Collaborate with Data and Product leadership to design and promote adoption of product analytics frameworks facilitating data-driven decision making.
• Oversee design operations, including workflow management, critique processes, design system governance, and tooling.
• Maintain high standards of design quality, ensure adequate scope and resource allocation, and integrate design within development roadmaps.
• Support UX research efforts by managing research operations including tooling, recruitment, and repository maintenance to ensure accessible and actionable insights.
• Drive quarterly and annual planning and OKR alignment for Product Development, maintaining backlog hygiene, sprint planning, and roadmap transparency.
• Continuously refine and scale best practices in product and engineering operations and lead implementation of new tools for portfolio and reporting needs.

Candidate Profile

• Minimum 8 years in product operations, engineering operations, program management, or related technology roles, with at least 2 years managing teams.
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and improving operational practices at scale.
• Comprehensive understanding of product development lifecycle, agile principles, and release management processes.
• Hands-on experience administering tools such as Jira, Confluence, Airfocus, and Pendo.
• Strong knowledge of user research, product analytics, and change management.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills, capable of leading both directly and through influence.
• Data-oriented approach with ability to develop actionable insights from metrics.
• Experience in SaaS, consumer technology, or enterprise software industries is preferred.

Environmental Requirements and Working Conditions

• This is a remote position based in the United States.
• Requires passing a background check including criminal, employment, and education verification.

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary range: $150,000 to $175,000 annually, dependent on qualifications and location.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance including unlimited virtual mental health and acute medical visits for employees and eligible dependents.
• Wellness benefits including Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and wellness platform subscriptions.
• Flexible time off policy encompassing volunteer and mental health days, plus 14 company-wide paid holidays.
• Paid parental leave inclusive of adoptive parents.
• Employee resource groups such as Military Veterans for connection and engagement.
• Tax-advantaged spending accounts including HSAs, FSAs, and commuter benefits.
• 401(k) plan with employer matching and immediate vesting, plus financial wellness resources.
• Company-paid life and AD&D insurance with options for additional coverage.
• Disability and accident insurance options, plus pet insurance.
• Work from home equipment provided including computer, mouse, keyboard, and other approved items.

Company Mission

Unite Us strives to unlock the potential of every community by connecting community organizations, government agencies, and healthcare providers to improve whole-person health through a collaborative software network. Founded in 2013 to remove barriers in health and social services, Unite Us fosters connections enabling better care coordination for veterans, families, and all people in need nationwide.

Diversity and Inclusion

The company is committed to building a diverse, inclusive workplace welcoming differences in race, religion, color, national origin, gender, family status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, veteran status, disability, pregnancy, and medical conditions. Accommodations for applicants with disabilities are available upon request.