Head of Product for Buyer Platform

Rubicon Project is a leading technology company automating the buying and selling of advertising. Relentless in its efforts for innovation, Rubicon Project has engineered one of the largest real-time cloud and Big Data computing systems, processing trillions of transactions within milliseconds each month.

The Vice President, Product Management will be responsible for overall product management and product development for our Buyer Platform. The Vice President, Product Management is an integral part of the company, working closely with the Sales, Marketing and Technology teams to deliver on product goals. The successful candidate will uncover key insights and develop product strategies to enhance the value of the Buyer Platform, while maximizing the value for all Buyers – Marketers, Agencies and Trading Desks. Experience, determination and enthusiasm for taking a market-leading platform and making it even better is a must.

The candidate will define a product vision that is innovative, ambitious and compelling, and be a passionate evangelizer of such vision. Be recognized as a thought leader, with a full grasp of industry trends and advertising operations. The candidate will have a deep understanding of the Agency Holding Company business structure and their client service models from the trading desk through the operating agency all the way to the marketer. This position will direct and manage the Buyer product organization, whose responsibilities will include formulating product vision & strategy, defining future product needs and enhancements, work very closely with Product Marketing and drive growth of the Buyer customer base. * Define the Buyer Platform “North Star” - develop and execute the platform roadmap, including strategies and product enhancements to increase value to core clients. * Manage the product life cycle from strategic planning such as product vision to tactical activities, such as requirements gathering, use cases, development, release, go to market and feedback loop. * Define and prioritize enhancements to existing applications. * Develop the core positioning and messaging for the platform. * Develop and implement a company-wide go-to-market plan, working with all departments to execute. * Specify market requirements for current and future products by conducting market research supported by on-going visits to customers and prospects. * Drive a solution set across development teams (primarily Development/Engineering, and Product Marketing) through market requirements, product development, release and positioning. * Take new products directly to market in partnership with Sales, Product Marketing and Sales Engineering. * Client facing - join and occasionally lead strategic customer and prospect meetings to communicate the Buyer vision and roadmap while solving for specific client use cases. * Have the ability to perform platform demos to customers as well, if not better, than your team. * Brief and train Sales, Sales Engineering, Marketing and the entire company, at regular meetings. * Be a strong partner with Engineering on an agile development methodology. * Set feature/application pricing to meet revenue and profitability goals. * Conduct market research in order to benchmark the company against competitive offerings. * Develop user experience improvement strategies through the coordination and analysis of platform usage behaviors and customer persona analysis. * Manage a product and/or feature P&L – development budget against revenues.

* 10+ years experience in product management and development in the digital marketing or digital media ecosystem. * Experience managing teams * Minimum of 3 years of Agile development experience, working collaboratively with Engineering leadership and product managers as an integral leader of an Agile process. * Must have a strong background in managing a product management team and the efforts for full product development lifecycle including designing product roadmaps and developing use cases * Must have experience working in a matrix organization – strong ability to accomplish goals and objectives across departments. * Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams without formal authority * This position requires travel to customer and non-customer sites globally (25%). * Computer Science, MIS or Engineering degree or relevant work experience a strong plus. * Must have an excellent track record of managing and developing major products, improving and ensuring quality of products, and solid product management skills in an on-line environment. * Must have strong analytical ability to assess complex situations and exceptional creativity to provide solutions. * Experienced, energetic and motivated to accomplish defined goals. * Must be a strong team leader, as well as a team player with strong interpersonal and communication skills. * Must be able to effectively communicate with all areas of the company. * Highly detail oriented and strong ability to understand Marketer’s needs and attitudes. * Examples and at least one sample of an effective use case/MRD delivered in the past.