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OCLC · 5 hours ago

Director Product Management

Dublin, OH

Full-time

Hybrid

Director/Executive

10+ years exp

OCLC is dedicated to connecting libraries and making knowledge accessible worldwide through technology. The Director of Product Management will lead the strategy and development of discovery services to enhance user experiences across various platforms, ensuring that libraries provide intuitive and accessible solutions for their patrons.

Web Development

H1B Sponsor Likely

Responsibilities

Responsible for increasing the revenue and profitability of the Discovery Services line of business while maintaining a long-term, mission-aligned view of value for libraries

Oversees the product team accountable for OCLC’s discovery products and services, including WorldCat Discovery, FirstSearch, WorldCat.org, and CapiraMobile

Defines a unified, multi-channel discovery strategy that connects search, recommendations, chat/LLM experiences, and delivery into coherent end-to-end patron journeys

Oversees market analysis and develops product strategy and business cases to grow revenue, drive adoption, and rationalize the product portfolio

Defines strategic product goals, success metrics, and KPIs for discovery performance and user outcomes

Accountable for creating and driving execution of the product roadmap, including AI- and data-driven capabilities (e.g., relevance, personalization, recommendations, conversational interfaces)

Collaborates with Development on release planning, capacity planning, and technical tradeoffs, with an emphasis on scalable platforms and shared services

Collaborates with Finance in the production of product budgets and forecasts

Develops pricing strategies in partnership with Finance and product positioning plans that contribute to maximizing product profitability and market impact

Partners with library communities and advisory groups to ensure priorities align with customer needs and expectations, including diverse institution types and user populations

Maintains a strong understanding of competitive products, adjacent markets, and technology trends (e.g., AI, search, user experience) and quickly adapts strategies and plans to ensure success

Leads the vision for AI-powered and data-informed discovery experiences, including generative chat, answer surfaces, entity-centric discovery, and recommendations

Partners with data science/ML teams to prioritize and deliver capabilities that improve relevance, personalization, and discovery outcomes while upholding principles of responsible and ethical AI

Establishes an experimentation culture (A/B testing, pilots, betas) to validate ideas, improve relevance, and optimize user journeys

Defines and monitors key discovery metrics (e.g., search success rate, item acquisition rate, engagement, satisfaction), using insights to refine product strategy and roadmap

Partners closely with UX/UI and accessibility experts to ensure discovery experiences are intuitive, inclusive, and compliant with accessibility standards

Champions user research and design thinking practices, ensuring that diverse user needs (students, researchers, public library patrons, staff) meaningfully shape product decisions

Ensures consistency of UX patterns, visual language, and interactions across discovery touchpoints (web, mobile, app, chat)

Leads and mentors a product management team of ~5 team members, developing skills in AI-augmented discovery, experimentation, and strategic product management

Hires and develops talent aligned with the future of discovery (search/relevance, UX, AI/ML collaboration, data-informed decision making)

Provides leadership to cross-functional product workgroups. Leads product management meetings, resolves conflicts, and drives alignment

Facilitates collaboration and communication and secures commitment between Development, Product Management, UX, Marketing, Sales, Support, and other divisions toward achievement of common goals

Develops and monitors progress on the product roadmap, ensuring transparency and accountability

Partners with Product Marketing to develop strategies for customer acquisition and retention, and to articulate a clear narrative for OCLC’s discovery vision

Manages relationships with user groups and assists Sales and Marketing in delivering compelling demos, presentations, and content

Determines when and how to commission market research to develop and maintain expertise in markets served, alternative services, new technology, and related standards

Generates and interprets information for market size by sector/territory; produces market penetration statistics and growth opportunities

Provides training and support to Sales, Support, and implementation teams; may assist in significant sales calls

Analyzes reasons for OCLC product wins and losses against competition and provides meaningful insights to aid product planning

Defines and refines user personas and key user journeys for discovery

Produces market/sector white papers and thought leadership content related to discovery trends and AI in libraries

Provides input into portfolio business plans, roadmaps, strategies, metrics, and progress reports and reviews across OCLC’s broader product ecosystem, ensuring Discovery is well-integrated with Delivery, Analytics/Insights, and other services

Qualification

Product ManagementAIMachine LearningUser Experience DesignFinancial PlanningData AnalysisMarket ResearchCommunication SkillsTeam Leadership

Required

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

10+ years of experience in product, program, or portfolio management, including ownership of significant B2B, B2C, or platform products

Progressive experience leading product management teams, including coaching and performance management

Strong understanding of end user discovery practices and workflows (e.g., search, browse, recommendations, delivery/fulfillment)

Strong understanding of the product management lifecycle and modern product practices (roadmapping, experimentation, continuous discovery)

Demonstrated ability with financial planning and forecasting, including building business cases and managing product P&L or equivalents

Demonstrated experience using AI or machine learning capabilities (including generative AI/LLMs) to shape product strategy and/or deliver user-facing features, with a clear perspective on responsible AI

Well-developed communication and presentation skills; able to translate complex concepts for executive, technical, and community audiences

Preferred

5+ years of experience in library services, library management systems, scholarly communication, or related experience working in consumer search, digital media, or digital retail

Experience with search/relevance, recommendations, or information retrieval products

Experience running design thinking or co-design workshops with customers or communities

Experience collaborating with data science/ML teams and leveraging machine learning techniques to solve product problems

Benefits

Best-in-class health coverage

Retirement plans with generous company contributions

Free use of our on-site fitness center, gym sports, group exercise classes, and game room

Onsite catering and cafeteria subsidized by OCLC

Health and wellness events

Paid parental leave and adoption assistance

Tuition reimbursement and Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility

Company-subsidized pricing on local tickets and memberships

Company

OCLC

OCLC, a non-profit cooperative of libraries, uses cloud-based infrastructure to connect libraries to manage and share the world’s knowledge.

Founded in 1967

Dublin, Ohio, USA

1001-5000 employees

http://www.oclc.org

H1B Sponsorship

OCLC has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)

Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship

Represents job field similar to this job

Trends of Total Sponsorships

2025 (41)

2024 (40)

2023 (27)

2022 (41)

2021 (22)

2020 (28)