Product Manager (Forward-Deployed)

About Ume Intelligence

Ume Intelligence is a marketing science company solving complex commercial problems for multi-location restaurant brands. We build modern analytics and automation infrastructure, paired with hands-on digital operations that turn operational data into measurable revenue.

We operate as a lean, high-leverage team with no walls between engineering and operations. We look for people who run toward technology, automation, and data models rather than away from them—and who evaluate success by real business impact (margin, demand, and net revenue) rather than vanity metrics or features shipped.

The Role

We are looking for a Forward-Deployed Product Manager to sit at the center of how Ume works: bridging our clients, our forward-deployed marketers, our founders, and our engineering team.

A restaurant brand’s demand comes from search, delivery marketplaces, its own customer database, and foot traffic past the door. These levers interact dynamically, yet restaurant operators lack the time to model any of it. You will own the software workflows that model these interactions and the operational mechanics that run on them every day.

When an operational edge case occurs for a client, you resolve it immediately and engineer safeguards so it cannot happen again. When an operator executes the same workflow manually for the third time, you convert it into a structured process, an automated check, or a software spec, and partner with engineering to build it.

This role starts with high-context individual ownership across product definition and client operations. As our deployment expands, the position is designed to transition into leading and scaling the team.

What You’ll Own

• Client operations, end to end. Take complete ownership of client operational data (menus, pricing architectures, localized promotions, search listings, and CRM segments across delivery aggregators). Maintain zero tolerance for client-facing discrepancies.

• Fix it, then prevent it. Catch issues before clients do. Trace each one to its cause and close the loop with a process change, an automated check, or a product fix, so the same problem does not come back.

• Product Discovery and Specifications: Synthesize feedback directly from brand operators, growth marketers, and company founders into structured product specifications. Validate and accept engineering releases, measuring whether features moved targeted operational or commercial metrics.

• Commercial and Unit Economics: Rigorously model client-level channel economics (net margins after commissions, ad discounts, and delivery fees) alongside internal unit economics (internal cost-to-serve per client account).

• The Technical-Commercial Bridge: Partner daily with software engineers, forward-deployed marketers, and company leadership, spending dedicated hours each week directly with brand executives. Translate ambiguous business problems into crisp technical requirements and explain technical capabilities in terms of commercial lift.

• Concurrent Program Delivery: Drive multiple client implementations, product features, and operational priorities in parallel without dropping critical details. Maintain clarity on which priority moves the needle each day.

• Team and System Scalability: Design the operating cadences, playbooks, and onboarding standards as the company grows, helping evaluate, hire, and train future team members.

Your First 90 Days

1. Day 30. You own day-to-day operations for at least one enterprise client account and have documented an end-to-end demand and margin map identifying key points of failure.

2. Day 60. You have specified and shipped at least one software improvement with clear commercial or operational metrics attached.

3. Day 90. You have eliminated a recurring class of client operational issues through an automated check or productized feature.

What You Bring

Experience & Background

• Around 4+ years in product management, product operations, forward-deployed engineering/ops, or a high-rigor analytics/consulting role where you owned measurable outcomes rather than slide recommendations. Tenure is a benchmark, not a rigid constraint; demonstrated execution takes precedence.

• Demonstrated experience working directly alongside engineering teams in a software company, venture-backed startup, digital agency or technical consulting environment.

• Relevant academic grounding (Engineering, Economics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or Business). An MBA or advanced degree from a premier global program (e.g., IIMs, ISB, INSEAD, or reputed US/European/Asian business schools) is a strong advantage, though demonstrated judgment and execution track record remain the primary evaluation criteria.

Core Competencies & Must-Haves

• Detail-Oriented: You spot the misconfigured price tier, the missing inventory item, and the conflicting campaign dates. You audit your own work before external stakeholders see it.

• Business-Savvy: You understand multi-unit retail economics and know how marketing, localized pricing, and aggregator commissions interact with store P&Ls.

• Technical Acumen: You are comfortable working with structured data schemas, spreadsheets, SQL-level data logic, platform APIs, and modern developer toolchains. You can debate technical trade-offs with engineers without needing to write production code.

• Systems Thinking: You naturally look for recurring patterns and architectural solutions rather than settling for repetitive manual interventions.

• Multi-Threading: You manage multiple concurrent operational threads cleanly, maintaining strict organization, proactive documentation, and clear stakeholder communication.

• Leadership & Trust: You build rapid credibility with engineering leads, commercial marketers, and enterprise clients, demonstrating the ability to drive alignment without formal authority.

• Executive Communication: Crisp, articulate written and spoken English. Much of our work is delivered through specifications, memos, and client updates, with frequent presentations directly to executive brand leadership.

Nice to Have

• Domain background in restaurants, food & beverage networks, or multi-location retail brands.

• Hands-on familiarity with third-party delivery marketplaces (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub), local search/SEO ecosystems, or retention CRM architectures.

• Experience with restaurant POS ecosystems, dynamic pricing engines, or revenue management systems.

• Daily utilization of modern AI workflows (prompt frameworks, local automation scripts, LLM interfaces) to accelerate operational velocity.

• Experience hiring, onboarding, or mentoring technical operators or junior product managers.

Working Hours

• Full-time schedule with flexibility outside core touchpoints.

• We expect dedicated collaboration hours with US clients and our forward-deployed marketers, typically between 6:00 AM and 12:00 PM US Pacific Time.

How Performance Is Measured

You will operate with modern automation tools, analytics infrastructure, and engineering resources. With that leverage comes a clear standard for analytical rigor, client impact, and operational discipline:

• Execution Precision & Quality Assurance (35% Weight):
  In multi-location brand operations, accuracy across pricing, menu configurations, and campaign setups directly protects client margin and trust.
  Target: Zero high-severity client-facing defects on live accounts; 100% adherence to pre-launch validation workflows.

• Product Impact & Workflow Leverage (30% Weight):
  Converting real operational friction into software specifications that remove bottlenecks and expand team throughput.
  Target: Identified problems successfully specified, accepted by engineering, and deployed; measurable reduction in manual operational time across client accounts.

• Commercial Economics & Account Health (20% Weight):
  Measurable commercial improvements across client channels and internal cost-to-serve metrics.
  Target: Progress against client-specific net margin targets and proactive containment of account service costs.

• Stakeholder Leadership & Dependability (15% Weight):
  Cross-functional trust with software engineers, marketing operators, and client leadership during core US collaboration windows.
  Target: Consistent schedule reliability during US Pacific overlap hours, proactive stakeholder communication, and high ratings across client and internal reviews.

What We Offer

• Competitive Full-Time Compensation: Stable, competitive monthly base salary benchmarked for high-performing talent.

• Meaningful Equity Participation: Opportunity to earn stock options and hold real equity upside in a venture-backed, high-growth US company as we scale.

• Paid Time Off & Holidays: Generous paid annual leave plus observed corporate holidays.

• A Path to Lead: Direct path to expand the forward-deployed product function and step into team leadership as organizational headcount grows.

• High Leverage, Low Bureaucracy: Direct exposure to founders, clients, and core architecture in an environment with minimal meetings and zero political bloat.