Senior Product Manager (Remote from anywhere in CO)

Together, we innovate for a stronger Colorado

The work of employees at the Governor's Office of Information Technology (OIT) is challenging and diverse because the needs of agencies, customers and Coloradans constantly evolve. But our focus never changes: improve the lives of all Coloradans through innovation and collaboration. We're building one of the nation's leading government IT organizations by reimagining how we support agencies, building first-of-their-kind applications, and creating an inclusive, collaborative culture, together. Join us in the important work of providing equitable access to services.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please review your application to ensure completion. For the most equitable applicant experience, OIT’s hiring team considers only the contents of your application to review your qualifications. Please do not include any attachments (such as resume or cover letter) with your application as these items are not used by OIT’s hiring team.  

What you'll do:

• Write and maintain a well-groomed backlog using user stories that are outcome-oriented, appropriately sized, and grounded in real constituent needs; Draft initial product backlogs for RFPs, translating problem spaces into indicative user stories that structure procurement without locking the pod into fixed, rigid scope.

• Apply frameworks such as Value vs. Effort or "Now/Next/Later" to make and defend prioritization decisions.

• Proactively manage scope by saying "no" clearly and constructively to work that does not serve the current priority, ensuring agency stakeholders are informed and aligned.

• Run essential agile planning cycles, including sprint planning, refinement, reviews, and retrospectives.

• Conduct quarterly roadmap conversations with agency leadership to align long-term goals with delivery capacity.

• Regularly update IT Director and agency program staff about status in terms of outcomes (mission impact) rather than just progress (activity).

• Partner with Service Designers to interpret journey maps, blueprints, and problem frames, translating these artifacts into actionable backlog inputs.

• Define and track objectives and key results (OKRs) and success metrics; evaluate and communicate when shipped features fail to deliver expected outcomes.

• Build the product ownership capacity of agency staff over time, ensuring the agency becomes a stronger partner rather than a dependent.

• Manage the product's lifecycle from discovery through to ongoing continuous improvement.

• Regularly partner with Service Designers to understand & apply journey maps/service blueprints for desired outcomes.

• Collaborate deeply with engineering to validate technical architecture decisions.

• Collaborate with the Delivery Engineer on build/buy/SaaS evaluations, contributing backlog context, mission-impact perspective, and constituent needs to inform the technical decision

What you bring:

• Knowledge of product management fundamentals, including backlog ownership, user story writing, prioritization frameworks such as value vs. effort or now/next/later, and what it means to govern a product rather than a project.

• Knowledge of agile planning and development cycles: sprint planning, refinement, reviews, and retrospectives work, and the PM's role is in each.

• Knowledge of user-centered design principles sufficient to work productively with the Service Designer, interpret research findings, and translate constituent needs into backlog priorities.

• Knowledge of State agency program context in regards to the way in which Colorado agencies deliver services, make decisions, and structure program priorities.

• Knowledge of the product lifecycle from discovery through to continuous improvement.

• Awareness of the build/buy/SaaS tradeoff space, common state IT patterns, and how technology investment decisions get made and funded in state government.

• Ability to define and develop meaningful success metrics that go beyond delivery activity toward mission impact.

• Ability to decline work that doesn't serve the current priority, and document that decision in a way that keeps agency stakeholders informed rather than surprised

• Ability to communicate product status in terms of outcomes, not just progress

• Ability to facilitate stakeholder conversations that produce ranked decisions, rather than a list of any and all desired items.

• Ability to distinguish between user needs and stakeholder “wants, make operational decisions based on that information, and bring stakeholders into alignment.

• Ability to work effectively in the space between agency program staff (who understand the mission) and the pod (who understands delivery) without becoming a passive translator

• Ability to own the product's success metrics and track them honestly, including when a shipped feature isn't delivering the expected outcome

• Ability to adapt communication style and level of detail to the audience

A wide salary range is posted for this position and any job offer is based upon a salary analysis to comply with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act. The salary analysis considers relevant experience, education, certifications, and state seniority as compared to others doing substantially similar work. While all offers are compliant with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, there is no guarantee an offer will be at the top of the posted range based on the salary analysis. 

This is a skills-based job announcement. The required minimum qualifications and/or education (if substituting for the proven experience, knowledge, and skills), are as follows: 

Minimum Qualifications:

• A minimum of five (5) years of experience in technology product management, which includes working in or leading cross-functional teams using iterative, user-centered methods.

• A track record of working across disciplines — design, engineering, policy, or operations — to ship things that work for real people

• Additional appropriate education will substitute for the required experience on a year-for-year basis, but cannot completely substitute for these qualifications. 

• Additional, appropriate paid or unpaid experience will substitute for the required education on a year-for-year basis.

• Training or Certification related to the work assigned to the position will be assigned credit towards substitution for experience and/or education, but cannot completely substitute for these qualifications. 

Additional appropriate education will substitute for the required experience on a year-for-year basis, but cannot completely substitute for these qualifications. 

Training or Certification related to the work assigned to the position will be assigned credit towards substitution for experience and/or education, but cannot completely substitute for these qualifications. 

If the minimum qualifications include a degree requirement, additional appropriate paid or unpaid experience will substitute for the required education on a year-for-year basis.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Relevant certifications such as Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Pragmatic Institute Product Management, or Professional Product Manager (PPM).

• Experience working within a digital service agency or a government-adjacent technology firm, successfully translating mission-driven policy goals into actionable product backlogs.

• Experience evaluating software solutions (e.g., custom build, SaaS, commercial off-the-shelf) and managing vendor relationships to ensure external technical deliveries align with agile, outcome-oriented product roadmaps.

• Background in User-Centered Design (UCD).

OIT employees must comply with any screening procedures in place at state entity locations where they might be required to perform work.

A pre-employment background check will be conducted as part of the selection process. 

Positions supporting some agencies such as the Department of Corrections and the Department of Public Safety will also require a pre-employment drug test. 

This position may require travel within the specified geographic area, and to locations across the state as needed. 

If this posting indicates “remote from anywhere in CO” in the title, periodic reporting to the primary state work location designated for the position is required. All remote work must be performed in Colorado. 

We know it's important to support each other, and that means having a healthy balance of work and personal time. Visit our benefits to learn more about some of our great offerings that allow us all to have fulfilling lives. 

The State of Colorado strives to create a Colorado for All by building and maintaining workplaces that value and respect all Coloradans through a commitment to equal opportunity and hiring based on merit and fitness.  The State is resolute in non-discriminatory practices in everything we do, including hiring, employment, and advancement opportunities.

The Governor's Office of Information Technology is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADA Coordinator at OIT_HR@state.co.us or call (303) 764-7900.

The Governor's Office of Information Technology does NOT offer sponsored Visas for employment purposes.