roles
Senior Product Manager
Primary Role:
Owns a product area and drives roadmap execution
Reporting Relations:
Reports to Director/Group PM
Decision Making Authority:
Owns roadmap within defined domain
Stratigic Planning
Contributes to quarterly planning
Team Management:
None (IC)
Meeting Involvment:
Drives product reviews; cross-functional alignment
Project Management:
Leads launches within domain
Communication:
Cross-functional stakeholder comms
Professional Development:
→ Principal PM / Lead PM / GPM
Product Lead
Primary Role:
De facto head of product in small org or startup
Reporting Relations:
Reports to CEO/Founder
Decision Making Authority:
Full product decision authority
Stratigic Planning
Owns company product vision
Team Management:
May manage 1–3 PMs/designers
Meeting Involvment:
Executive team participant
Project Management:
Owns all product initiatives
Communication:
Internal + external (customers/investors)
Professional Development:
→ Head of Product / VP
Lead Product Manager
Primary Role:
Leads a product area and coordinates other PMs without formal people management
Reporting Relations:
Reports to Director
Decision Making Authority:
Final call on roadmap within area
Stratigic Planning
Drives planning within product area
Team Management:
May coordinate 1–2 PMs (informal)
Meeting Involvment:
Facilitates roadmap reviews
Project Management:
Manages multi-stream launches
Communication:
Primary cross-functional voice
Professional Development:
→ GPM / Director