How to hire a product development manager

How to hire a product development manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step product development manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a product development manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new product development manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a product development manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the product development manager you need to hire. Certain product development manager roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A product development manager's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, product development managers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of product development manager salaries for various roles:

   Type of Product Development Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Product Development Manager	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$40-73
   Product Lead	A product lead is responsible for monitoring the development of new products and services of an organization, starting from brand conceptualization to official market release and distribution. Product leads identify effective product management by conducting data analysis and evaluating market statistics of customer demands... Show more	$41-78
   Product Management Director	A Product Management Director is responsible for a business product planning as well as execution throughout the life cycle of the business. They create the product strategy and requirements, develop and execute tactical plans, and maintain product and market knowledge.	$53-105

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Product Development
   • Project Management
   • Lifecycle Management
   • Product Management
   • R
   • Customer Service
   • Product Design
   • Java
   • Scrum
   • Business Development
   • Market Research
   • Software Development
   • Development Projects
   • Market Trends

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Used PLM tools to track, manage, and organize the development process.
   • Design front-end UX for e-tailor website, manage customer service tracking and CRM solutions.
   • Manage the entire development and implementation process for a $750K SaaS solution for education.
   • Lead acquisition of StudyinBritain.com, expanding client base to schools in the UK and Ireland.
   • Lead development of open API, blogs, custom video player, numerous sites, and internal applications.
   • Establish reliable and predictable agile process, with measure KPIs and quantitative metrics; manage release schedule and risk.

   More product development manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your product development manager job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A product development manager salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, product development managers' average salary in hawaii is 40% less than in nevada.
   • Seniority. Entry-level product development managers earn 45% less than senior-level product development managers.
   • Certifications. A product development manager with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a product development manager's salary.

   Average product development manager salary

   $113,437yearly

   $54.54 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level product development manager salary

   $84,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 22, 2025

   Average product development manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$141,223	$68
   2	Nevada	$135,817	$65
   3	Washington	$120,592	$58
   4	Arizona	$118,214	$57
   5	Texas	$114,298	$55
   6	Pennsylvania	$113,535	$55
   7	Massachusetts	$112,912	$54
   8	Connecticut	$111,379	$54
   9	Illinois	$110,842	$53
   10	Missouri	$110,761	$53
   11	North Carolina	$106,636	$51
   12	New Jersey	$106,511	$51
   13	New York	$105,061	$51
   14	Maryland	$104,399	$50
   15	Colorado	$102,756	$49
   16	Georgia	$102,247	$49
   17	Indiana	$102,186	$49
   18	District of Columbia	$100,808	$48
   19	Minnesota	$98,659	$47
   20	Ohio	$97,539	$47

   Average product development manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$160,813	$77.31	559
   2	PayPal	$160,168	$77.00	48
   3	Airbnb	$158,005	$75.96	3
   4	ByteDance	$156,507	$75.24	5
   5	Apple	$154,353	$74.21	90
   6	Google	$154,349	$74.21	278
   7	NVIDIA	$153,949	$74.01	82
   8	Sagent Pharmaceuticals	$151,361	$72.77	2
   9	Waymo	$151,030	$72.61	22
   10	Twitter	$148,799	$71.54	3
   11	Databricks	$147,621	$70.97	28
   12	Levi Strauss & Co.	$146,774	$70.56	6
   13	F5	$146,056	$70.22	18
   14	PVH	$142,874	$68.69	7
   15	Five Below	$142,225	$68.38	3
   16	The Walt Disney Company	$141,172	$67.87	96
   17	Revlon	$140,444	$67.52	2
   18	Varian Medical Systems	$139,849	$67.24
   19	Barnes & Noble	$139,414	$67.03
   20	Western Digital	$137,823	$66.26	2

4. Writing a product development manager job description

   A product development manager job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a product development manager job description:

   Product development manager job description example

   The Product Manager will bring the vision of our Brand to life through designing and developing compelling, innovative, trend and brand-right designs that are saleable and meet the needs of the retailer and consumer. Synergize with product managers, sales and category management to meet growth objectives.
   What you'll do: Create brand identity and distinctive product offerings, with a creative, innovative and progressive design vision, ensuring that product is consistent with market trends and business strategy and that have mass appeal. Build and continually improve innovative accessory competency across our categories with attention to detail at the levels of product development, presentation, and specification package creation. Responsible for the initial graphic design concepts and development process of the brand/category. Analyze current, past data to design effectively Anniversary programs to meet business objectives Meeting with trend forecasters each season to choose the appropriate design services Research/Shop/Develop- In global markets in order to identify new trends, innovation, fabrics, techniques, trims, colors, silhouette as well as competitive products and strategies deployed Attend trade shows, seminars and all other industry offerings that elevate business knowledge Developing innovative trend presentations for upcoming seasons and accounts. Establish the brand design integrity and a good, better, best strategy of the by delivering appropriate point of difference merchandise in line with the brand profile, collaborating with product managers, design peers, retailers and vendors. Execute seasonal/promotional and core line. In partnership with product and account management, analyzing core customer and the market to ensure constant evaluation and improvement of product to move the brand forward with national pushes to include design and development of product and strategies for Corporate Annual programs, Retailer specific programs as well as Quarterly Promotions for both. Developing the Line/Promotional Plan with the VP of Marketing targeting yearly initiatives. Plan and communicate the design vision to appropriate peers. Manage and provide training and mentoring to Assistant Designers by offering constructive criticism and guidance to include delegating appropriate tasks/ projects as well as monitor, and review progress. Daily correspondence with overseas vendors regarding product development. Keeping current with the costing challenges by understanding the pricing and mark-up structures to develop products that achieve appropriate retail price points and targeted GM objectives Product approvals for all new items ensuring all quality and design standards are met Hosting meetings with our overseas vendors during their trips to the US Annual sales workshop to educate the sales team on new items for the upcoming year Account presentations both in-house and off site. Create innovative design tools/strategies for presenting merchandise at meetings. Daily interaction with Account Marketing Managers on account projects to grow the business, to include understanding of core line opportunities and risks as well as seasonal challenges and successes within their role, and increase the understanding of each other's point of view. Manage the design communication among internal and external design partners, account managers, product managers, sales and vendors. Adhere to the time and action calendar. Daily interaction with product managers regarding product specifications, costing, quality and operational issues. Collaborating with the Creative department to develop concept packaging, displays, customer presentations and trend presentations Interacting with Sales and Category Management to ensure successful sell-through at the retail store level as well as building upon what is performing in the market Working with category management and brand marketing in developing new copy points as well as merchandising concepts Correspondence with our international offices on all new product launches Working with Inventors on possible product collaborations Working with Brand marketing to ensure the product, packaging and displays are in line with the Brand Strategy Working with the Brand Marketing and Creative on photoshoots COMPETENCIES: . Creativity
   Comes up with new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.
   
   Customer Focus
   Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal parties and external customers' expectations; gets first-hand sales information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective key internal relationships and gains their trust and respect.
   
   • Dealing with Ambiguity
   Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn't upset when things are up in the air; doesn't have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
   
   • Drive for Results
   Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
   
   • Organizational Agility
   Knowledgeable about how organizations work; knows how to get things done both through formal channels and the informal network; understands the origin and reasoning behind key policies, practices, and procedures; understands the cultures of organizations.
   
   • Perseverance
   Pursues everything with energy, drive, and a need to finish; seldom gives up before finishing, especially in the face of resistance or setbacks.
   
   • Problem Solving
   Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems; is excellent at honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and doesn't stop at the first answers.
   
   • Self-Development
   Is personally committed to and actively works to continuously improve him/herself; understands that different situations and levels may call for different skills and approaches; works to deploy strengths; works on compensating for weakness and limits.
   
   • Time Management
   Uses his/her time effectively and efficiently; values time; concentrates his/her efforts on the more important priorities; gets more done in less time than others; can attend to a broader range of activities. What we offer:
   Comprehensive Medical/Dental/Vision plans Generous Paid Time Off Programs Life & Disability Insurance FSA/HRA/Dependent Care FSA Profit Sharing 401k and company match Commuter Shuttle to/from Stamford train station

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find product development managers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your product development manager job on Zippia to find and attract quality product development manager candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with product development manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new product development manager

   Once you've decided on a perfect product development manager candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new product development manager. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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