How to hire a product management director

How to hire a product management director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step product management director 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 management director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new product management director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a product management director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the product management director you need to hire. Certain product management director 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 management director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, product management directors 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.

   This list shows salaries for various types of product management directors.

   Type of Product Management Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Product Management Director	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.	$53-105
   Director, Product Marketing	A Director of Product Marketing directs the marketing activities of one or more products or product lines within the organization. They develop strong relationships with key customers.	$46-98
   Director Of Product Development	A Director of Product Development supervises and implements product development policies, initiatives, and objectives. They conduct market research to determine consumer needs and identify competitors.	$48-94

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Product Management
   • Product Strategy
   • Cloud
   • Analytics
   • Market Research
   • Product Roadmap
   • Project Management
   • Digital Transformation
   • Product Line
   • Product Vision
   • Customer Service
   • Development Process
   • Business Cases
   • Product Portfolio

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead initiatives across broad categories ranging from search engine optimization to promotions and CRM to customer retention.
   • Deploy a highly customize third-party CRM and sales management software, managing $40MM annual ad sales revenue.
   • Manage a team of 8 developers , 3 editors , 1 QA person, and 1 graphic designer.
   • Manage cross-functional projects to integrate new products and features into the roadmap and GTM approach and drive adoption.
   • Manage the product management, business analyst, and UI teams in the development of a new class of EMM applications.
   • Manage the design development process from designer sketch handover to bulk production delivery.

   More product management director duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, product management directors' average salary in tennessee is 40% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level product management directors earn 49% less than senior-level product management directors.
   • Certifications. A product management director 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 management director's salary.

   Average product management director salary

   $156,724yearly

   $75.35 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level product management director salary

   $112,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 28, 2025

   Average product management director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$196,737	$95
   2	Washington	$185,401	$89
   3	Utah	$149,980	$72
   4	New Jersey	$143,591	$69
   5	New York	$141,533	$68
   6	Massachusetts	$140,650	$68
   7	Virginia	$136,837	$66
   8	Arizona	$136,281	$66
   9	Connecticut	$134,022	$64
   10	Pennsylvania	$130,155	$63
   11	Texas	$128,568	$62
   12	Florida	$124,371	$60
   13	Colorado	$123,795	$60
   14	Oklahoma	$122,601	$59
   15	Mississippi	$122,162	$59
   16	District of Columbia	$121,334	$58
   17	Illinois	$121,108	$58
   18	Indiana	$120,335	$58
   19	Minnesota	$119,888	$58
   20	North Carolina	$119,539	$57

   Average product management director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$244,531	$117.56	561
   2	Google	$243,486	$117.06	260
   3	Roku	$231,923	$111.50	10
   4	PayPal	$230,566	$110.85	34
   5	Asana	$229,961	$110.56	8
   6	eBay	$228,621	$109.91	43
   7	NVIDIA	$227,492	$109.37	61
   8	Lyft	$223,471	$107.44	13
   9	TinyCo	$220,422	$105.97
   10	Evernote	$219,813	$105.68
   11	Pure Storage	$218,106	$104.86	19
   12	Wasabi Technologies	$216,944	$104.30
   13	VMware	$216,338	$104.01	1
   14	Genentech	$215,955	$103.82	19
   15	F5	$215,912	$103.80	13
   16	Avid	$212,897	$102.35
   17	SeedInvest	$212,414	$102.12
   18	LinkedIn	$211,247	$101.56	33
   19	Navis	$208,812	$100.39	1
   20	Cloudflare	$207,932	$99.97	33

4. Writing a product management director job description

   A good product management director job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a product management director job description:

   Product management director job description example

   Are you looking to make a difference in a patient's life? At AmerisourceBergen, you will find an innovative and collaborative culture that is patient focused and dedicated to making a difference. As an organization, we are united in our responsibility to create healthier futures. Join us and Apply today!
   What you will be doing
   
   As of August 24, 2021, AmerisourceBergen requires all U.S. team members to be fully vaccinated and show proof of completed vaccine status at time of hire. If you cannot receive the COVID-19 vaccine due to a disability/medical reason or sincerely held religious belief you will be required to follow AmerisourceBergen's policy and process to apply for an exemption/accommodation.
   
   (Hybrid/Office Flex position)
   
   Summary:
   
   Director - Product Management is focused on the long-term vision for one of our Digital Health Solutions product groups, ensuring the products meets the needs of the value stream(s), understands market/industry trends, and identifies new potential outcomes or themes to be supported by the product group. The Digital Health Solutions group is focused on solutions for our specialty practices. Responsibilities include developing product strategy that aligns to business strategy, leading the team that develops business requirements and validates with internal/external customers, works with design and UX teams to ensure voice of the customer informs requirements, participates in agile development teams, defines launch goals, and measures post-launch results. Works closely with leadership across various functional teams, partnering with Enterprise IT Services to ensure that business objectives are achieved through technology and process solutions.
   
   Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
   
   Defines and drives the business plan, product growth strategy, and positioning for the Product Group. Leads and develops a multi-functional team responsible for new product requirements and, enhancements informed by the customer (internal and/or external), market needs, and a strong product vision. Ensures market and internal synergies across backlogs of product capabilities and features. Leads the end-to-end success of new product capabilities and features from requirements definition through design, development, launch authorization, and post-launch analysis. Promotes team collaboration with internal and external stakeholders including sales, development, operations, marketing and finance to ensure teams are aligned on goals. Coordinates standard operating procedures around customer feedback analysis and competitive intelligence gathering to assist in product development. Develops a strong product culture where the team demonstrates continuous and rapid innovation. Identifies and manages resource conflicts and interdependencies. Proactively identifies potential risk(s) associated with initiatives/objectives; develops and implements strategies to mitigate identified risks; manages issue resolution process. Complies with all appropriate policies, procedures, safety rules and regulations. Performs related duties as assigned.
   
   What your background should look like
   
   Normally requires broad training or experience in fields such as product development, sales, marketing, organizational development, computer sciences, or similar vocations generally obtained through completion of a four-year Bachelor's Degree Program. Normally requires at least seven years of directly related and progressively increasing responsibility and experience; previous experience in business process design, system development, customer support. Proven ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing; strong ability to present information professionally and effectively to customers, associates, and management. Ability to present and discuss strategies and technical information in a manner that establishes rapport, persuades others, and gains understanding. Ability to lead dynamically and energize multidiscipline work teams. Working knowledge of healthcare software industry and business. Demonstrated ability to interpret customer servicing requirements to develop customer approach based on available solutions. Excellent organizational skills high detail-orientation and strong interpersonal skills required to coordinate information among multiple internal groups. Experience in organizing, planning, and executing large-scale projects from vision through implementation. Solid consultative skills and ability to effectively facilitate groups to resolution. Ability to create trust and confidence quickly. Ability to complete work with minimal oversight and have a willingness to travel to meet objectives. Self-starter.
   
   What AmerisourceBergen offers
   
   We offer competitive total rewards compensation. Our commitment to our associates includes benefit programs that are comprehensive, diverse and designed to meet the various needs across our associate population.
   
   Throughout our global footprint and various business units, we take a balanced approach to the benefits we offer. Many benefits are company-paid, while others are available through associate contributions. Specific benefit offerings may vary by location, position and/or business unit.
   
   Schedule
   
   Full time
   
   Affiliated Companies
   Affiliated Companies: International Oncology Network Solutions Inc
   
   Equal Employment Opportunity
   
   AmerisourceBergen is committed to providing equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or membership in any other class protected by federal, state or local law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find product management directors for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any product management directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level product management directors with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your product management director job on Zippia to find and recruit product management director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific 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 management director 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 management director

   Once you've selected the best product management director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new product management director. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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