Staff Product Operations Manager

Every developer has a tab open on Stack Overflow. We are one of the most popular websites in the world - a community-based space focused on increasing productivity, decreasing cycle times, accelerating time to market, and protecting institutional knowledge. Innovation is at the heart of everything we do. We embrace collaboration, transparency, and believe in leading with empathy; creating an environment where every Stacker knows they belong. We embrace that the unique contributions and points of view of all Stackers contribute to our success. We are a Best Company to Work For , in addition to being recognized for Best Company Leadership, Best Company Happiness, Best Company Perks and Benefits, Best Company Work-Life Balance, Best Company Compensation, and Best Company Outlook. We are a remote-first company with Hiring HUBs based in the US, Canada, UK, and Germany. Reports to: Chief Product and Technology Officer The Opportunity Stack Overflow is transforming — building decision-grade knowledge that people and agents can trust, and fundamentally changing how we build it. We're moving to AI-native engineering, targeting a 10X increase in deployment frequency, and evolving how our entire Product, Design, and Engineering organization operates. This role exists because transformation without operational discipline is just aspiration. We need someone who can build the system that makes it real. As Director of Product Operations, you will drive, own, and be accountable for the end-to-end operational engine that connects research, design, engineering, pricing, and go-to-market into a high-velocity product development process. Success in this role impacts our financial outcomes. The role is regarded as the principal product operations advisor to the broader leadership team. You'll report directly to the CPTO and work most closely with our VP of Product and Sr. Director of Design and Research. What You'll Own The product development lifecycle — partnering with Product, Design, and Engineering leadership to drive strategy and ensure clear ownership, handoffs, and quality standards at each stage from research and discovery through pricing and release. You identify where the process breaks down and drive improvements — without owning the decisions themselves. Planning visibility and reliability — Jira governance, roadmap alignment, sprint cadences, and the operating rhythms that keep product direction and team execution in sync. You make plans visible and trustworthy; teams own the plans. Metrics and dashboards — ensuring the org has clear, actionable visibility into what matters: deployment frequency, product outcomes, adoption, and cost. You ensure the right data exists and gets used Cross-functional alignment — coordinating across Product, Design, Engineering, and Product Marketing so dependencies are managed, decisions get made at the right level, and nothing falls through the cracks. What We're Looking For 8+ years in Product Operations, and specifically in a senior-level product operation or closely related role, in a high-growth software environment Demonstrated experience owning and improving end-to-end product development processes — research through release Deep familiarity with Jira and modern product development workflows Strong systems thinker who builds operating models that scale without adding unnecessary overhead Influencer who drives change without direct authority Data literate — you know what's missing, make sure it gets measured, and help others act on it Ideally, but not required, possesses formal accreditations in this area or in a related field What sets the best candidates apart: You've led a real process transformation — not just documented one. You know when to add structure and when to remove it. You've worked in close partnership with strong Product leaders and made their teams faster without diminishing their ownership. And critically — you understand how AI is changing product development workflows and are ac