Product Manager II, Discovery (Term-Limited)

ABOUT THE JOB The ACLU seeks applicants for the full-time position of Product Manager II in the Technology Department of the ACLU’s National office in New York, NY. This is a hybrid role that has in-office requirements of two (2) days per week or eight (8) days per month. This is a three-year term-limited position. The ACLU Technology Department is a broad umbrella covering both the ACLU’s Analytics and its Product & Engineering teams, two robust and innovative divisions that power the work of the ACLU. The department provides trusted, dependable, and impactful analytics, engineering, as well as product management and product design expertise for the ACLU. In partnership with experts across the ACLU, the technology team delivers best-in-class solutions, services, and innovation that advance the ACLU mission and organizational priorities. The tech team strives to ensure the ACLU leads by example in the ethical use of technology by ensuring privacy and security standards are maintained, directional insights are used to inform programming and business strategy, best-in-class products are designed to get the ACLU message out into the world and grow the ACLU supporter base, as well as to help steward high standards for algorithmic fairness, accountability, and transparency. The Product & Engineering division includes engineers, product managers, product designers, and project operations experts who build and maintain engaging digital products and secure technical systems that accelerate the ACLU’s mission as our nationwide guardian of rights and liberties. This position is part of a collective bargaining unit. It is represented by ACLU Staff United (ASU). WHAT YOU'LL DO Reporting to the Head of Product , the Product Manager will lead discovery, early validation and evaluation efforts to identify, assess, and guide adoption of emerging and existing technologies needed for high-impact, mission-critical initiatives. This role is designed for an experienced product professional who thrives in ambiguous problem spaces, excels at facilitating alignment across non-technical stakeholders, and can translate complex organizational needs into clear, validated problem statements and opportunity briefs. Unlike traditional product management roles, this position does not lead software delivery with a dedicated engineering or design. Instead, the Product Manager will focus on early-stage discovery, working closely with leadership from various departments – such as tech , privacy, information security and counsel, to translate emergent business needs across legal, advocacy, fundraising, and operational teams within the ACLU into actionable workplans, governance frameworks. The Product manager will assess needs, explore solution options, and inform what comes next — whether that is to define a vendor procurement process, scope an internal build, define success criteria, and support strategic decision-making on when not to pursue a technology solution. The role will also provide tight coordination and documentation support for the organization's Gen AI Governance Steering Committee and will be critical in ensuring traceability of decisions and communications emanating from the committee. YOUR DAY TO DAY Lead Deep Product Discovery for Priority Workstreams Partner with Tech Leadership and Directors across Privacy, InfoSec, Counsel, Legal Operations, Operations/HR, and high-touch Fundraising to explore complex problem spaces Conduct structured discovery through interviews, listening tours, workshops, and stakeholder sessions Clarify underlying needs, constraints, risks, and success criteria Lead a small number of deeper, longer discovery tracks rather than many lightweight efforts Facilitate Alignment Without Formal Authority Design and lead collaborative workshops to align stakeholders on problem definitions, priorities, and options Navigate competing perspectives and organizational constraints with diplomacy and clarity Build shared understanding ac