Assistant Director, Product Development

Classification: Technology/Professional

Exemption Status/Test: Exempt/Computer Professional

Job Grade: 6

Department: IT

Reports To: Chief Officer

Job Goal:

Lead pre- and post-launch customer implementations for DevelopWorks and Region 4''s other revenue-generating technology products. Own end-to-end customer communications throughout the implementation lifecycle, from kickoff and go-live through transition to steady-state support. Serve as the primary cross-functional coordinator among Product Development, Software Engineering, Business Development, Marketing and Communications, and Customer Success, Customer Experience, and the Service Desk to ensure successful implementations and seamless support transitions. Translate customer and business needs into actionable requirements and prioritize product builds, features, defects, and user stories for the Software Engineering team.

Qualifications:

Education

• Bachelor''s degree, preferably in a computer-related, business, or education technology field, or commensurate experience.

Experience:

• Seven years of progressively responsible experience in product development, product management, software delivery, customer implementation, or a related technology field
• Two years of people management or team leadership experience, including responsibility for setting priorities, managing workloads, and developing staff
• Experience leading software or SaaS products and customer implementations across the product lifecycle, from requirements gathering and roadmap planning through release, go-live, and ongoing support
• Experience translating customer, market, and business needs into product requirements and prioritizing product builds, features, defects, and user stories for software engineering teams
• Experience coordinating cross-functional work among product development, software engineering, business development, marketing and communications, implementation, customer success, and support teams
• Experience managing customer and stakeholder communications during onboarding, launch, product changes, escalations, and transitions to steady-state support

Special Knowledge and Skills:

• Strong knowledge of product development and product management practices, including product strategy, roadmap planning, requirements definition, release planning, and lifecycle management
• Knowledge of agile software development practices and the ability to prioritize product builds, features, defects, and user stories based on customer value, business impact, technical dependencies, and delivery capacity
• Ability to translate customer, market, and business needs into clear product requirements, acceptance criteria, implementation plans, and actionable direction for software engineering and support teams
• Strong knowledge of implementation and project management practices, including scope and timeline development, dependency management, risk mitigation, resource coordination, and status reporting
• Exemplary written, verbal, and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate technical and product information to diverse audiences and manage sensitive or high-visibility customer and stakeholder communications
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective relationships, influence without direct authority, resolve conflicts, and align customers, partners, and cross-functional teams
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, including the ability to use product, implementation, customer, and operational data to evaluate tradeoffs and drive continuous improvement
• Proficiency with product and project management platforms such as Jira, Monday.com, or similar tools, and familiarity with documentation, collaboration, and reporting technologies

Major Responsibilities

• Direct the end-to-end customer implementation lifecycle for DevelopWorks and other Region 4 technology products, from pre-sale handoff and kickoff through go-live and transition to steady-state support.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for implementation-related customer communications, including expectations, status updates, milestone confirmations, issue resolution, and executive escalations.
• Develop, manage, and continuously improve implementation plans, timelines, governance practices, and customer-facing deliverables; monitor progress, dependencies, risks, and commitments through completion.
• Lead discovery and pre-implementation activities to gather, validate, and document customer requirements, workflows, integrations, and configuration needs.
• Translate customer, market, and business needs into clear product requirements, acceptance criteria, implementation priorities, and actionable direction for product development, software engineering, and support teams.
• Establish and manage priorities for product builds, features, defects, and user stories in partnership with the Director, Product Development and the Assistant Director, Software Engineering, balancing customer value, business impact, technical dependencies, delivery capacity, and release commitments.
• Partner with the Assistant Director, Software Engineering to align implementation timelines with development roadmaps, release schedules, environment readiness, testing, and technical delivery.
• Coordinate with the Assistant Director, Business Development, Marketing and Communications on customer-facing messaging, launch announcements, product updates, and change communications.
• Direct post-implementation handoffs to Customer Success, Customer Experience, and the Service Desk, ensuring account context, configuration details, documentation, unresolved items, and ownership are fully transferred.
• Maintain coordination with Customer Success, Customer Experience, and the Service Desk to monitor customer health, route escalations, and return issues to implementation, product development, or software engineering as appropriate.
• Lead post-go-live reviews to evaluate adoption, satisfaction, unresolved risks, and readiness for transition to steady-state support.
• Identify, mitigate, and resolve implementation and delivery risks, dependencies, and blockers; escalate material issues to the Director, Product Development with recommended actions
• Maintain implementation documentation, playbooks, decision records, and status reporting in accordance with internal programmatic and fiscal requirements and applicable Texas Education Agency requirements
• Provide the Director, Product Development with timely updates and recommendations regarding the implementation pipeline, product priorities, customer health, delivery performance, and material risks
• Establish, monitor, and report implementation performance measures, including time to go-live, milestone attainment, customer satisfaction, adoption, escalation trends, and handoff quality; use results to drive continuous improvement
• Assist the Director, Product Development in evaluating and improving communications, processes, and service delivery between the Product Development team and customers
• Provide technical assistance and services required by any applicable federal grant funding this position
• Maintain current knowledge of product development, software delivery, customer implementation, and education technology practices, and apply relevant advances to Region 4 products and processes

Supervision/Personnel Management:

• In coordination with the Chief Officer, establish clear expectations, set goals, and provide regular feedback to direct reports (e.g., Implementation Specialists, Customer Onboarding staff) to promote accountability and performance improvement
• Manage team workloads and priorities to ensure deliverables are completed with high quality and on schedule
• Supervise and support assigned staff, including onboarding, training, and performance management
• Foster a positive, collaborative, and high-performing workplace
• Ensure compliance with Region 4 policies, procedures, and applicable state and federal guidelines

Physical Demands/Environmental Factors/ Mental Demands:

Frequent use of standard office equipment; prolonged sitting; occasional bending/stooping, pushing/pulling, and twisting; repetitive hand motions (keyboarding and use of mouse); occasional light lifting and carrying (less than 20 pounds); may work prolonged and irregular hours; occasional statewide travel; work with frequent interruptions; maintain emotional control under pressure.