Principal Product Manager

The role

Newsela is seeking a strategic, collaborative, data-driven, and experienced Product Manager to own the vision and execution of our entire Data Products portfolio in their first Principal level role. This role is intended for a Senior Product Manager looking to take that next step to become a Principal PM.  This is a high-impact role responsible for defining how we deliver actionable insights to two distinct but vital audiences: our customers (teachers and administrators) and our internal business stakeholders.

You will be the central product leader for data, sitting at the intersection of our customer-facing application and our internal business intelligence. As a senior member of the product team, you will be a driver of our collaborative culture and a key thought partner to other product managers. You'll work directly with two dedicated teams—the Reporting team and the Data Analytics team—to build a unified data product strategy. Your work will ensure that we are not only building the right features for our users, but also building upon a scalable and reliable data foundation in partnership with our Platform Data team.

In your first 6-12 months, your primary strategic goal will be to develop and begin executing a clear roadmap and strategy that deeply integrates reporting as a core product. This strategy will connect directly with our other product development teams, ensuring that as they build new features, the reporting and data needs are considered a foundational component from the start, not an afterthought.

Why you’ll love this role

• Own the Vision:
  • Develop and own the long-term vision, strategy, and roadmap for Newsela's product data, encompassing both customer-facing reporting and internal product analytics.

• Empower Educators:
  • Lead the product lifecycle for customer-facing analytics within the Newsela application. Work closely with UX, research, and customers to understand their needs, and partner with the Reporting engineering team to build intuitive reports and data visualizations that help educators make informed decisions.

• Drive Business Insights:
  • Partner with the Data Analytics team to define the strategy for internal business intelligence on the Newsela platform engagement metrics. Champion a self-service data culture by prioritizing and building powerful, intuitive dashboards (primarily in Tableau) that empower teams like Sales, Marketing, and Product to make smarter, faster decisions.

• Lead & Collaborate:
  • Act as a data evangelist and a center of excellence for the entire Product organization. You will be the key driver in making reporting and data a foundational, collaborative component of every feature we build.

• Bridge the Technical Gap:
  • Collaborate closely with the Platform Data team to ensure that the data models, pipelines, and architecture they build are robust, scalable, and capable of supporting your product roadmaps.

• Be the Expert:
  • Become the go-to subject matter expert on Newsela's application data ecosystem. Understand its sources, its nuances, and its potential to drive value for our users and our business.

Why you’re a great fit

• 8+ years of product management experience, with at least 5+ years focused specifically on data, analytics, or business intelligence products.

• Proven experience managing both customer-facing data products (e.g., embedded analytics, reporting dashboards) and internal BI/analytics platforms.

• Deep understanding of the modern data stack, including concepts like data warehousing, ETL/ELT processes, data modeling, and data governance. You must be comfortable and credible in technical conversations with data engineers and analysts.

• A highly collaborative mindset with demonstrated success in creating and executing a product strategy that balances the needs of external users with the operational needs of the internal business.

• Extensive experience working with BI tools (e.g., Tableau, Looker) and product analytics platforms (e.g., Heap, Pendo).

• Hands-on experience with SQL for data exploration and analysis.

• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with a proven ability to influence and lead cross-functional teams without direct authority.

• A user-centric mindset and a passion for solving complex problems.

Base Compensation: $135,000 - $150,000. Total compensation for this role also includes incentive stock options and benefits. This compensation range may be adjusted based on actual experience.