Principal Data Product Manager

Job Description Role Overview: We are seeking a highly analytical and strategic Data Product Manager for our Foundational Data Assets to own and drive the strategy, roadmap, definition, implementation, and maintenance of our company’s critical business metrics. This role is pivotal in ensuring that our data-driven decision-making is accurate, consistent, and aligned with our strategic objectives. You will play a crucial role in understanding the company's overall strategy and partnering with senior stakeholders to define the metrics that best reflect progress towards those goals. You will act as a bridge between these stakeholders and technical teams, translating business needs into actionable data requirements and working with the technical team to drive the implementation and adoption  of these metrics, ensuring the integrity and reliability of our key performance indicators (KPIs). Responsibilities: Metric Definition & Governance: Collaborate with senior stakeholders across departments (Product, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Engineering) to define and refine core business metrics. Establish clear definitions, calculation methodologies, and data sources for all KPIs. Justify decisions made on definitions to senior stakeholders (including C-Suite). Develop and maintain a comprehensive data dictionary and documentation for all key metrics in collaboration with the Data Governance team. Data Implementation & Maintenance: Work closely with engineering and data teams to implement metric calculations and reporting dashboards. Make recommendations to stakeholders on implementation approaches for metric calculations and reporting. Prioritize enhancement requests based on level of effort and business value. Ensure timely and accurate updates to metrics in response to business changes and requirements. Collaborate with relevant teams to proactively identify and resolve data discrepancies and inconsistencies. Strategic Analysis & Reporting: Provide insightful analysis of key metrics to identify trends, opportunities, and risks. Develop and deliver regular reports and dashboards to senior management, highlighting key performance and actionable insights. Stakeholder Management & Communication: Effectively communicate complex data concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders and technical teams. Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to ensure alignment on metric definitions and data requirements. Enablement Ensure broad organizational awareness on key data assets and business metrics. Promote data literacy across the organization, ensuring that all stakeholders understand the available data and its implications. Act as a subject matter expert, providing guidance and support to business users on data interpretation and analysis. Qualifications: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a quantitative field (e.g., Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Economics, Business Analytics). 5+ years of experience in data product management, data strategy or analytics Strong understanding of data platforms (Snowflake, dbt etc.), data modeling and enterprise analytics ecosystem Proven experience within a software company or as a consultant. Experience of a transaction (private equity buyout or IPO) as an operator or advisor is preferred. Strong understanding of software business models and key performance indicators. Strong understanding of the use of core business systems (ERP, CRM etc.). Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly and concisely. Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment. The US annualized base salary range for this position is $183,000.00-$275,000.00. This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives. Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection, collaboration, learning, and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager. The intelligent heart of customer experience Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love. Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law. Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here. Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.