Product Manager

Robots & Pencils is an applied AI engineering firm building the next frontier of business architecture. We design and ship AI co-workers that integrate into enterprise operations and deliver measurable results for our clients. We're all in on AWS, combining deep UX capability with senior engineering talent to get AI into production fast and keep it there.  

We’ve earned the trust of leaders across Consumer Products and Retail, Education, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Manufacturing and more, and earned a reputation as the nimble alternative to traditional global systems integrators. Founded in 2009, with delivery centers in Canada, the United States, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, we are smaller, faster, and more senior by design. Our teams average 15+ years of experience. We move fast, sweat the details, and build things that actually ship.  

About the role

We're looking for a Product Manager to own product delivery across complex digital engagements. This role is ideal for an experienced product thinker who can run a backlog, translate business needs into clear requirements, and build strong relationships with clients and delivery teams from day one.  

We have engaged with a managed services provider focused on IT, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure — to run a 3-week AI Sharpening Sprint followed by a 3-month AI Pod build engagement. The Product Manager will be embedded in the pod and responsible for structuring the inputs and outputs of the sprint and delivery phases: synthesizing stakeholder interview content, shaping the prioritized AI opportunity list, and building the roadmap into something the team can execute against sprint over sprint. In the Pod phase, this person will own the product backlog, facilitate sprint planning and readouts with stakeholders, and ensure pod work stays aligned to validated business priorities.  

Why this role matters  

At Robots & Pencils, we design AI systems for a human world. Our name says it all. Robots and pencils means engineering paired with creativity, because every agent we ship has to work for real people in real workflows. That balance is baked into how we operate.  
  
Every role here contributes directly to that mission. Here, you shape how AI systems integrate into enterprise operations, how teams move at real velocity, and how products create measurable impact for clients and the people they serve. We ship production-ready AI in 30 to 45 days. That pace demands people who take ownership, lead with craft, and care deeply about what they put their name on.  

What You’ll Do  

Craft & Delivery  

• Own and manage the product backlog, ensuring work is clearly defined, prioritized, and aligned to business outcomes   
• Translate business needs and stakeholder requests into structured requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria   
• Partner with engineering and design to ensure requirements are well understood and delivered with quality   
• Facilitate sprint planning, backlog refinement, and day-to-day delivery execution to keep the team on track   
• Identify and manage dependencies, risks, and scope changes throughout the delivery lifecycle   
• Leverage data, user feedback, and team insights to continuously improve the product   
• Bring an AI-forward mindset to your daily work, using tools like Claude to accelerate documentation, research, and analysis 

 Collaboration & Communication  

• Build and maintain strong relationships with client stakeholders, serving as a trusted partner in delivery   
• Communicate progress, risks, and tradeoffs clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences   
• Facilitate working sessions, requirement discussions, and decision-making forums with clients and delivery teams  

Leadership & Influence  

• Take full ownership of product delivery responsibilities end-to-end and follow through with consistency   
• Frame requests in terms of user and business outcomes, not just features   
• Contribute to a positive, high-performing team environment through reliability, clarity, and good judgment  

What you’ll bring  

• 3+ years of experience in product management or product ownership   
• Strong understanding of agile delivery practices and product ownership responsibilities   
• Experience with AI/LLM tooling and orchestration platforms 
• Experience writing requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria for cross-functional delivery teams   
• Experience working directly with clients or external stakeholders   
• Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences   
• Analytical approach to decision-making using data and user insight   
• Proficiency with product and delivery tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Miro)   
• Demonstrable usage of AI tools to enhance productivity and product work (e.g., Claude)   
• Experience in a consulting or agency environment is a plus

You’ll do well here if you are  

• A doer. You see something broken and fix it. You'd rather move on clarity than wait for certainty.  
• A fast learner who knows you don't know everything. The AI landscape changes weekly. You're senior enough to know better and curious enough to keep learning anyway.  
• Direct in a way that makes the work better. You give honest feedback. You'd rather have the hard conversation than blow smoke.  
• Obsessed with craft. You know genius is in the details. You ship exceptional, not perfect, and you don't put your name on work you wouldn't stand behind.  
• Built for ownership. You honor commitments, admit mistakes fast, and back your teammates when a decision costs something. No handoffs, no finger-pointing.  
• All in. You treat clients' businesses like your own. You take the work seriously without taking yourself seriously.  
• Resourceful when the budget, timeline, or team is tight. Constraints don't slow you down. They sharpen you.  
• Glad to be in the room with people who care as much as you do. Our teams average fifteen-plus years of experience. We hire people who push each other to do better work.  

An offer of employment may be conditional upon successful completion of a background check in accordance with local legislation and our candidate privacy notice. Your current employer will not be contacted without your permission.  We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.