Director Product Operations
At Arctic Wolf,
Role: Director of Product Operations
subject matter expert (SME) in the Aha! product management platform
significant experience with a comparable product management tool
Primary Responsibilities and Duties
- Develop, implement, and continually refine operational strategies, processes, and systems that support organizational goals.
- Lead cross-functional initiatives that drive efficiency, operational alignment, and predictable delivery.
- Establish and manage performance metrics, operational dashboards, and reporting frameworks to monitor progress and inform decision‑making.
- Partner with Product Management, Engineering, and Program Management to streamline workflows, prioritize initiatives, and support successful execution of product roadmaps.
- Identify operational bottlenecks and implement solutions that improve throughput, quality, and scalability.
- Lead operational planning cycles, including annual planning, resourcing, and sequencing of strategic initiatives.
- Standardize processes, documentation, and governance to ensure clarity, accountability, and operational consistency across teams.
- Manage risk assessment and mitigation strategies, ensuring operational reliability.
- Serve as the organizational subject matter expert in
Aha!
or a similar product management tool, enabling teams to drive adoption, optimize usage, and leverage data for decision‑making.
- Support onboarding, training, and best‑practice integration for operations‑related tools and processes.
- Influence and support change‑management efforts to ensure smooth integration of new systems, tools, and methodologies.
- Influence
- Provide scalable solutions, like recorded training, best practices, templates, targeted coaching to product managers to facilitate the creation of high quality epics throughout the product lifecycle; supporting clear understanding of problems, suggested implementations and success metrics, and an effective refinement process with engineering
- Ensure product managers are creating and using effective, meaningful success metrics; In partnership with PMO, drive a process that regularly reviews deliverables against success criteria
- Assist product management leaders with best practices and tactics to drive product manager involvement throughout the entire SDLC to enable consistent communication of value, rapid problem solving, and quick scope adjustment
- Assist product management leaders with standard process for user acceptance test (beta, EAP, Design partners) and enabling cross-functional collaboration
- Ensure Product Marketing are embedded early and often in the product development lifecycle and the software development lifecycle
- Drive processes to enable high-impact UX engagement throughout the SDLC process so that UX time can be invested on the highest value work
- Foster an environment with early and often cross-functional collaboration and involvement (IT, ProdSec, Legal, GTO, S2, etc)
- Facilitate quick decision-making by acting as the point of contact for prioritization assistance
- Own
- Product Organization Fiscal Year Annual Operating Planning process
- Product Organization Quarterly Business Review process
- Product Development Process and tools- "Product Manager of the Product Management process and implementation"; identify hotspots in the process to address and identify coaching opportunities; Develop a cadence of spot-checking product management processes as teams move through the development process to identify areas of growth for the teams and undesired friction in the process
- Identify opportunities to bring knowledge and data that provide value across all product management teams; implement ways to enable self-serve access to that knowledge and data
- Implement and maintain a road-mapping process that allows for efficient support of greenlight process requirements and consistently communicates and delivers customer and stakeholder value
- Own Product Management specific tooling (usage, contracting, mgmt); Drive consistent, standardized and efficient usage our tooling (Aha!, Jira, Confluence, XLS), determine what the right tool is for the outcome
- Own the pieces of the SDLC with product involvement; enable a culture of continuous learning and improvement; monitor the effective implementation of the SDLC, identify opportunities for tooling, process and people improvements and drive a metrics-oriented view of the health of the PM components of the SDLC
- Own and drive a set of metrics in support of the SDLC and at the discretion of the product SVP, to support the product lines as a whole function
- Own the business case template and lifecycle - from pitch through launch, ensuring clear reporting against goals throughout the lifecycle
- Own the product line strategy templates and lifecycle - Ensuring strategies include 3yr plan, where are you going, how you are going to win, supporting research; clear reporting against strategic goals for AWN
Key Skills
- Strong operational strategy development and execution abilities
- Exceptional Product Management Knowledge - This role is the Product Manager of the Product Management process; must have a deep, experiential knowledge of product management and be able to translate that experience into best practices, templates and standardization
- Excellent cross-functional leadership, communication, and stakeholder‑management skills
- Expertise in scaling processes, optimizing workflows, and implementing operational frameworks
- Ability to analyze complex data, identify trends, and make data‑driven decisions
- Strong problem‑solving, critical thinking, and organizational skills
- High proficiency with operational and productivity tools
- Deep experience with
Aha!
or strong transferable expertise from similar tools (e.g., Jira Advanced Roadmaps, Productboard, Monday.com, etc.)
- Ability to influence without authority and build strong relationships across teams
- High EQ; able to build consensus without direct authority through 'disagree and commit' style agreements; Exemplary communicator across all mediums (Slack, Video, Email, Powerpoint, Word); Ability to influence and align across many stakeholder groups
- Strong presentation and executive communication skills
- Continuous Learner - researching new things to get better
- "Left Shift the problems" - driving towards continuous improvement as a culture Streamline Process to get the right outcomes- identify bottlenecks, and come up with solutions to remove the bottlenecks; implement scalable processes across product teams
- Extensive Agile SDLC experience, frameworks and tools
- Tempo Setter - not just a braintrust, evangelist of the process - driving culture and setting a tone; Advocate for excellence in the process - create a sense of spirit across teams; celebrate accomplishment & achievement, reinforcing good behaviors
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Product Management, or related field
- 8+ years of experience in operations, program management, product operations, or a similar discipline
- Proven experience leading cross‑functional initiatives in a complex, fast‑paced environment
- Demonstrated ability to build and optimize operational processes
- Experience with Aha! or equivalent product‑management tools
- Strong analytical and reporting capabilities
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree (MBA or related discipline)
- 10-12+ years of experience in operations leadership roles
- Experience supporting product or technology organizations at scale
- Certification in Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, or similar methodologies
- Prior responsibility for tool governance, configuration, and enablement of Aha! or comparable platforms
- Experience in change management, organizational design, or operational maturity transformation
- Background in software or technology‑focused environments
Don't meet all the requirements? That's okay! We still want you to apply. We have many opportunities, and we are always looking for top talent.
On-Camera Policy
Our Values
Arctic Wolf recognizes that success comes from delighting our customers, so we work together to ensure that happens every day. We believe in diversity and inclusion, and truly value the unique qualities and unique perspectives all employees bring to the organization. And we appreciate that - by protecting people's and organizations' sensitive data and seeking to end cyber risk - we get to work in an industry that is fundamental to the greater good. We celebrate unique perspectives by creating a platform for all voices to be heard through our Pack Unity program. We encourage all employees to join or create a new alliance. See more about our Pack Unity here .
We also believe and practice corporate responsibility, and have recently joined the Pledge 1% Movement, ensuring that we continue to give back to our community. We know that through our mission to End Cyber Risk we will continue to engage and give back to our communities. All wolves receive compelling compensation and benefits packages, including:
- Equity for all employees
- Flexible annual leave, paid holidays and volunteer days
- Training and career development programs
- Comprehensive private benefits plan including medical insurance for you and your family, life insurance (3x compensation), and personal accident insurance.
- Fertility support and paid parental leave
Arctic Wolf is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or any other basis forbidden under federal, provincial, or local law. Arctic Wolf is committed to fostering a welcoming, accessible, respectful, and inclusive environment ensuring equal access and participation for people with disabilities. As such, we strive to make our entire experience as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for candidates and employees with disabilities and/or other specific needs where possible. Please let us know if you require any accommodation by emailing recruiting@arcticwolf.com.
Security Requirements
- Conducts duties and responsibilities in accordance with AWN's Information Security policies, standards, processes, and controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of AWN business information (in accordance with our employee handbook and corporate policies).
- Background checks are required for this position.
- This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR"). Please note that, if applicable, an offer for employment will be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations.
Not included in the source posting: about the role, benefits.
Skills
Who can apply
The employer didn't state any visa, work authorization, citizenship or clearance requirements in this posting. Confirm with the employer before applying.
Read automatically from the employer's posting text. Always confirm with the employer — requirements can change after a job is published.