Forward Deployed Product Manager

SpruceID

. Work directly with state government partners through discovery, architecture, and design .

Posted 10/22/2026full-timeRemote • United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $150,000 - $250,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in product management within government and highly regulated environments, with a strong focus on user research, stakeholder engagement, and driving digital credential adoption. Capable of synthesizing complex user needs into actionable product roadmaps while balancing security, accessibility, and reliability.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Product Management ExperienceUser Research DesignGovernment RelationsDigital Credential AdoptionZero-To-One Product Development

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

User ResearchProduct Roadmap DevelopmentAPI IntegrationSystem DesignPrototypingData AnalysisKPI ManagementTechnical DepthDiscovery ProcessesImplementation Experience

Soft Skills

Stakeholder EngagementAdaptabilityProblem SolvingCommunicationCollaboration

Tools & Technologies

Digital Identity SystemsIAM/ICAMCredentialing SystemsAuthentication SystemsAccessibility Standards

Industry Keywords

Workforce DevelopmentEducation TechnologyPublic-Sector ProcurementContracting ExperienceFedRAMPNIST Frameworks

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Work directly with state government partners through discovery, architecture, and design
Understand users, policy environments, constraints, and workflows firsthand
Identify underlying customer problems beyond stated requirements
Act as a trusted product advisor to public-sector stakeholders
Own the end-to-end product picture across statewide wallets, citizen-facing portals, APIs, and underlying services
Help partners shape roadmaps and priorities and ensure solutions address real problems
Partner with engineering, design, and delivery leads from definition through deployment
Design and conduct user research with users, stakeholders, and end users
Conduct discovery and prototype where appropriate
Synthesize research into product decisions and roadmap direction
Navigate government relationships while introducing evidence that may challenge stated priorities
Identify patterns across customer deployments and connect needs to reusable product capabilities
Put work in front of small pilot groups and use findings to redirect the roadmap
Balance iteration speed with security, accessibility, and reliability requirements
Drive digital credential adoption by onboarding issuers, verifiers, and institutional partners
Develop high-leverage partnerships with university research programs, workforce boards, and employer networks
Own adoption KPIs and use creative, resourceful methods to improve them
Advise executive stakeholders including agency directors, university leadership, and ecosystem partners

Requirements

What you’ll need

6–10+ years of product experience at startups or building new product initiatives
Experience in an early-stage environment where you personally shipped product and moved quickly
Zero-to-one experience taking a product from nothing to shipped or pursuing entirely new opportunities
Ideally, meaningful experience in education, workforce development, or adjacent sectors
Experience in government or another highly regulated environment
Genuine customer-embedded experience; forward-deployed product, solutions PM, implementation, or founder-led delivery experience counts
Demonstrated, hands-on user research experience, including designing and running discovery and turning it into product decisions
Technical depth sufficient to work comfortably with engineers and APIs, services, and system design
Comfort with ambiguity, broad surface area, and shifting priorities
Executive-level credibility with agency directors, university chancellors, and institutional partners
Based in the U.S. and excited to engage directly with state government partners
Passion for workforce development and expanding opportunity through technology
Must be eligible and able to pass a government background check
Nice to have: digital identity, IAM/ICAM, credentialing, or authentication systems background
Nice to have: familiarity with accessibility standards, FedRAMP, or NIST frameworks
Nice to have: public-sector procurement and contracting experience
Nice to have: prior engineering or deeply technical systems experience
Nice to have: experience building or growing multi-sided ecosystems, marketplaces, or platform adoption
Nice to have: education technology, learning and employment records, or workforce development program background

Benefits

Comp & perks

Substantial travel to state government partner sites may be expected depending on the assigned engagement
Small, high-trust team with autonomy and judgment valued
Equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or veteran status