[Hiring] Director, Product Operations & Planning @Rithum

Role Description

As the Director, Product Operations & Planning, you are responsible for defining and scaling the operating system that enables Product and Engineering to deliver with clarity, focus, and accountability. You serve as the connective layer between strategy and execution—translating company priorities into structured planning, aligned roadmaps, and disciplined delivery. You establish the frameworks, processes, and operating rhythms that drive portfolio visibility, prioritization, and execution consistency across the organization. In this role, you partner closely with Product and Engineering leadership to ensure teams are focused on the highest-impact work and that trade-offs are made intentionally and transparently. You bring rigor to how work is planned, tracked, and delivered—improving execution predictability, reducing friction, and enabling the organization to scale effectively. Your impact is measured by the organization’s ability to consistently deliver against priorities, maintain clear alignment, and build leadership confidence in product execution.

Responsibilities

• Product Operating Model & Planning
  • Define, implement, and continuously evolve the Product & Engineering operating model, including planning, governance, and execution rhythms.
  • Lead annual and quarterly planning processes (OKRs), ensuring clear alignment from company strategy through team-level execution.
  • Establish and enforce roadmap governance and decision-making frameworks that drive clarity, accountability, and consistency.
• Portfolio Visibility & Prioritization
  • Build and maintain end-to-end portfolio visibility across initiatives, dependencies, capacity, and resource allocation.
  • Develop and operationalize prioritization frameworks that balance strategic impact, client value, and operational constraints.
  • Ensure product roadmaps are clear, aligned, and transparent across leadership and key stakeholders.
• Execution Excellence & Predictability
  • Implement systems, processes, and metrics that improve delivery predictability, throughput, and execution quality.
  • Define and track product and operational performance metrics (e.g., roadmap health, delivery accuracy, cycle time, dependency risk).
  • Identify systemic risks and inefficiencies and drive continuous improvement across Product and Engineering.
• Cross-Functional Alignment & Influence
  • Drive alignment across Product, Engineering, Finance, and Commercial teams on priorities, sequencing, and trade-offs.
  • Improve collaboration models and operating cadences to reduce friction and increase velocity.
  • Influence leadership decisions through data-driven insights, structured problem-solving, and clear recommendations.
• AI-First Enablement
  • Leverage AI to enhance planning, forecasting, and operational insights.
  • Identify opportunities to automate workflows and scale operational best practices.
  • Champion adoption of AI-driven tools and processes across Product and Engineering.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Product Operations, Program Management, Product Management, or related roles in a SaaS or technology environment.
• Proven experience building and scaling product operating models or planning functions that improve execution predictability and organizational alignment.
• Demonstrated success leading annual and quarterly planning processes (e.g., OKRs) across cross-functional teams.
• Strong cross-functional leadership skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive alignment on priorities and trade-offs.
• Experience defining and operationalizing metrics that improve delivery outcomes, roadmap transparency, and organizational effectiveness.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into scalable systems, processes, and measurable business outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field; MBA a plus.
• Experience in high-growth or scaling SaaS organizations.
• Familiarity with portfolio management and prioritization frameworks.
• Experience integrating AI tools into operational workflows to drive efficiency and insight generation.
• Strong business and financial acumen, including understanding of investment trade-offs and resource allocation.
• Executive presence with the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely to senior leadership.
• Experience using AI tools (ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, etc.) to accelerate and elevate your outcomes; including but not limited to communication drafting, data analysis, prompt engineering, and/or documentation.

Travel Required

• Up to 10%

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision benefits: Affordable health care plans and company HSA contributions, starting on Day 1.
• A 6% 401(k) match.
• Competitive time off package with 20 days of Paid Time Off, 9 Company-Paid holidays, 2 paid floating holidays, 7 paid sick days, 2 Wellness days, and 1 Paid Volunteer Day; at 3 years of service PTO increases to 22 days, and at 5 years it increases to 25 days.
• 12 weeks primary caregiver leave & 4 weeks secondary caregiver leave.
• Accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity insurance.
• Pet insurance.
• Legal assistance and identity theft insurance plans.
• Life insurance 2x salary.
• Access to the Calm app and the Employee Assistance Program.
• $65/month Remote work stipend for internet.
• Culture and team-building activities.
• Tuition assistance.
• Career development opportunities.
• Charitable contribution match up to $250 per year.