Principal Product Manager (Project Management)

At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation. 
 

Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where each individual can thrive.

Position Summary

The Principal Product Manager (PPM) is a member of the product management team and is responsible for helping to drive the F5 BIG-IP Next Cloud-Native Network Functions (CNF) product strategy and requirements.  The PPM must be the market expert listening to customer and prospect needs, analyzing market dynamics, and setting product direction for the overall CNF product suite (Edge Firewall, DNS, CGNAT, Policy Enforcer & more), with a primary focus on driving customer adoption.

The PPM manages the complete product lifecycle from definition and introduction to end-of-life. They must work collaboratively, driving strategic alignment within the organization, and have the ability to communicate effectively to both internal and external audiences. The PPM develops requirements using a balance of future vision, near term opportunities, customer requirements, business acumen, and management of day-to-day product issues. The PPM will engage with executives, business partners, channel, and end users. The position is dynamic and the individual must be comfortable with frequent multi-tasking among technical, business, strategic, marketing and planning activities.

Primary Responsibilities

• Ability to design and effectively lead large scale products from concept to completion. Lead the roadmap development process for large-scale and complex products; provide the strategy and product direction, define features, business benefits, and prioritize deliverables for the end-to-end product lifecycle process. Design and conduct primary research and synthesize insights across multiple viewpoints to inform product direction and investment priorities.
• Participate in the development of the PM strategy and vision. Drive improvement by regularly reviewing PM practices and proactively identifying opportunities for positive, impactful change. Lead efforts to implement solutions, driving innovation. Ensure F5 is continuously adapting by aligning innovation with strategy; advocate through influence to try new ideas, and drive alignment on a common objective to put them into practice.
• Facilitate presentations regarding strategic direction, market analysis, research findings, product plans, and updates for both technical and non-technical audiences at all levels of the organization, including executive leadership. Proactively identify, address, and resolve existing and potential concerns.
• Conduct comparative analysis against competitors and anticipate industry trends, direction, and innovations. Critically review feedback from partners to build effective relationships, proactively identify potential impacts and/or opportunities and take appropriate action. Identify and implement changes to current product development procedures based on market research and industry trends.
• Drive financial (budget, contracts, etc.) discussions with Finance, BizOps, and Procurement. Manage financial product plan, including developing and tracking appropriate metrics. Lead integration of financial activities, including planning, forecasting, lifecycle analysis and operates with a mentality of P&L ownership

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proficient with core networking technologies such as BGP, ECMP, BFD, Disaggregation, tunneling, routing, NAT, etc.
• Proficient with security technologies such as Firewall, DDoS, CGNAT, IDS/IPS, IPsec, URL Filtering, DPI, etc.
• Proficient with traffic management technologies such as DNS Caching, GSLB, TCP/IP Optimization, Video Optimization, Traffic Steering, etc.
• Proficient with Kubernetes and adjacent cloud-native technologies and tools
• Ability to build & present end-to-end product demos
• Strong customer orientation with the ability to listen, organize and champion key initiatives and projects for product development

• Recognized leader in function with a demonstrated ability to achieve strategic goals. Is sought by others across organization for product management guidance and insight.
• Experience coaching and motivating large teams, and encouraging the adoption of a collaborative, innovative, and inclusive culture. Has the ability to provide vision and direction in an interrupt-driven, fast-paced, and diverse environment. Understands, manages, and cultivates a global mindset.
• Effectively drives and influences decision making with leaders internally and externally. A talent for visual, verbal, and written storytelling and communicating with clarity and precision, simplifying and presenting complex information in a concise format that is audience appropriate.
• Deep understanding of and ability to speak knowledgeably regarding financials, return on investment (ROI), etc. with key stakeholders, customers, and senior leadership. Ability to present to C-level executives both internally and externally.
• Analytical and empathetic mindset; understands the 'why' of user behavior. A knack for identifying patterns, trends, points of note, drawing meaningful conclusions, translating them into desired user outcomes and effectively building cross-organizational support for change.
• Duties may require working outside normal working hours (evenings and weekends). 
• Duties may require the ability to travel via automobile or airplane, approximately 10-25% of the time spent traveling.

Qualifications

• BA/BS degree in technical related field required, MBA a plus
• 15+ years relevant industry experience (enterprise and/or service provider networking, security, traffic management, cloud services/products)
• 5+ years of experience in product management or equivalent
• 5+ years analyzing products, customers and market dynamics a plus

 

F5 Networks, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and strongly supports diversity in the workplace.

The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.

The annual base pay for this position is: $195,823.00 - $293,735.00

F5 maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, geographic locations, and market conditions, as well as to reflect F5's differing products, industries, and lines of business. The pay range referenced is as of the time of the job posting and is subject to change.

You may also be offered incentive compensation, bonus, restricted stock units, and benefits. More details about F5's benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.f5.com/company/careers/benefits. F5 reserves the right to change or terminate any benefit plan without notice. 

Please note that F5 only contacts candidates through F5 email address (ending with @f5.com) or auto email notification from Workday (ending with f5.com or @myworkday.com).

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is the policy of F5 to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to unlawful considerations of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, sensory, physical, or mental disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, discipline, and termination.  F5 offers a variety of reasonable accommodations for candidates. Requesting an accommodation is completely voluntary. F5 will assess the need for accommodations in the application process separately from those that may be needed to perform the job. Request by contacting accommodations@f5.com.