Technical Product Manager - API

At SmartBear, we believe building great software starts with quality—and we’re helping our customers make that happen every day. Our solution hubs—SmartBear API Hub, SmartBear Insight Hub, and SmartBear Test Hub, featuring HaloAI, bring visibility and automation to software development, making it easier for teams to deliver high-quality software faster. SmartBear is trusted by over 16 million developers, testers, and software engineers at 32,000+ organizations – including innovators like Adobe, JetBlue, FedEx, and Microsoft.

We are looking for a highly skilled Technical Product Manager to lead strategy, planning, and execution for our technical product areas. This role requires a blend of deep technical knowledge, strategic product thinking, and a passion for engaging with our developer and open-source communities. The ideal candidate brings expertise in APIs, understands modern AI technologies, and thrives in a collaborative environment with Engineering, UX, and Product Marketing peers.

About the role:

Product Strategy & Roadmap

• Co-own defining the technical product vision and roadmap for key developer-focused initiatives.
• Align product planning with business goals, customer needs, and emerging trends—particularly in AI-driven API workflows and open-source API tools.
• Partner with Engineering to ensure scalable, high-quality implementation of roadmap items.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Engineering, Design, Product Marketing, Developer Relations, and Documentation to define executable, technically sound product strategies.
• Drive clear alignment on open-source tooling updates and enhancements, prioritizing community needs alongside strategic initiatives.

Developer & Customer Engagement

• Represent the voice of the customer by engaging directly with developers, enterprise customers, and prospects through sales calls, support conversations, events, and community forums.
• Synthesize input into actionable insights and backlog priorities, balance near-term customer needs with long-term innovation.

Technical Expertise & Requirements Management

• Deep understanding of the API Industry with strong knowledge around API Protocols (GraphQL, OpenAPI, Async, gRPC, etc.)
• Experience across the API SDLC specifically, exposure to the Design & Test stages
• Translate market and customer requirements into clear, technically grounded product specs and acceptance criteria.
• Serve as a trusted technical partner to engineering by anticipating complexity and scoping feasibility early.

AI-Forward Innovation

• Contribute to the development of AI-native product features by understanding concepts like agentic AI, machine learning architectures, and standards like Model Context Protocol (MCP).
• Identify and articulate how these evolving technologies reshape the API landscape, developer experience, and platform capabilities.

We are looking for you if you have:

• 5+ years of experience in product management, preferably in developer tools, APIs, infrastructure, or SaaS.
• Technical background—whether via CS degree, software engineering experience, or equivalent depth of expertise.
• Proven ability to deliver successful products in close collaboration with engineers, UX, and go-to-market teams.
• Familiarity with open-source ecosystems and community-based development models.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience participating in or managing open-source projects and communities.
• Affiliation to OpenAPI Initiative
• Exposure to AI/ML technologies, with an understanding of their implications in software development workflows.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to adapt messaging across technical and non-technical audiences.

Why you should join the SmartBear crew:

• You can grow your career at every level.
• We invest in your success as well as the spaces where our teams come together to work, collaborate, and have fun.
• We love celebrating our SmartBears; we even encourage our crew to take their birthdays off.
• We are guided by a People and Culture organization - an important distinction for us. We think about our team holistically – the whole person.
• We celebrate our differences in experiences, viewpoints, and identities because we know it leads to better outcomes.

Did you know?

• Our main goal at SmartBear is to make our technology-driven world a better place.
• SmartBear is committed to ethical corporate practices and social responsibility, promoting good in all the communities we serve.
• SmartBear is headquartered in Somerville, MA with offices across the world including Galway Ireland, Bath, UK, Wroclaw, Poland and Bangalore, India.
• We’ve won major industry(product and company) awards including B2B Innovators Award, Content Marketing Association, IntellyX Digital Innovator and BuiltIn Best Places to Work.

SmartBear is committed to creating an inclusive workplace for employees where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. We are an equal opportunity employer and make employment decisions based on merit, qualifications, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, gender, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace that reflects a diversity of thought and experience as well as our values of being smart, open, driven, accountable, and curious.

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