Director, Product Management - API

At SmartBear, we believe building great software starts with quality – and we’re helping our customers make that happen every day. Our solutions, featuring SmartBear AI, 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.

About the Role

SmartBear is seeking a hands-on Director of Product Management to lead the strategy, execution, and growth of our Swagger API Testing business. This role owns the end-to-end product vision and delivery for API testing product tools, from define a compelling product strategy and scaling adoption and revenue.

This is a builder role, not a portfolio-only leadership position. You will be deeply involved in customer discovery, roadmap definition, execution tradeoffs, and go-to-market alignment, while also mentoring and leading a small team of Product Managers.

You will work closely with Engineering, Product Marketing, Sales, Growth, and Customer Success to ensure API testing becomes a core growth driver for SmartBear, serving both PLG-led developers and enterprise teams with advanced testing, governance, and scale needs.

What You’ll Do

Strategy & Vision

• Define and communicate a clear 3-year product strategy for API Testing, aligned to SmartBear’s growth goals

• Translate long-term vision into practical, executable roadmaps that balance speed, quality, and differentiation

• Establish a strong point of view on cloud-native API testing, including workflow testing, CI/CD automation, scale, and AI-assisted testing

Product Execution

• Own roadmap, prioritization, and key product decisions across the API testing portfolio

• Lead customer discovery (interviews, validation, beta programs) to drive tight product-market fit

• Partner closely with Engineering to deliver high-impact features with fast learning cycles

• Use data, experimentation, and customer feedback to drive continuous improvement and adoption

Growth & Product-Market Fit

• Scale adoption, engagement, and revenue for API Testing across PLG and enterprise motions

• Partner with Product Marketing and Growth to refine positioning, packaging, and monetization

• Optimize product offerings for developer experience

• Define and track success metrics across activation, retention, expansion, and revenue

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Act as the API Testing product leader across Sales, Marketing, Engineering, and Customer Success

• Influence without relying on hierarchy; align teams around outcomes and tradeoffs

• Represent API testing strategy to executive stakeholders with clarity and conviction

Team Leadership

• Mentor and develop Product Managers through clear expectations, coaching, and feedback

• Establish consistent product management practices while maintaining speed and autonomy

• Foster a culture of ownership, customer empathy, and results-driven execution

What We’re Looking For

Required

• 8+ years of product management experience, including senior or director-level ownership

• Deep domain expertise in API development and API testing

• Proven experience scaling cloud or SaaS products with measurable adoption and revenue growth

• Strong track record of hands-on product leadership (not just delegation)

• Experience operating in a hybrid PLG + enterprise environment

• Ability to lead through influence across Engineering, Sales, Marketing, and Growth

• Data-driven mindset with strong product judgment

Strong Plus

• Familiarity with CI/CD, workflow testing, environments, and test automation at scale

• Experience managing and mentoring 2+ Product Managers

• Exposure to developer tooling, testing platforms, or API ecosystems

• Experience using experimentation, analytics, and customer research to drive decisions

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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At SmartBear, we believe transparency in pay is part of how we build trust—with our employees, candidates, and community. Our compensation philosophy is grounded in market competitiveness, internal equity, and rewarding impact.

We encourage candidates to view compensation as part of their total rewards experience at SmartBear. This includes performance-based bonuses for eligible roles, a generous benefits package that supports employees’ health and well-being, and promotes work-life balance through flexible time off and hybrid work options. You can build your career at SmartBear through professional development opportunities, and an inclusive, collaborative culture where everyone can thrive.

Your SmartBear total rewards compensation package includes base salary and may also include a performance bonus plan, as well as equity (if eligible). The base salary range for this role is listed below. Actual compensation is determined based on several factors, including relevant experience, skills, internal equity, and geographic location.

Annual Cash Compensation
$170,000—$195,000 USD