Technical Product Manager

Role Summary

This position owns the how and when of product delivery with a voice in the what and why. The Product Owner sets direction. You figure out how to ship it — scoping work with engineers, breaking features into buildable pieces, and making sure things actually get done.

Your job is shipping quality work on a predictable cadence and continuously improving the platform experience for players, game masters, convention organizers, and the broader tabletop gaming community.

Stack Context

You don't write code. You need to understand how the pieces fit and have opinions about tradeoffs.

• Front-End: React, Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind
• Back-End: Go, serverless and containerized microservices, AWS
• Infrastructure: 100% IaC-managed event-driven architecture atop Apache Kafka

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities constitute approximately 80% of position time and are the essential functions of this position. Additional responsibilities constitute approximately 20%.

Primary

• Technical Specification and Standards: Define and maintain the specification standards that govern how product requirements become buildable work. Turn user stories into technical specs and acceptance criteria that engineers actually want to build from. Exercise independent judgment on scope, sequencing, and technical approach.
• Delivery Strategy and Process Design: Establish and continuously refine the delivery processes, cadence, and quality standards that the engineering team operates within. Run sprint planning, standups, and retros. Manage the backlog — groomed, estimated, and ready for delivery.
• Scope and Sequencing Decisions: Make scope and sequencing decisions that directly affect product strategy and resource allocation. Partner with Product and Engineering on tradeoffs and unblocking issues. Exercise discretion on what ships, when, and in what order.
• Quality Standards and Acceptance: Define and enforce quality standards and acceptance criteria across the product. Own UAT (automated and otherwise) and bug triage. Determine release readiness and make go/no-go decisions.
• Release Strategy and Coordination: Determine release strategy, coordinate deployments, and manage production stability decisions. Author release notes and communicate changes to stakeholders.
• Product Analytics Manage the CDP (Amplitude) for product analytics and event tracking. Use data to inform product decisions and validate outcomes.
• Content and Data Operations Maintain specific datasets within the platform. Handle publishing and content updates as needed.
• Process and Policy Improvement Evaluate and redesign delivery processes and operational policies, improving predictability and throughput without adding unnecessary ceremony.

Key Competencies

• Specification Writing — Turn fuzzy requirements into specs that engineers can build from without ambiguity
• Technical Fluency — Talk technical with engineers without writing the code; understand architectural tradeoffs, API design, and data flow
• Delivery Discipline — Maintain a clean backlog and a consistent shipping cadence; find satisfaction in daily feature delivery
• Scope Judgment — Know when to push back on scope and sequencing and when to find a creative path forward
• Cross-Functional Communication — Bridge Product, Engineering, and UX effectively; translate between business needs and technical constraints
• Quality Eye — Catch edge cases and gaps in acceptance criteria before they reach production

Experience

Required

• 4+ years as a TPM, Technical PM, or delivery-focused PM
• Track record of writing specs that engineers liked working from
• Agile experience that goes beyond ceremonies and dogma
• Experience shipping with a small team where you wore multiple hats
• Comfort navigating code reviews, PRs, and technical documentation
• Experience taking software from concept through launch — understanding what that actually takes

Nice to Have

• Serverless or event-driven architecture experience
• Web and mobile delivery experience
• Startup experience — navigating ambiguity and delivering in a shifting landscape
• Product analytics or CDP management experience (Amplitude, Mixpanel, etc.)
• Active participation in the TTRPG community — if you've built a spreadsheet to track initiative or automated your character sheet, you'll fit right in

Physical Requirements

This position requires the ability to:

• Sit or stand for extended periods while working at a computer workstation
• Use hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, and other standard office equipment
• View computer screens for extended periods
• Communicate effectively via written and verbal means
• Travel to the Saint Paul office 4-5 days per week and navigate the office environment
• Participate in video conferences and in-person meetings

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

Working Conditions

• In-office work environment: 4-5 days/week onsite in Saint Paul, MN office
• Standard business hours with flexibility; occasional evening work for release coordination
• Fast-paced startup environment requiring adaptability and independent judgment
• Primarily computer-based work in office setting

The Keep is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

This position description is not intended to create an employment contract and does not alter the at-will nature of employment with The Keep. This description may be modified at any time at the Company's discretion.