Product Manager: Data & Innovation
City of San Rafael · San Rafael, CA
THE DEPARTMENT
The core purpose of the Department of Digital Services & Open Government is to help make City services easy to use and work for everyone. We do this by applying human-centered design, process improvement, and performance measurement to continuously improve service delivery, civic engagement, and civic technology.
We believe:
- Government should be designed with and for people
- Empathy for all users leads to equitable outcomes
- Data and information should be used to create trust, transparency, and better government
- Building capacity across City teams empowers positive change
- Technology should be secure, accessible, and make life easier
Digital's focus areas include Civic Engagement, Digital Transformation, Data and Insights, and IT Operations and Maintenance. The Data & Insights team was awarded San Rafael’s Team of the Year for 2025, in part for helping San Rafael to achieve silver-certification as a data-driven city from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities program.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate for the Product Manager of Data & Innovation role is a results-driven and human-centered civic designer with expertise in data ecosystems, performance metrics, and agile digital service delivery. They have proven ability to break down departmental silos, scale open government initiatives, and lead cross-departmental teams to operationalize performance measurement. They can transform complex municipal workflows into accessible public services while championing responsible adoption of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence across the organization.
The Product Manager of Data & Innovation leads the Citywide Data and Insights program, oversees GIS operations, and works collaboratively with the Digital Service team to advance City Council priorities and address community needs. They lead, and work collaboratively with, cross-departmental teams to develop innovative solutions leveraging data, technology, and process improvements that enhance the community experience of City services.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
This list is meant to be representative, not exhaustive. CLICK HERE for the full job spec.
- Prepares and assists with the development of strategic plans related to area of
responsibility and addresses City-wide policy and management issues. - Develops, defines, and manages the vision and roadmap for one or more of the City’s
software and hardware products. - Develops and shares clarity around what problem a product is solving and for whom;
builds services with a strong equity lens to support everyone who needs access to
services; ensures that the City’s products work for all members of the public without
experience gaps. - Runs user research sprints with users and usability testing workshops for products at
varying stages of development and analyzes into site/product analytics. - Manages the execution of the vision and roadmap on a day-to-day and sprint-to-sprint
basis of products including managing priorities, grooming backlogs, and tracking task
completion. - Develops success metrics by defining what success looks like for the products and
creates and manages the metrics to track progress during development and after
deployment; understands and analyzes user and business needs to ensure outcomes are
aligned with service vision and business strategy. - Documents the City’s products and the processes; develops and oversees the design and
end-to-end journey of services and business processes through user-centered design. - Ensures that both qualitative and quantitative research inform the product, and that
product definition is not just about opinion. - Embeds human-centered design principles into every aspect of how the City is building
the product. - Develops strong stakeholder relationships at every level; manages resourcing in
collaboration with the design and development teams; works with departments to help
them understand Agile; leads and collaborates with cross-functional teams to explore,
prototype and define the end-to-end product experience; and manages stakeholders so
that the product team gets decisions and is supported at a senior level. - Works with service designers to create functional prototypes to illustrate design or
architecture options. - Establishes best practices and standards for front end testing, and works to oversee
adoption across the organization.
CORE COMPETENCIES
- Human-centered civic design and product management – Develop digital solutions and rapid prototypes based on user research and community feedback.
- Data strategy and product development - Evolve the City’s data strategy and governance, develop performance dashboards, and self-service analytics to empower internal staff and external stakeholders.
- Responsible Public Sector AI Governance: Implement automation and AI tools responsibly by aligning innovation with policy, privacy, and risk-mitigation standards.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
Equivalent to graduation from an accredited college or university with a degree in computer science, information systems, information technology, public policy, business, public administration, or closely related field and three years of experience working as a product manager for a digital product that is in use by people today.
One year of experience serving as a lead or in a supervisory or management capacity is desirable.
A Master's Degree is preferred
Benefits
The Parking Services Manager classifications is a regular positions of the City’s San Rafael Mid-Management Employee Association (SRMMEA) with a competitive benefits package including:
- MEDICAL | City group health coverage, with the City paying a fixed dollar amount toward the cost of the monthly insurance premium. In 2027 the City contribution will be Employee only: $1,014.10; Employee plus one: $2,027.12; Family: $2,560.58.
- DENTAL AND VISION | Premium fully paid for employee plus eligible dependents.
- VACATION LEAVE | 15 days annually, increases after 5 years of service
- SICK LEAVE | 12 days annually
- ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE | 10 days each calendar year, prorated if hired after the first of the year
- HOLIDAYS | 12 paid City holidays plus 1 floating holiday per year
- BEREAVEMENT LEAVE | Up to 5 days paid leave
- END OF LIFE CARE LEAVE | Up to 80 hours paid leave
- PAID PARENTAL LEAVE (if eligible) | Up to 300 hours paid leave. SRMMEA employees also contribute to State Disability Insurance (SDI)
- LIFE INSURANCE & AD&D | $300,000
- LONG TERM DISABILITY | 66.67% of salary, up to $7,500 per month
- RETIREMENT | Enrollment in the Marin County Retirement System (MCERA) pension plan, a defined benefit retirement program
- DEFERRED COMPENSATION | City will contribute one percent (1.06%) of base pay into a City-provided deferred compensation plan
- GYM MEMBERSHIP REIMBURSEMENT | Up to $198 per year
- BILINGUAL PAY (if eligible) | Up to $250 per month
- COMPUTER LOAN PROGRAM (if eligible) | Up to $1,500 for the purchase of computer hardware
Special Instructions
Application deadline: Apply by Sunday, December 6, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.
Interview schedule:
Week of December 14: Panel interview - in person
Week of December 14: Finalist interviews - in person
Check back her for date updates!
It is recommended to plan your schedule accordingly.
Questions? Contact [email protected]
