Product Manager

Product Manager

AI-Native Platform | Planning Pod | Raleigh, NC | In-person, full-time

About Planning Pod

Planning Pod is the operating system for the events industry. More than 1,200 event venues and planners run their bookings, clients, contracts, payments, and day-to-day operations on our platform. We have a proven product, a loyal customer base, and a profitable business.

We are now building an AI-native version of Planning Pod, designed from the ground up around what large language models make possible. Backed by our own cash flow and by Kirra Capital, we have the speed and ambition of a startup paired with an existing customer base, deep domain knowledge, and the runway to build the right product.

We plan to roll this new platform out to our existing customers over the next 6 months.

About the Role

This role owns product research, requirements, roadmap prioritization, and rollout planning for the new AI-native platform. You will work directly with our CTO and alongside a small, hand-picked engineering team dedicated to the new product. You are the connective tissue that makes sure customer signal, engineering execution, and business goals stay tightly aligned as we build and launch.

We are looking for a builder, not a manager. Someone who does the customer research themselves, writes the specs themselves, and stays close to both the code and the customer. If you are the kind of PM who has thrived at a smaller, high-growth company where you had to own everything end to end, and you are excited about designing AI-native products from a clean slate, you will fit in here.

Who Should Apply

This role is based in our Raleigh, NC office, full-time, in-person. We are building together, in the same room, and that matters to us. Do not apply unless you are willing and excited to come to the office every day you are working. We expect to move quickly and make mistakes, and you should be willing to take that same perspective, staying focused on results instead of process. We do not want egos.

We take our work seriously but not ourselves. We believe work should be fun, engaging, and a key part of your life. Do not apply if you are looking for a paycheck or an easy 9-to-5. This role is for people who want to build something impactful and are willing to invest their time and energy into it.

Our Requirements

• 2-5 years of product management experience, ideally at a smaller, high-growth SaaS or consumer company where you owned things end to end
• A track record of shipping product from customer signal to launch, not just contributing to a piece of a larger product
• Hands-on skills you actually enjoy using: user interviews, SQL and analytics, requirements writing, backlog grooming
• Genuine interest in AI product design (LLMs, agents, evals, RAG) and staying close to the model frontier
• Excellent writing and verbal communication
• Strong critical reasoning, attention to detail, and follow-through
• Driven, high-energy, positive, and optimistic
• Based in Raleigh, NC (or willing to relocate) and excited to work in-person, full-time, with the team

Your Responsibilities

• Own primary customer research: interviews, workflow shadowing, funnel and retention analysis
• Translate research and data into a prioritized roadmap alongside the CTO
• Write product requirements and user stories that leave nothing ambiguous for engineering
• Own the backlog and run our Jira and agile processes end to end
• Partner with sales, marketing, and support on positioning, pricing, and go-to-market
• Plan and coordinate product releases, including the rollout to our existing 1,200+ customers
• Run product demos, walkthroughs, and webinars for customers and prospects
• Some travel may be required

Why Planning Pod

• You will help launch a new AI-native platform to 1,200+ existing paying customers
• You will work directly with the CTO, the engineering team, and the CEO from day one
• Real end-to-end ownership from your first week
• Startup pace with the backing of a profitable business and Kirra Capital as an investor
• Competitive salary + performance incentives
• Healthcare, 401K match, and 15 vacation days growing to 20 with tenure
• A clear path to grow into senior product leadership as the team and platform scale