technical product manager - AI

From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company—one that not only celebrated coffee and its rich tradition, but also built meaningful connections. We are known for developing extraordinary leaders who are guided by service to others and driven to make an impact at global scale. We are seeking a Technical Product Manager to bridge business stakeholders and our AI engineering team — translating sourcing and procurement workflows into clear, actionable product specs that an AI team can build against. You are equally comfortable in a stakeholder review, a data schema discussion, and a sprint retro. You bring domain depth in sourcing and procurement, and enough technical fluency to be a credible partner to engineers working on LLM-powered systems. Summary of Key Responsibilities Functional Design & Product Documentation * Own the functional design specifications and product backlog across the AI-enabled sourcing platform — you are the author and accountable party for specs that engineering builds from directly: * Translate sourcing and procurement workflows (calendaring, market intelligence, contract management, commodity analysis) into clear, engineer-ready product requirements * Define and prioritize AI-enabled features across the platform, balancing business value, data readiness, and technical feasibility * Coordinate with business stakeholders to resolve open data, integration, and policy questions that would otherwise block engineering * Drive each module's functional spec from draft through stakeholder sign-off without losing momentum * Write clear, engineer-ready user stories and acceptance criteria across all modules; keep the sprint backlog current and prioritized Stakeholder & Gate Management * Facilitate the structured sign-off gates that govern each module's progression from product requirements through functional design, technical design, QA, and release — no phase advances without the right approver on record * Drive AI governance checkpoints in partnership with Security, Architecture, and Legal — covering AI ethics, data privacy, model validation, and production readiness * Partner with procurement, supply chain, finance, and legal stakeholders to gather requirements, resolve open questions, and get decisions without engineering being blocked * Represent the team in leadership demos and status reviews; translate engineering delivery progress into a clear business-level narrative Delivery & Roadmap * Own the phased delivery plan across releases: track which features are in the current MVP, which are deferred to the next release (data integration connectors, access control, document export), and which require AI enabler work before they can be built (LLM-powered features) * Coordinate data readiness with business partners — live enterprise system integration is the team's top cross-module blocker; coordinating sample data, field mappings, and system-of-record decisions is an immediate priority * Run agile ceremonies (sprint planning, backlog grooming, demos, retrospectives); manage the cross-module sprint backlog alongside the Principal Engineer * Participate in UAT and AI output reviews — you hold the bar on whether a release is ready for stakeholders Required Skills & Qualifications Product Management * Proven ability to write crisp product requirements, functional design docs, and user stories with clear acceptance criteria — engineers can build directly from your specs * Experience running agile ceremonies: sprint planning, backlog grooming, retrospectives, and stakeholder demos * Skilled at prioritization under ambiguity — you can say no, explain the trade-off, and move the team forward * Ability to decompose complex workflows into phased delivery plans; familiar with MVP scoping and iterative rollout * Strong stakeholder management — comfortable facilitating reviews with both senior sponsors and individual contributors Technical Fluency * Able to read and reason about API contracts, data schemas, and system diagrams — you don't write production code, but you can review it conceptually * Working knowledge of AI/ML product capabilities and limitations: RAG, LLM-based classification, agentic workflows — enough to scope feasibly and challenge estimates * Comfortable working in Jira, Linear, or equivalent for backlog management; familiar with Git-based doc workflows (Markdown, PR-based review) * Can interpret dashboards and basic data queries to investigate product questions without always needing engineering support Domain — Sourcing & Procurement *(Strongly Preferred)* * Hands-on experience in or building products for Source-to-Contract (S2C) or Procure-to-Pay (P2P) workflows — e.g., RFx, supplier evaluation, contract lifecycle, commodity management, or spend analytics * Familiarity with enterprise procurement platforms (Coupa, SAP Ariba, Oracle, Jaggaer, or similar) * Understanding of sourcing calendars, commodity price benchmarking, supplier performance management, or contract analytics is a meaningful advantage * Knowledge of compliance and auditability requirements common in enterprise procurement Communication & Collaboration * Excellent written communication — your PRDs, status updates, and decision logs are things people actually read * Experience partnering with data, finance, and legal as internal customers or reviewers * Comfortable presenting to both technical teams and non-technical business stakeholders, adjusting depth accordingly Nice to Have * Experience as a PM or analyst at a CPG, retail, foodservice, or global supply chain organization * Prior work on AI-enabled enterprise products (not just traditional SaaS) * Familiarity with engineering delivery metrics (e.g. deployment frequency, lead time, incident rate) and how they inform product and roadmap decisions Basic Qualifications * Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field * 3–6 years of product management or product analyst experience, with at least 1–2 years in a technically complex or AI-adjacent product environment As a Starbucks partner, you (and your family) will have access to medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, and other voluntary insurance benefits. Partners have access to short-term and long-term disability, paid parental leave, family expansion reimbursement, paid vacation from date of hire*, sick time (accrued at 1 hour for every 25 hours worked), eight paid holidays, and two personal days per year. Starbucks also offers eligible partners participation in a 401(k) retirement plan with employer match, a discounted company stock program (S.I.P.), Starbucks equity program (Bean Stock), incentivized emergency savings, and financial well-being tools. Additionally, Starbucks offers 100% upfront tuition coverage for a first-time bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University’s online program via the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, student loan management resources, and access to other educational opportunities. You will also have access to backup care and DACA reimbursement. Starbucks will comply with any applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, and in accordance with its plans and policies. This list is subject to change depending on collective bargaining in locations where partners have a certified bargaining representative. For additional information regarding partner perks and more detailed information about benefits, go to starbucksbenefits.com. *If you are working in CA, CO, IL, LA, ME, MA, NE, ND or RI, you will accrue vacation up to a maximum of 120 hours (190 in CA) for roles below director and 200 hours (316 in CA) for roles at director or above. For roles in other states, you will be granted vacation time starting at 120 hours annually for roles below director and 200 hours annually for roles director and above. The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate will be based on multiple factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge/skills, experience, geographical location, and internal equity. At Starbucks, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the high end of the range for their role, and compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate. We believe we do our best work when we're together, which is why we're onsite four days a week. Join us and inspire with every cup. Apply today! Starbucks Coffee Company is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with all federal, state and local ordinances. Starbucks Coffee Company is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at applicantaccommodation@starbucks.com or 1(888) 611-2258.