Senior Product Manager - Core

Nonprofits do some of the most important work in the world, and most of them are still managing grants in spreadsheets. We're fixing that.

Instrumentl is a profitable, hypergrowth, YC-backed SaaS platform building the operating system for grant-funded organizations. More than 5,500 nonprofits use Instrumentl to discover, track, and win grant funding, from local community organizations to the San Diego Zoo and the University of Alaska. Collectively they’ve moved over $1 billion through our platform.

We're growing more than 40% year over year, customers love us (Ellis PMF 60+), and we're hiring people who want to build something that matters.

About the role:

We’re looking for a Senior Product Manager - Core to report to our Co-founder and Head of EPD, who will combine deep customer empathy, strong product judgment, and pragmatic AI thinking. This role is ideal for someone who starts from real customer problems (not features), can build and sequence a thoughtful roadmap, and knows how to ship incrementally while maintaining high standards for trust, outcomes, and cross-functional alignment. 
 
You will own problem discovery, product strategy, and delivery for core workflows used by nonprofit organizations—often in high-stakes, high-context environments like grant discovery and applications. You’ll work closely with Design, Engineering, Customer Success, and GTM partners to ensure what we build is useful, adoptable, and measurable.
 
The Instrumentl team is fully distributed, with offices in Oakland, CA. For this position, we're planning for a hybrid schedule - you'll be able to work from home four days per week, and from our Oakland offices once per week (or more often, if you'd like)!

What you will do

Discovery & Strategy

Develop deep understanding of nonprofit realities: funding volatility, staff burnout, compliance constraints, and multi-persona workflows

Start from problems, not features: clearly articulate user and business pain, distinguish root causes from symptoms, and frame opportunities effectively

Build a coherent strategic narrative connecting market context to customer problems to roadmap

Sequence work thoughtfully, delivering thin-sliced early versions to reduce risk and accelerate learning

AI Product Thinking

Evaluate when AI is genuinely additive versus when rules-based logic or analytics are sufficient

Design human-in-the-loop workflows for high-stakes use cases like grant applications, reviews, and approvals

Clearly articulate data and model needs, edge cases, and failure modes

Measurement & Cross-functional Leadership

Define and align on a clear product North Star and pair features with both leading and lagging indicators

Lead through influence: partner early with Design, Engineering, CS, and GTM and navigate disagreements productively

Run post-launch reviews to assess impact and guide iteration

What we are looking for:

Required

5+ years of product management experience in SaaS (B2B preferred)

Demonstrated experience owning problem discovery, strategy, and execution end-to-end

Strong judgment in sequencing work and shipping incrementally

Experience building or working with AI-powered features in real production environments

Exceptional written and verbal communication skills

Startup-tested: thrives with ambiguity, builds process without waiting for permission, and knows when to move fast versus when to be methodical

Nice to Have

Experience with nonprofit, mission-driven, or compliance-heavy product domains

Background in grant management, fund accounting, or financial workflows

Compensation and Benefits

For US-based candidates, the target salary range for this role is $150,000 – $220,000 USD, plus equity. Final compensation is determined based on experience, skillset, scope of responsibility, interview performance, and geographic location. We’re committed to paying competitively and equitably.

Benefits

100% covered health, dental, and vision insurance for employees (50% for dependents)

Generous PTO, including parental leave

401(k)

Company laptop and home-office stipend

Bi-annual company retreats

Instrumentl is evolving rapidly. You’ll always have new challenges and opportunities to grow here.