Product Manager - Hydra - IOE: Cardano

Who are we?

IOG, is a technology company focused on blockchain research and development. We are renowned for our scientific approach to blockchain development, emphasizing peer-reviewed research and formal methods to ensure security, scalability, and  sustainability. 

Our projects include the Cardano blockchain, as well as other products in the areas of decentralized finance (DeFi), governance, and identity management, aiming to advance the capabilities and adoption of blockchain and Web3 technology globally.

We invest in the unknown, applying our curiosity and desire for positive change to everything we do. By fueling creativity, innovation, and progress within our teams, our products and services are designed for people to be fearless, to be changemakers.

What the role involves:

As a Product Manager at IOE, you lead and manage one or several products from end to end, from inception through to implementation and release. You report to the Head of Product in IOE with regular milestone updates and work closely to create and execute the strategy for your product, but be highly autonomous with your own product stream and be expected to lead the requirements and direction for your product.

You will manage the Hydra scaling solution for Cardano so this is a highly impactful role within the organization and the wider blockchain ecosystem.

Product Ownership & Leadership

• Be the main point of contact for your product, ensuring seamless end-to-end operation and demonstrating leadership without formal authority.
• Drive a structured product planning process (e.g., Quarterly Product Planning, QPP) to align stakeholders on short-term deliverables (6 months) and long-term objectives (12–18+ months).

Roadmap & Documentation

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to build and maintain a robust quarterly roadmap for your product, balancing near-term execution with long-term vision.
• Create and manage formal documentation, including Market Requirements Documents (MRDs), Product Requirements Documents (PRDs), and Feature Requirements Documents (FRDs), ensuring traceability back to market needs and stakeholder feedback.
• Maintain rigorous version control of all product documents to reflect evolving insights, user feedback, and business requirements.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work with customers, partners, and cross-functional groups (e.g., marketing, communications, design) to ensure that their needs are captured in the roadmap and inform product updates.
• Collaborate with marketing and communications teams to clarify how product changes will impact the user community and the wider market, supporting creation of collateral and messaging.
• Partner with business development to evaluate new opportunities, building them into the roadmap based on strategic alignment and potential value.

Market & User Research

• Conduct ongoing market research to stay abreast of industry and community needs, blockchain and cryptocurrency trends, and competitor activity.
• Quantify potential opportunities and validate assumptions with surveys, interviews, and data analysis.
• Leverage findings in MRDs & PRDs and update requirements documents regularly, revisiting them each quarter as part of QPP.

Product Development & Delivery

• Work closely with Program Management, Engineering, and QA teams to ensure features are delivered in the right sequence and meet expectations regarding quality, functionality, and schedule.
• Define priorities for product development in collaboration with internal stakeholders, ensuring alignment with broader business goals and user needs.
• Lead rigorous quarterly reviews to assess product progress, revalidate requirements (MRDs, PRDs, FRDs), and make adjustments based on new insights.

Community & Open Source Engagement

• Engage and contribute to relevant Open Source Software communities, championing your product and seeking feedback.
• Monitor and evaluate community input, integrating valuable suggestions back into your product roadmap and documentation.

Launch & Post-Launch Activities

• Drive product through its full lifecycle—from the initial concept to launch, release management, and post-launch operations.
• Prepare and deliver product-level content such as blogs, technical documentation, and presentations to support marketing and business development.
• Participate in quarterly product planning (QPP) sessions to share key updates, insights, and roadmap adjustments with the broader organization.

Who you are:

• Have strong leadership skills, be resourceful and use initiative
• Demonstrate competency with requirements elicitation, analysis, specification, verification, and management practices and the ability to apply them in practice.
• Develop productive relationships with a variety of levels and roles and manage user expectations effectively.
• Be user driven and develop a strong understanding of stakeholder needs.
• Leverage strong interpersonal skills to drive innovation in product development with a team of world-class engineers and Scientists.
• Have exemplary people and communications skills coupled with the savvy and maturity needed to garner the respect of senior management and clients.
• A keen desire and belief on the impact that blockchain and crypto aligned to IOGs vision
• A user of web3 products knowing first hand the UX, economics and impact of our products
• Curious and naturally engages with users, partners and others stakeholders directly to gain insights
• Engage, champion and contribute to Open Source Software communities.
• Keep up to date with the status of competitors from a technical and business perspective.
• Proven technical capabilities (Computer Science degree or equivalent experience)
• 5+ years experience working in software development
• 5 years of experience in product management or related role
• Experience collaborating with highly technical engineering, design and business teams
• Experience developing blockchain or infrastructure technologies such as database or middleware
• Ideally, experience in finance or web3
• At least 1 year of business experience of blockchain or cryptocurrency technology, ideally around L1 and L2 scaling solutions
• Experience working in an Agile environment and leading highly technical product teams.
• Experience implementing processes to define metrics and measure the success of products that are launched.

Are you an IOGer?

Do you find yourself questioning the status quo? Do you tinker with ideas and long to turn those ideas into solutions? Are you able to spark thoughtful debates, bringing out the inquisitiveness in others? Does the promise of continuously growing excite you? Then get ready to reimagine everything you thought wasn’t possible because that’s what it means to be an IOGer - we don’t set limits, we break them. 

• Remote work
• Laptop reimbursement
• New starter package to buy hardware essentials (headphones, monitor, etc)
• Learning & Development opportunities
• Competitive PTO 

At IOG, we value diversity and always treat all employees and job applicants based on merit, qualifications, competence, and talent. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.