Product Manager - Associate Product Management Specialist

Working Title: Product Manager

Job Class: Associate Product Management Specialist

Agency: Department of Employment and Economic Development

• Job ID : 95587

• Location : St. Paul

• Telework Eligible : Yes, may be eligible for some telework

• Full/Part Time : Full-Time

• Regular/Temporary : Unlimited

• Who May Apply : This vacancy is open for bids and for all qualified job seekers simultaneously. Bidders will be considered through 07/23/2026

• Date Posted : 08/21/2026

• Closing Date : 09/01/2026

• Hiring Agency/Seniority Unit : Department of Employment and Economic Development / MAPE

• Division/Unit : Paid Family and Medical Leave

• Work Shift/Work Hours : Day Shift

• Days of Work : Monday - Friday

• Travel Required : No

• Salary Range: $34.07 - $50.53 / hourly; $71,138 - $105,506 / annually

• Classified Status : Classified

• Bargaining Unit/Union : 214 - Minnesota Association of Professional Employees / MAPE

• FLSA Status : Nonexempt

• Re-Posting : Yes, this position was previously posted 07/17/2026 – 07/30/2026. Applicants that previously applied do not need to apply again and will still be considered.

• Designated in Connect 700 Program for Applicants with Disabilities (https://mn.gov/mmb/careers/diverse-workforce/people-with-disabilities/connect700/) : Yes

The work you'll do is more than just a job.

At the State of Minnesota, employees play a critical role in developing policies, providing essential services, and working to improve the well-being and quality of life for all Minnesotans. The State of Minnesota is committed to equity and inclusion, and invests in employees by providing benefits, support resources, and training and development opportunities.

About the Paid Leave Division:

Paid Leave is a new program that launched in January 2026. The program provides partial wage replacement to Minnesota workers who are out of work due to a qualifying condition, such as a severe health condition that prevents them from working, or when they need time to care for a family member or a new child.

We are building a program that will be easy for every Minnesotan to use. We are engaging the people who depend on us—workers, employers, caregivers, and insurers—to learn from them and build the program around their needs. We are using modern service delivery and product practices to deliver the program.

The Paid Leave team has high standards and an unrelenting commitment to serving Minnesotans. It is a start-up environment without legacy systems or preconceived ways of working, so we have a unique opportunity to create human-centric processes and systems to deliver this new benefit to Minnesotans.

Position Purpose:

We are looking for an energetic, self-motivated Product Manager who is excited to work through ambiguity and deliver exceptional user experiences and lasting value to Minnesotans.

The Product Manager will play a key role in helping us continue our innovative approach of building and delivering a modern, intuitive, easy-to-use Paid Leave Product and Program. You will collaborate closely with engineering teams, business stakeholders, and user experience design teams to develop the Paid Leave product. You will communicate and drive strategy as well as day-to-day decisions regarding product development and product releases.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the implementation of the product roadmap for your area. Socialize this roadmap with the engineers, designers, and business analysts to create alignment and focus within the team.

• Generate detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and supporting documentation required to translate business needs into product features.

• Lead prioritization for your backlog and regularly facilitate discussions with leadership around the “what, why, and how” of these decisions with supporting details.

• Collaborate with Design, Customer Engagement, Legal, and Policy teams to ensure the product is in-line with all relevant statutes, regulations, and rules while still meeting user and business needs.

• Anticipate product issues proactively and offer ideas and approaches to adoption of potential solutions.

• Define success metrics and consistently measure the impact of the team’s work.

• Work with Product Leadership, stakeholders, and architects to define product scope and prioritization and be flexible to iterate/change per latest developments to meet deadlines.

• Have a deep understanding of the “why” behind the work you and your team are doing and the impact it will make, regularly share and socialize this, generating energy and buy-in for the Paid Leave product.

• Communicate product updates and roadmap to stakeholders, leadership, and partners at a regular cadence.

• Participate in Agile ceremonies like sprint planning, daily scrums, product demos, test phases, retrospectives to ensure on time high quality delivery.

If you’re a leader passionate about customer experience, being part of a high-performing team, and making a difference in Minnesotan’s lives, we want to hear from you!

This position is telework (https://mn.gov/mmb-stat/policies/1422-telework.pdf) eligible. Staff are provided with the tools and equipment to be successful in a virtual work environment. Please note, the telework policy could change with notice based on business needs.

This posting may be used to fill multiple positions.

This position will be based out of the St. Paul office.

Minimum Qualifications

To receive credit for your education and experience, your resume should clearly describe how you meet each minimum and/or preferred qualification listed, including dates of employment.

Three (3) years of experience in a Product Manager or Product Owner role, or a combination of Product Manager/Product Owner and Product-focused Business Analyst experience, working within an agile product team or a closely related product team as determined by the agency.

Applicants that meet the above minimum qualification will be further evaluated on the following:

• Skills determining and communicating the critical next steps needed to create and maintain momentum on a project.

• Experience building strong, positive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

• Skills in writing clear, complete user stories with acceptance criteria and supporting documentation.

• Ability to prioritize work and clearly communicate your prioritization strategy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building a product from 0-1.

• Experience influencing without authority to drive alignment and buy-in.

• Our employees are dedicated to ensuring cultural responsiveness. Preferred candidates will have a variety of experiences working effectively with others from different backgrounds and cultures.

Additional Requirements

A job offer will be contingent upon successfully passing a background check. The background check may consist of the following components:

• Criminal Background Check

• Employment Records Check (current and former State employees only)

• Employment Reference Check

• Conflict of Interest Review

• Driver’s License and Records Check

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will not sponsor applicants for work visas. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities is an Equal Opportunity employer/educator committed to the principles of diversity. We prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or membership in a local commission as defined by law. As an affirmative action employer, we actively seek and encourage applications from women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and individuals with protected veteran status.

Reasonable accommodations will be made to all qualified applicants with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability who needs assistance or cannot access the online job application system, please contact the job information line at 651-259-3637 or email [email protected] . Please indicate what assistance is needed.