Senior AI Principal Technical Product Manager

Job#: 3027720

Job Description:
Principal Technical Product Manager (AI Focus) - Contract

We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Technical Product Manager (TPM) with a strong foundation in AI implementation to join a complex, enterprise-scale delivery environment. This contract role serves a dual purpose: ensuring seamless execution of current product roadmaps while acting as an internal AI catalyst to modernize product architecture, tooling, and Agile delivery practices.

This engagement is intentionally designed to scale impact over time. You will begin in a high-execution phase-taking ownership of delivery for select product teams to quickly learn the domain, compliance considerations, and internal tooling. As you ramp up, your scope will expand to leading cross-portfolio AI strategy, tool adoption, and technical roadmapping.
How You Will Make an Impact
Initial Focus: Immersion & Delivery

• Strategic Delivery Ownership
• Assume immediate TPM responsibilities for a subset of enterprise products, partnering with Business Product Managers and distributed engineering teams to drive reliable, on-time delivery.
• AI-Enabled Delivery Enablement
• Lead a critical internal initiative to embed AI into the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Partner with Scrum Masters and Product Owners to implement AI-driven automation for backlog refinement, sprint reporting, and workflow optimization.
• Architectural Partnership
• Work closely with Technical Architects to roll out modern technical specification frameworks and developer productivity tools (e.g., Spec Kit, GitHub Copilot) across engineering teams.

Expanded Focus: AI Strategy & Scaling

• Cross-Portfolio AI Leadership
• Once delivery teams are stabilized, transition to driving AI initiatives across a broader product portfolio.
• Strategic AI Roadmapping & Integration
• Act as the bridge between technical strategy and execution-evaluating feasibility, selecting appropriate models and architectures (e.g., RAG, APIs), and ensuring secure, scalable implementations.
• AI Knowledge & Enablement
• Lead AI upskilling and knowledge sharing across Product and Technology organizations. Champion best practices and hands-on adoption of a modern AI toolchain, including platforms such as GitHub Copilot, Gemini, Vertex AI, MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers, Custom Skills, and NotebookLM.

What You Will Do (Core Responsibilities)

• Define AI Success Metrics
• Establish and evaluate success metrics for AI-powered products and internal workflows, maintaining a high standard for quality, usability, and adoption.
• Drive Rapid Iteration
• Partner with Architects, Engineers, and Data teams to continuously refine and improve AI integrations (hands-on coding not required, but strong technical fluency is essential).
• Translate Complexity
• Convert complex AI and technical concepts into clear Product Requirements Documents (PRDs) and technical specifications.
• Govern & Scale
• Define AI governance standards and best practices to ensure solutions are secure, scalable, cost-effective, and repeatable.
• Global Collaboration
• Effectively partner with US-based stakeholders and international engineering teams across time zones.

What You Bring (Experience & Skills)

• Technical Product Leadership
• 7+ years of experience in Technical Product Management, ideally owning complex, multi-team portfolios or operating at a senior/principal level.
• Applied AI Product Experience
• 1-2+ years of hands-on experience delivering AI-enabled or LLM-based products, features, or workflows (or equivalent experience through pilots, product ownership, or deep collaboration with AI engineering teams).
• Strong AI Literacy
• Solid understanding of AI agents, agent orchestration, prompt-driven workflows, data pipelines, API latency considerations, and token economics.
• Modern AI Toolchain Expertise
• Hands-on experience or deep conceptual familiarity with platforms and tools such as Vertex AI, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, MCP servers, and NotebookLM.
• Engineering & SDLC Modernization
• Proven experience helping teams adopt new technical standards, frameworks, or architectural patterns (e.g., Spec Kit, API standards, RAG architectures).
• Regulated Environment Experience (Preferred)
• Prior experience in highly regulated or compliance-driven industries is a strong plus.

Who You Are (Attributes & Mindset)

• Curious & Growth-Oriented
• Deeply motivated to stay current with emerging AI capabilities, tools, and industry best practices.
• Outcome-Driven
• Strong product mindset with a consistent focus on execution and measurable business outcomes.
• Structured Thinker
• Able to turn ambiguity and cutting-edge technology into clear, logical, and executable roadmaps.
• Decisive Leader
• Comfortable making difficult trade-offs while balancing speed, quality, and long-term impact.
• Highly Collaborative
• Thrive in cross-functional environments, building trust and alignment across engineering, product, and business teams.

Additional Comments

We are not seeking someone who simply "knows how to use ChatGPT." This role requires a true Technical Product Manager with 1-2+ years of direct experience integrating LLMs, AI agents, or machine learning models into software products or internal workflows. The ideal candidate is comfortable bridging high-level AI strategy with hands-on Agile/Scrum delivery. Experience in regulated or complex enterprise environments is highly valued.
Required Qualifications Summary

7+ years of Technical Product Management experience (Agile, SDLC, backlog ownership)

1-2+ years of applied AI product experience (LLMs, AI agents, prompt-driven workflows)

Modern AI toolchain expertise (Vertex AI, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, MCP servers, NotebookLM)

Technical strategy & standards leadership (Spec Kit, API patterns, RAG architectures)

Outcome-driven product mindset with experience defining and measuring AI success metrics

Apex Systems is a world-class IT services company that serves thousands of clients across the globe. When you join Apex, you become part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. We offer quality career resources, training, certifications, development opportunities, and a comprehensive benefits package. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in many awards, including ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing in Talent Satisfaction in the United States and Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom and Mexico. Apex uses a virtual recruiter as part of the application process. Click for more details.

Apex Benefits Overview: Apex offers a range of supplemental benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and other insurance plans that offer an optional layer of financial protection. We offer an ESPP (employee stock purchase program) and a 401K program which allows you to contribute typically within 30 days of starting, with a company match after 12 months of tenure. Apex also offers a HSA (Health Savings Account on the HDHP plan), a SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with up to 8 free counseling sessions, a corporate discount savings program and other discounts. In terms of professional development, Apex hosts an on-demand training program, provides access to certification prep and a library of technical and leadership courses/books/seminars once you have 6+ months of tenure, and certification discounts and other perks to associations that include CompTIA and IIBA. Apex has a dedicated customer service team for our Consultants that can address questions around benefits and other resources, as well as a certified Career Coach. You can access a full list of our benefits, programs, support teams and resources within our 'Welcome Packet' as well, which an Apex team member can provide.