Principal Product Manager

SANS Institute

Principal Product Manager overseeing product strategy for certification and assessment at SANS Institute. Leading cross-functional collaboration to enhance cybersecurity professionals' skills and credentials.

Posted 6/2/2026full-timeRemote • Maryland • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $175,000 - $190,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Cyber Security

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Define and own the multi-year product strategy for GIAC certifications and assessments, aligned to broader organizational goals.
Identify market opportunities, competitive dynamics, and learner needs to inform product direction.
Lead the end-to-end product lifecycle from discovery and definition through launch and iteration for all certification and assessment products.
Translate learner, employer, and industry insights into clear product requirements and success metrics.
Create and maintain the GIAC product roadmap, ensuring it reflects business priorities, learner needs, and industry trends while communicating progress and tradeoffs to senior stakeholders.
Own and manage the product backlog, partnering directly with engineering teams to groom, prioritize, and sequence work that delivers the highest impact.
Partner with psychometricians, exam developers, and range and lab platform technology teams to ensure certification and assessment products meet rigorous standards for validity, reliability, and fairness.
Define and monitor KPIs to measure product health and drive continuous improvement.
Serve as the lead product management authority on the certification and assessment landscape, including industry trends, credentialing standards, and competitor offerings.
Build strong relationships with key internal stakeholders across GIAC business leadership, curriculum, sales, marketing, and product development.
Engage directly with customers, employers, and the broader cybersecurity community to deepen understanding of market needs.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's degree or equivalent industry experience.
10+ years of professional product management experience with an emphasis on building and managing assessment-based products.
Proven ability to define product roadmaps, prioritize competing demands, and deliver measurable outcomes.
Demonstrated success owning complex product portfolios, ideally in education, credentialing, assessment, or a related field.
Strong strategic thinking skills, capable of setting direction in ambiguous environments and rallying teams around a clear vision.
Proven ability to lead through influence, driving alignment and results without direct management authority.
Excellent cross-functional collaboration and communication skills, including experience presenting to senior leadership.
Deep empathy for learners and a passion for helping people grow professionally.
Familiarity with the cybersecurity industry or technical training landscape is a strong plus.
Comfortable working in a virtual organization with some travel.
Fluent in English, particularly in written communications.
Unrestricted authorization to work in the USA; visa sponsorship is not available.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Competitive base salary, bonus opportunities, and a 401(k) plan with company match.
Robust medical, dental, and vision plans; company-provided short term disability; optional long-term disability, supplemental life and AD&D insurance for employees and dependents; voluntary benefits including accident insurance and identity theft protection; fitness and wellness programs; and a company paid employee assistance program (EAP).
Generous paid time off, including volunteer time.
Access to professional development and SANS training opportunities.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

product strategyproduct lifecycle managementproduct roadmap developmentKPI definition and monitoringproduct backlog managementassessment-based product managementmarket analysiscompetitive analysisproduct requirements definitioncontinuous improvement

Soft Skills

strategic thinkingcross-functional collaborationcommunication skillsinfluence without authorityrelationship buildingempathy for learnerspresentation skillsteam alignmentadaptability in ambiguous environmentscustomer engagement

Certifications

Bachelor's degree