Beyond "Product Manager": Types of PM roles, who hires them, and the skills you'll need

So, you're keen on breaking into product management, or perhaps you're already in the field and looking to understand the diverse landscape. While "Product Manager" is the common title, the reality is that the role can look vastly different depending on the company, product, and specific challenges being addressed. As the tech world evolves, so do the specializations within product management. Understanding these nuances, the companies that hire for them, and the specific skills required can help you target your job search effectively and find the PM path that truly excites you.

One prominent specialization is the Growth Product Manager. These PMs are laser-focused on metrics like user acquisition, activation, retention, and revenue.

• Key Skillset: Strong data analysis (SQL often preferred, A/B testing expertise), experimentation design, understanding of marketing funnels and analytics, proficiency with analytics tools (e.g., Mixpanel, Amplitude, Google Analytics), and a knack for user psychology to drive behavior.

• Companies that hire Growth PMs: You'll often find these roles at B2C companies like Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), and TikTok.

Then there's the Platform Product Manager. Instead of directly managing a user-facing feature, Platform PMs focus on the underlying systems, APIs, and infrastructure that other product teams (or even external developers) build upon.

• Key Skillset: Deep technical understanding of system architecture, API design principles, ability to grasp scalability and reliability concerns, strong documentation skills (for API specs, internal guides), and the ability to think in terms of developer experience (DevEx) as their primary users are often engineers.

• Companies that hire Platform PMs: Think of large tech companies like Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Amazon Web Services (AWS), Stripe, Twilio, or enterprises like Salesforce.

For those with a deeper engineering background or a passion for cutting-edge technology, the Technical Product Manager (TPM) and the increasingly common AI Product Manager roles are compelling. TPMs often work on highly technical products or features, requiring them to dive deep into the architecture.

• Key Skillset (TPM): Strong foundational engineering knowledge (coding experience is often a plus but not always mandatory), ability to understand complex system designs and trade-offs, proficiency in communicating technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences, and experience with developer tools or infrastructure products.AI PMs, a subset of TPMs or a distinct role, focus on products powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence.

• Key Skillset (AI PM): In addition to many TPM skills, AI PMs need a solid understanding of machine learning concepts (model types, training data, evaluation metrics), data science workflows, awareness of AI ethics and bias, and the ability to translate AI capabilities into tangible user value and product features.

• Companies that hire Technical PMs & AI PMs: TPM roles are common at companies like Microsoft (Azure, developer tools), Intel, or Nvidia. For AI PMs, look towards Google (Search, AI research), OpenAI, Microsoft (Azure AI), Amazon (Alexa), and companies like Tesla or Waymo.

These are just a few examples, and the lines can often blur. You might also encounter titles like "Mobile PM," "UX-focused PM," or "Data PM," each with their own specific skill demands and typical employers. The key takeaway is that the world of product management is rich and varied. As you explore opportunities, look beyond the generic title and delve into the specific responsibilities, the nature of the product, the type of company, and the core skills they're seeking. This will help you identify the type of PM you aspire to be and build the targeted skills to get there.

If you are interested in learning how to have the best product management resume or want to break into product management, please schedule a free call via the Contact page. We would love to chat and see how we can help.