We were recently engaged by a client to conduct a search for a Sr. Product Manager for AI/ML. Our client is a Toronto-based enterprise B2B SaaS vendor with an AI-powered Maintenance Management System, whose meteoric growth resulted in their acquisition in 2020.
This transaction and investment into the business and their solutions is driving further growth including that of their Product Management organization. At the time of our engagement, they employed approximately 200 full-time employees in Canada.
We conducted a targeted search on their behalf, seeking Senior Product Managers who had experience shipping B2B products that leveraged AI/ML, specifically with regards to Predictive Analytics. This would be a hands-on role, where the hire would be involved in developing Machine Learning algorithms while leading a team of Data Scientists.
At the same time, this was the Senior-most Product Manager on the AI/ML team and would own the product roadmap. The responsibilities included owning the development of the ML algorithms that would power the predictive analytics product and managing the go-to-market activities for it’s release.
We Presented Three Candidates:
The Net-New Product Expert – $175k Base + 15% Bonus
- A Software Engineer by training, this candidate was the only Product Manager for a B2B SaaS machine learning platform that automates and powers credit decisions
- Brought into their current organization to kickstart an SMB-focused product that helps clients predict cash flows, define the probability of default and delinquency, provide predictive analytics around credit scores, and ultimately match them to lenders that can cater to their needs
- The product was a UI concept that the candidate took to market in 3 months and built it up to 15k businesses signed-up across North America
- Works with a team of 4 Data Scientists and 2 ML Specialists, and has the ability to get hands-on with the AI/ML side
- MBA, B.Tech. in Computer Science & Engineering, and completed ML and Deep Learning courses
The Data Scientist Turned Product Manager – $150k Base
- A Data Scientist by training, who had transitioned to Product Management in 2018
- The first Product hire at their current company managing the organization’s first enterprise product launch. The platform took communications (emails, recorded calls/meetings, Slack messages) from 20k employees and identified signs of burn-out, lack of motivation, as well as creating metrics for productivity using Natural Language Processing
- This candidate had managed the rollout of the product 2.0 across 10 customers since its launch and as a one-person Product team they frequently pitched in with Data Science, ML, and data infrastructure work
- MBA & Masters in Engineering, Robotics
The Hire
- 3+ years’ experience in Product Manager roles for data-centric products
- Was a 1-person Product team at an AI video monitoring and analytics platform that was initially geared towards the home security space
- They spearheaded its pivot to a B2B industrial process focus, aimed at detecting and decreasing workplace incidents in manufacturing settings
- Managed 3 developers and 1 ML Engineer and was required to do a lot of the ML modelling themselves while taking the product to the market
- Brought the platform to market and onboarded their first 3 industrial manufacturing customers
- PhD in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science
To attract and land this candidate, our client offered a $152,500 Base + 10% Bonus.
As you can see, compensation for these candidates varies significantly based on the length and scope of experience, as well as their ability to thrive in similar environments.
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For organizations and job seekers alike, it can be challenging to understand what a particular position should pay. Often, it’s a calculation between salary surveys that lack all context, what a person has earned in the past, and ad hoc conversations with others in the field.
We’re sharing market insights into current compensation packages for key roles in the tech industry. Our recruiters conduct targeted searches on behalf of our clients, seeking out candidates who fit the requirements of the role and diligently qualifying them to present only the very best talent. These posts are meant to highlight the contextual elements that makeup compensation, and to help our clients and candidates better understand the current market forces that affect earning potential.
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