Merkle is hiring a VP, Head of Digital Product Engineering to lead commercial growth, market strategy, and evolution of the Digital Product Engineering practice. This executive role focuses on solving complex business and technology challenges by creating custom digital products when existing platforms fall short. Responsibilities include commercial growth strategy, client relationship building, product strategy and solutioning, innovation with applied AI and cloud-native technologies, and practice leadership without direct people management. The role requires approximately 15+ years of experience in product engineering, digital product development, or related fields, with a strong foundation in engineering and progressive leadership in product and commercial roles. Candidates must have experience engaging with senior executives, growing client relationships, and leading product discovery and delivery. The position is remote within the US, with some onsite work expected for employees near offices in New York, Michigan, California, or Illinois, and requires 30-50% travel. Salary range is $196,000 to $275,000 with benefits including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability insurance, 401k, flexible PTO, paid holidays, sick leave, and parental leave.
What you'll do
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Own the commercial growth strategy for the Digital Product Engineering practice, accountable for revenue growth and margin performance
Expand existing client relationships and establish new client accounts and market opportunities
Build trusted relationships with senior client executives across business, marketing, product, data, and technology organizations
Lead executive-level discovery, product strategy, and solutioning conversations to uncover unmet needs and translate them into commercially viable opportunities
Support pitches, proposals, RFPs, business cases, demonstrations, and other pre-sales activities
Partner with account and growth leaders to integrate Digital Product Engineering capabilities into broader client relationships
Represent the practice in the market through executive conversations, conferences, thought leadership, and industry engagement
Inspire client confidence through technical credibility, product vision, commercial judgment, and executive presence
Define differentiated product and engineering solutions for complex client needs not met by commercially available platforms
Apply modern product-development practices to shape product visions, roadmaps, value propositions, and measurable success criteria
Translate emerging technologies into practical, scalable products and services that create meaningful client value
Lead development of solutions using applied AI to improve digital products
Maintain strong conceptual understanding of AI, cloud-native engineering, composable architecture, full-stack engineering, DevOps, and contemporary product practices
Use AI-assisted development, rapid prototyping, and experimentation to demonstrate possibilities and accelerate solution development
Continuously explore new technologies, product patterns, and methods of solving business problems
Partner with product, engineering, architecture, strategy, creative, data, and delivery leaders to develop integrated solutions
Serve as commercial and go-to-market leader for the Digital Product Engineering practice
Establish and communicate clear market position for the practice including capabilities, differentiators, offerings, and growth priorities
Provide visible leadership to the broader practice and create alignment across product, engineering, architecture, and delivery teams
Operate as an influential leader of leaders without direct reporting relationships
Partner closely with delivery leadership to ensure commercial commitments are delivered successfully and profitably
Provide executive oversight for active engagements, identifying risks, removing barriers, and helping teams navigate complex client environments
Maintain awareness of delivery health, client satisfaction, revenue, margin, and account-expansion opportunities without managing day-to-day execution
Help build repeatable solution patterns, offerings, demonstrations, and points of view that improve the practice’s ability to sell and scale
Champion a culture of innovation, adaptability, critical thinking, continuous improvement, and client value
Requirements
Approximately 15 or more years of progressively responsible experience in product engineering, digital product development, software engineering, technology consulting, or related disciplines
Career foundation in hands-on engineering, architecture, or technical delivery, followed by increasing responsibility in product, client, and commercial leadership
Demonstrated success shaping and selling custom digital products, engineering solutions, or technology-enabled transformation programs
Experience growing existing client relationships and supporting or leading net-new business development
Strong product leadership capabilities, supported by credible experience and knowledge across software engineering and architecture
Ability to lead product discovery, define value propositions, shape roadmaps, establish measurable outcomes, and translate ideas into executable solutions
Experience with modern product-development practices, including discovery, experimentation, agile delivery, roadmapping, KPI definition, and outcome-based delivery
Strong understanding of cloud-native development, composable architecture, full-stack engineering, DevOps, and custom application development
Practical understanding of applied AI and how AI capabilities can be incorporated into client products, workflows, and experiences
Experience using or directing AI-assisted software development, rapid prototyping, or comparable product-innovation methods
Demonstrated ability to engage credibly with CMOs, CIOs, CTOs, product executives, business leaders, and technical teams
Experience working across multiple industries and quickly developing an understanding of new client environments and business models
Proven ability to lead through influence across highly matrixed organizations, including experience guiding leaders of leaders
Commercial acumen, including experience with revenue growth, margin, solution pricing, proposals, RFPs, pitches, and executive presentations
Exceptional executive presence, communication skills, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and client relationship capabilities
Portfolio of recent work from approximately the past 10 years demonstrating digital products, custom solutions, applications, websites, or other market-facing outcomes
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Product Management, Business, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
Willingness and ability to travel approximately 30% to 50%
Medical, vision, and dental insuranceLife insuranceShort-term and long-term disability insurance401kFlexible paid time offAt least 15 paid holidays per yearPaid sick and safe leavePaid parental leave
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