About the Role :

We are seeking a Sr. Product Manager with deep understanding of the book publishing ecosystem and strong experience in building technology products that modernize, automate, and scale publishing workflows.

The ideal candidate will bridge publishing operations, metadata standards (ONIX/BISAC), digital content workflows, and commerce/distribution platforms, driving products that reduce manual effort, improve catalog quality, and accelerate digital transformation across the industry.

This role sits at the intersection of publishing, supply chain, and technology, working closely with publishers, operations teams, engineering, marketplace partners, and data specialists.

Key Responsibilities :

Product Strategy & Vision :

- Define and own the product roadmap for digital publishing solutions (PIM/MDM, metadata workflows, digital asset pipelines, rights/royalties automation, etc.).

- Build long-term vision for digital transformation across editorial, production, catalog, and distribution functions.

- Identify automation opportunities to reduce operational cost, improve metadata accuracy, and scale catalog management.

Publishing Workflow Expertise :

- Translate complex publishing workflows (editorial, production, cataloging, POD, distribution) into scalable digital products.

- Build systems for :

a. Metadata creation, validation, and enrichment

b. Automated keywords, categories (BISAC/BIC), and discoverability scoring

c. Digital asset management (cover images, previews, PDFs, EPUB versions)

d. Print-on-Demand (POD) workflow automation

e. Rights, contracts, and royalty cycle optimization

Marketplace & Distribution Integrations :

- Lead product initiatives for integrations with Amazon, Flipkart, Ingram, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play, and academic/library platforms.

- Build real-time sync for :

a. Inventory

b. Pricing

c. Catalog updates

d. Order routing

- Ensure compliance with global standards (ONIX 3.0, EAA accessibility requirements, marketplace listing rules).

Technology & Data Product Ownership :

- Partner with engineering to design API-first, modular, scalable systems.

- Define product requirements for :

a. Unified Commerce Platforms

b. OMS/WMS integrations

c. Publisher portals and digital dashboards

d. Automated metadata quality scoring

- AI/ML products for forecasting, pricing, classification, and content tagging

- Develop data models for metadata, attributes, assets, and book lifecycle events.

Cross-Functional Leadership :

- Act as the bridge between publishing teams, operations, tech, and marketplace partners.

- Lead user testing, feature rollout, and change management across publishers.

- Train internal teams and publishing partners on new technology products.

Performance & Impact :

- Own KPIs such as :

a. Metadata quality score

b. Catalog activation rate

c. Listing accuracy & speed

d. Reduction in manual ops & rework

e. Marketplace discoverability (sessions ? conversion)

f. Fill rate, return rate, turnaround time for POD titles

Required Skills & Qualifications :

Domain Knowledge :

- Strong understanding of the book publishing lifecycleeditorial, production, cataloging, pricing, printing, sales, and distribution.

- Hands-on familiarity with :

a. ONIX 2.1/3.0

b. BISAC/BIC classification

c. EPUB standards

d. Metadata enrichment processes

e. POD workflows

Technical Skills :

- Ability to write detailed Product Requirement Documents (PRDs), workflows, and data schemas.

- Experience with :

a. API integrations

b. CMS/PIM/MDM systems

c. Marketplace/seller platforms

d. Warehouse/OMS systems

e. Data models and ETL flows

f. Comfortable working with engineering on architecture decisions.

Product Management Skills :

- 3 to 8 years of experience in product management, preferably in publishing, ecommerce, or media-tech.

- Strong roadmap planning, backlog management, and agile delivery skills.

- Analytical mindset with comfort using data for decisions (SQL/BI familiarity is a plus).

Soft Skills :

- Excellent communication and stakeholder management.

- Ability to translate between technical and non-technical teams.

- Strong problem-solving abilities with a zero-manual-ops mindset.

Preferred Experience :

- Experience building products for :

a. Publishers or distributors

b. Seller/marketplace integrations

c. Supply chain automation (OMS/WMS/TMS)

d. AI tools for metadata, forecasting, or pricing

- Exposure to global publishing standards (Ingram, Amazon Advantage, Apple Books, Bookwire, etc.).

- Experience with SAAS product development & customer-facing rollouts.