Director of Product

Who we are:

Raft (https://goraft.tech) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional small business with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development, with headquarters in Reston, VA. Our range of clients include innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting edge tech stack, and cloud native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.

We’re looking for an experienced Director of Product to support our customers and join our passionate team of high-impact problem solvers. This is a unique opportunity to help build and shape a game-changing organization where we put our customers and people first. 

About the role: 

The Director of Product you will oversee our dynamic portfolio of products and programs. In partnership with the VP, Product Managers and the Program Directors, your role will be instrumental in exceeding customer expectations. This role presents a unique opportunity to collaborate with progressive customers in designing innovative solutions to address emerging needs with a substantial impact on operational readiness.  

What we are looking for: 

• Work with the leadership team to define product vision for assigned products and programs 
• Develop strong relationships with our internal and external customers to understand their specific needs and incorporate their requests as possible into their roadmaps 
• Perform strategic assessments of opportunities and define plans to capitalize on opportunities  
• Mentor and coach product managers within the organization 
• Developing a deep understanding of the problems being addressed, becoming an expert on pain points and the vision of the program offices you are serving 
• Acting as a servant leader to your team 
• Continuously assessing team performance across the portfolio to enable proactive action 
• Delivering exceptional value to our clients and their customers 
• Ensuring all contractual deliverables are executed accurately and on time 
• Tracking program financials, including burn rate, ceilings, and P&L 
• Understanding the ecosystem of our clients and their needs to facilitate both lateral and new growth across programs 
• Managing and reporting on key metrics (prioritizing outcomes over outputs) 
• Partnering with our recruiting team to hire top talent as per contract needs and timelines, including reviewing resumes and conducting interviews 
• Proactively managing project risks and client relationships to ensure a measurable impact on client missions and enhance Raft’s reputation in the contracting domain 
• Being willing to travel occasionally to support the customer 
• Overseeing subcontractors and contract modifications 
• Becoming a consultative professional working with stakeholders to identify creative solutions to contract challenges 

Highly preferred:

• Proactive go-getter with a "get stuff done" (GSD) mentality 
• Experience managing multiple programs simultaneously 
• Servant leader who prioritizes the team and client's needs 
• Exceptional communicator with high integrity and leadership courage 
• Self-starter capable of recognizing needs and acting with minimal guidance 
• Ability to understand the technical needs of the client at a high level for each position 
• Adept at managing client relationships and organizing agile team activities for complex, mission-critical software projects 
• Experience in solving complex problems 

Clearance Requirements: 

• Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance

Work Type: 

• Remote

What we will offer you:  

• Highly competitive salary 
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage 
• 401(k) and company match 
• Unlimited PTO + 11 paid holidays 
• Education & training benefits 
• Annual budget for your tech/gadgets needs 
• Monthly box of yummy snacks to eat while doing meaningful work 
• Team off-site in fun places! 
• Generous Referral Bonuses 
• And More!

Our Vision Statement:  

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession with the mission.

Our Customer Obsession:

We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?

Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successful, our generation and the ones that follow us will live in a delightful, efficient, and accessible world where out-of-box thinking, and collaboration is a norm.

Raft’s core philosophy is Ubuntu: I Am, Because We are. We support our “nadi” by elevating the other Rafters. We work as a hyper collaborative team where each team member brings a unique perspective, adding value that did not exist before. People make Raft special. We celebrate each other and our cognitive and cultural diversity. We are devoted to our practice of innovation and collaboration.

We’re an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.