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I have seen “head of product” used for someone at the VP level. I have also seen this title meaning “senior product manager”.
Here are my estimated YOE for the different jobs. It does greatly vary for individuals. I know someone who skipped the APM and started at PM based on their project management experience. And I know of a CPO who had 10 years experience.
APM - 1 to 2 years
PM - 2 to 5 years
SR PM - 5 to 20 years
Principle PM - 5 to 20 years
Director PM - 10 to 20 years
VP PM - 10 to 20 years
Chief Product Office 15 to 25 years
I know an l5/6 product that writes head of product. Product lead is another favorite. Lol
Typically, it’s apm, pm, sr pm, group pm… group PM and L6+ PMs sometimes have direct reports, but most still have PM duties.
At our company, we differentiate Group/Director as people manager vs Staff/Principal as IC.
It varies based on the size of the company, the state of the product team and the individual. For a large tech company, I agree with the roles and timing shown by "a Senior Product Manager 1." Many companies have, in recent years, moved to "Head" vs Sr Manager/Director/VP for multiple reasons, but primarily as a leveler in title for the the people who lead different functions and organizations.
For growth stage, VC backed companies, the role definitions, responsibilities, and time in role are much more fluid. There is more opportunity for high performers to take risk and advance faster in a smaller environment if the company is growing rapidly.
Whatever the top title in the function is (Head, VP, CPO), the job changes. Responsibilities become more focused on strategy/vision, hiring/developing/mentoring, budget, engagement with external stakeholders (e.g. Customers, Partners, Investors, Analysts, and Media), and working across functions internally on company strategic initiatives and issue resolution that is blocking teams.
Thanks and SPM1. I assume at VP you stop being an individual contributor and more of a people lead?
It depends on the demand (which is growing exponentially). Honestly, I think you can get away with 5-8 years.
5+