Associate Director – Product & Platform Strategy

About the Role

Seeking an Associate Director, Product & Platform Strategy to translate strategic business priorities into coordinated product, platform, data, and technology plans.The role partners with business, product, technology, data, architecture, and delivery teams to evaluate opportunities, assess cross-functional impacts, define sequencing, and translate strategic direction into actionable delivery plans.This is primarily a strategy, portfolio, product/platform planning, and cross-functional alignment role, rather than a hands-on technical architecture or day-to-day product delivery role.Key ResponsibilitiesProduct & Platform Strategy

• Partner with business and technology stakeholders to understand strategic priorities and desired outcomes.
• Translate complex business needs into clearly framed opportunities and capability considerations.
• Develop a holistic view of products, platforms, data assets, and technology capabilities.
• Identify capability gaps, overlaps, dependencies, and reuse opportunities.
• Develop strategic recommendations aligned with broader product, platform, and technology strategies.
• Develop stakeholder-ready recommendations and decision materials.

Solution Evaluation & Impact Assessment

• Work with Product Management, Architecture, Data, Engineering, Operations, and other SMEs.
• Evaluate potential solution approaches.
• Assess expected value, strategic alignment, feasibility, complexity, scalability, reuse, dependencies, and delivery implications.
• Coordinate cross-functional impact assessments.
• Identify required capabilities, investments, decisions, and dependencies.
• Synthesize input into a cohesive view of options, trade-offs, risks, and downstream impacts.
• Ensure requirements, architecture decisions, and backlog ownership remain with appropriate accountable teams.

Delivery Strategy & Sequencing

• Translate strategic direction into sequenced and actionable delivery plans.
• Define capabilities, workstreams, dependencies, milestones, decision points, and expected outcomes.
• Facilitate alignment on ownership and delivery expectations.
• Develop sequencing recommendations considering business urgency, technical dependencies, capacity, readiness, and value.
• Identify critical-path activities and cross-team dependencies.
• Support transition from strategy and planning into execution.
• Adapt plans as priorities, constraints, or delivery conditions change.

Strategic Integration

• Maintain visibility across related development efforts.
• Connect organizational boundaries to identify dependencies, duplication, gaps, and opportunities.
• Connect business, product, architecture, data, technology, and delivery stakeholders.
• Help leadership understand how individual initiatives contribute to broader business outcomes.
• Promote portfolio and product leadership connections.
• Promote scalable and reusable solutions.

Program Planning & Potential Execution Support

• Establish fit-for-purpose planning, governance, and reporting structures.
• Maintain integrated views of milestones, dependencies, risks, assumptions, decisions, and accountable owners.
• Prepare initiatives for execution by clarifying approach, sequence, ownership, and dependencies.
• Support program or delivery leadership during transition and execution.
• Coordinate execution when required and escalate risks/decisions requiring leadership attention.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree.
• 7+ years of experience in:
• Product strategy
• Platform strategy
• Product management
• Technology strategy
• Program planning
• Related disciplines
• Experience translating business opportunities into coordinated product, platform, data, and technology strategies.
• Experience facilitating early-stage solution evaluation and cross-functional impact assessments.
• Ability to synthesize input from business and technical experts.
• Experience developing sequenced delivery plans across multiple products, platforms, and teams.
• Strong understanding of product development, platform capabilities, technology delivery, and organizational dependencies.
• Experience working across business, product, architecture, data, engineering, and delivery organizations.
• Strong analytical, facilitation, problem-solving, and executive communication skills.
• Ability to develop actionable recommendations from incomplete or evolving information.

Preferred Qualifications

• CRM, data, analytics, AI, digital products, or enterprise platform experience.
• Technology-enabled business transformation or complex cross-product initiatives.
• Experience leading/supporting cross-functional programs through planning and execution.
• Product operating models, Agile delivery, portfolio management, and technology governance.
• Pharmaceutical, life sciences, healthcare, or another regulated industry experience.
• Ability to balance immediate business priorities with longer-term product/platform considerations.

Success Looks Like

• Business opportunities are clearly communicated to the appropriate teams.
• Solution options are collaboratively assessed with business and technical experts.
• Cross-functional impacts, dependencies, trade-offs, and risks are identified early.
• Recommendations are actionable and aligned with business needs.
• Leadership receives clear recommendations and understands required decisions.
• Strategic direction is translated into sequenced delivery plans.
• Initiatives transition into execution with strategic and cross-functional alignment.

Pay: $50.00 - $55.00 per hour

Expected hours: 8.0 per week

Work Location: Hybrid remote in East Hanover, NJ 07936