If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.
Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.
The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.
At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
Grade: Technical 411Pay Range: $140,200.00 - $217,200.00
Job Description
At Western Governors University (WGU), we are redefining how higher education works. As the largest nonprofit online university in the United States, we are pioneers in competency-based education, empowering learners to progress at their own pace and on their own terms.
Now, we’re building a new, modern platform that uses AI, behavioral science, and personalization to deliver more flexible, engaging, and effective learning experiences. We’re looking for a Staff Software Product Manager to lead our personalization strategy and help shape the future of online education.
In this role, you will:
Own the personalization strategy across WGU’s next-generation service-oriented architecture (SOA) platform, helping to tailor learning experiences based on student behavior, goals, and progress.
Partner with AI/ML, data, engineering, and UX teams to design and deliver intelligent systems using recommendation engines, natural language processing (NLP), and large language models (LLMs).
Use behavioral insights, A/B testing, and experimentation to identify what drives student retention, motivation, and success.
Collaborate with product managers across the student journey to identify and prioritize personalization opportunities across multiple teams and domains.
Define long-term product strategy in a complex, matrixed environment and communicate your vision effectively to stakeholders, including executive leadership.
Why this role is unique:
Meaningful impact: Your work will directly shape how students engage with their education, helping them persist, succeed, and earn degrees that change lives.
Strategic scope: This is not a backlog delivery role. You will operate at the platform and systems level, defining long-term strategy and guiding implementation across teams.
Mission-driven innovation: WGU is a pioneer in online, competency-based education. You’ll help lead the charge as we modernize our platform and reinvent the learning experience.
Complex challenges: From building habit-forming systems to emotionally engaging experiences, this is a role where behavioral design and technical fluency come together to create real transformation.
What we’re looking for:
7+ years of product management experience, including experience with platform, infrastructure, or technically complex SaaS products
Technical fluency with service-oriented architecture (SOA), microservices, and API-first environments
Experience building or managing AI/ML-powered systems, including recommendation engines, NLP, or LLMs
Experience designing or supporting habit-forming, engagement-focused, or behaviorally driven digital products (e.g., in fitness, edtech, fintech, or gaming)
Ability to set vision and lead through ambiguity, with strong storytelling and influence skills across cross-functional teams
Preferred qualifications:
Experience in education technology, fintech, or mission-driven B2C platforms
Experience contributing to digital transformation or large-scale platform modernization
MBA or equivalent strategic experience
Position & Application Details
Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.
How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.
Additional Information
Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.
Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.
Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.
