Job Openings

American Printing House for the Blind

11/07/2023

Technical Innovations Product Manager

Who is American Printing House for the Blind?

Since 1858, the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) has operated in Louisville, Kentucky as the world’s largest nonprofit organization creating accessible learning experiences through educational, workplace, and independent living products and services for people who are blind and low vision.

There’s no other place like it.  Creating things that make a real difference in people’s lives is what we do. 

Mission: A world leader in empowering people who are blind or low vision by providing accessible and innovative products, materials, and services for lifelong success.

ABIDE: Here at the American Printing House for the Blind, we live by the motto, “Welcome Everyone”.  Many modern organizations value diversity and inclusion: we choose to go further, understanding that more must be done to foster a sense of belonging in our institution.  To that end, we are committed to advancing accessibility and belonging, as well as inclusion, diversity, and equity in all aspects of our workspace, and to enriching our company with our distinct life experiences.

Position Overview

Reporting to the Senior Director of Global Technology Innovation, the Technical Innovations Product Manager will be responsible for the next generation product vision for many of APH’s technology endeavors.  The successful candidate will be responsible for product management, planning, and execution throughout product lifecycles, including gathering and prioritizing product and customer requirements, defining the product vision, and working closely with all stakeholders to ensure customer satisfaction and business goals are met.  The Technical Innovations Product Manager will be responsible for guiding the roadmap for multiple product lines simultaneously, keeping inclusive design at the core of what they do.

This is a hybrid position for applicants in Kentucky and Southern Indiana, remote for all other states.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate seamlessly with APH product managers and staff, partner vendors and subject-matter experts, and others in the field to balance and leverage partnership opportunities with the goal of creating innovative and exciting new products, coordinating valuable and valid field tests and / or expert reviews.
• Serve as a thought leader in the field on a national and international level, conducting interviews, creating podcasts, and writing blogs and articles with the goal of raising APH’s prominence on a global scale.  Represent APH at conferences through attendance, presentations, and support of APH’s exhibition of products.  Perform product trainings and webinars as needed.
• Work with international partners and distribution networks to increase APH’s brand and product recognition globally.
• Communicate clearly and respectfully to a variety of stakeholders both within and outside of APH.  Solicit product feedback and ideas from customers and experts using various product research methods such as focus groups and surveys; build relationships with customers and experts in the field of blindness and low vision.
• Write clear product use cases; work collaboratively across APH and partner resources to ensure those use cases are understood and developed into specifications according to user needs.  Must be comfortable making educated product change decisions when necessary.
• Coordinate the development of multiple projects containing a varied product portfolio using proven product management skills.  Define the product use cases, collaborating across departments to define product specifications, developing and meeting project timelines, and managing the scope of projects and development costs.
• Track mainstream market trends and identify where APH can take advantage of new and emerging technology to create new, inclusive products for the classroom and beyond.
• Suggest new products and product lines using market research and focus groups to justify prioritizing such new initiatives.
• Inform product strategy by analyzing the competitive sales landscape and trends, providing feedback in the development and maintenance of product roadmaps, and defining changing user scenarios.
• Ensure all technology products are within safety and compliance guidelines set by APH.

Education, Training, and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree is required, Master’s degree is preferred.  May substitute education for 3–5 years of industry experience.
• Experience in leading teams; effective oral and written communication, compromise, and internal and external collaboration skills while ensuring successful completion of projects.  Must be user-focused and a tremendous problem solver.
• Demonstrated success and passion for developing and launching high quality and innovative products and experiences.  Experienced with the stage-gate process.
• Solid understanding of the braille code, tactile graphics needs, and in-class general education curriculums to identify where accessibility gaps are present is preferred.
• Experience with screen readers (such as JAWS, NVDA) and braille translation software (e.g., BrailleBlaster, Duxbury).
• Understand the needs for both students and teachers in the classroom and during virtual instruction.  Knowledgeable of basic educational principles and concepts.
• Interested in the science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) needs of blind and low vision students to ensure they can perform at the same level as their sighted classmates.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.  Must have working knowledge of Adobe Acrobat, Internet browsers, virtual meeting platforms (Teams, Zoom), and assistive technologies.
• Proven experience using bug and backlog tracking software such as Redmine, Jira, etc.
• Must be willing to travel 3–4 weeks per year.

Compensation and Benefits

$60,000 – $75,000 | Salary is negotiable dependent upon experience.

Benefits include but are not limited to:

• Accessible, Diverse, and Inclusive Workforce
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness Employer
• Health Insurance covered at 80% for employees – plans include family planning benefits
• HSA Plan and FSA Plan – both include company contribution!
• Competitive Dental and Vision Plans
• Health and Well-being initiatives
• 401(k) Plans with company match and immediate vesting
• Company provided Short Term Disability
• Basic Life Insurance at no cost to employees
• Voluntary Life Insurance with Accidental Death and Disability
• 4 weeks Paid Time Off
• 11 Paid Holidays
• Educational Assistance and Professional Development Opportunities
• Optional Hybrid Work Schedule
• Voluntary Pet Insurance

APH is a drug-free workplace.   An offer of employment is conditioned upon successfully passing a drug screening test.

American Printing House for the Blind provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, prohibiting discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to disability status, race, color, religion, age, genetics, protected veteran status, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, political affiliation, or other non-merit-based factors protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Disability/EOE/AA/M/F/Vet Employer

E_mail: rward@aph.org

Phone: 5025159141

Cert: Any Certification

To apply: click here.  The application works best when using a laptop or a computer.  If you have trouble accessing the application through Paycom, please contact Ryan Ward at rward@aph.org.