Western Governors University
Principal Technical Product Manager - Payments
Edtech.com's Summary
WGU Corporation is hiring a Principal Technical Product Manager - Payments. This role involves defining and leading the enterprise payments strategy, managing the product roadmap, and collaborating with business and technical teams to create scalable, standardized payment solutions. The manager drives provider evaluations, aligns cross-functional execution, and uses data-driven communication to refine strategy and measure impact.
Highlights
- Own product strategy and roadmap for enterprise payments including provider evaluation and platform direction.
- Lead discovery with business units and technical teams to identify shared needs and standardization opportunities.
- Build business cases and frameworks for payment provider selection considering business, technical, and regulatory criteria.
- Make prioritization decisions balancing user experience, technical limits, and business value.
- Partner with engineers, architects, and stakeholders to define requirements and coordinate execution.
- Develop and articulate a clear product vision using data and storytelling for influence.
- Define success metrics and continuously assess outcomes to optimize strategy.
- Requires 10+ years in software product management with 3+ years at senior level and 5+ years in payments environments.
- Deep expertise in payment gateways, provider selection, regulatory compliance, and enterprise platform ownership.
- Compensation ranges from $175,900 to $272,600 with full benefits including bonuses, insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and parental leave.
Principal Technical Product Manager - Payments Full Description
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 412Pay Range: $175,900.00 - $272,600.00
Grade: Technical 412Pay Range: $175,900.00 - $272,600.00
Job Description
Principal Technical Product Manager - Payments
About the Team
You will join WGU's Enterprise Product organization, where technical product management focuses on the platforms, services, and shared capabilities that power the business. This team partners across business units and technical teams to define strategy, build standards, and create scalable solutions for complex enterprise needs.
Make an Impact
This is a high-visibility role for a strategic product leader who wants to build something foundational. As Principal Technical Product Manager - Payments, you will define and lead WGU's payments strategy across the enterprise. You will bring clarity to a fragmented problem space, shape a roadmap from the ground up, and help the organization move toward a more modern, standardized, and scalable payments ecosystem.
This role is ideal for someone who is energized by ambiguity, confident leading through influence, and excited to show what excellent technical product management looks like in a complex environment.
What You'll Do
- Own the product strategy and roadmap for enterprise payments, including payment provider evaluation and long-term platform direction
- Lead discovery across business units and technical teams to identify shared needs, dependencies, and opportunities for standardization
- Build business cases and evaluation frameworks to assess and select payment providers based on business, technical, and regulatory requirements
- Make high-stakes prioritization decisions that balance user experience, technical constraints, and business value
- Partner with engineers, architects, and stakeholders to define requirements and align execution across a complex ecosystem
- Develop and communicate a clear product vision, using data and storytelling to influence decisions
- Define success metrics and continuously evaluate outcomes to refine strategy and ensure measurable impact
What You'll Bring
- Bachelor's degree in a related field (or equivalent experience)
- 10+ years of experience in Software Product Management, Product Ownership, or similar roles, with at least 3 years in a Senior or Group Product Manager capacity
- 5+ years of experience working in payments within a complex, multi-stakeholder environment
- Deep payments expertise, including experience with payment gateways, provider selection, and regulatory considerations
- Experience owning enterprise platforms or shared services that serve multiple business units
- Strong strategic mindset with the ability to think 12 to 18 months ahead and translate ambiguity into action
- Excellent communication and storytelling skills across technical and non-technical audiences
Bonus Points
- Master's degree in a related field
- Experience in education technology
- Background in highly regulated industries such as fintech, banking, healthcare, or payroll
Experience in Lieu of Education
Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is at the discretion of the hiring manager.
What to Expect
At WGU, our mission drives everything we do, including how we hire. Our interview experience is designed to give qualified candidates the opportunity to show their best work through meaningful conversations and collaboration.
We thoughtfully review every application and invite forward the candidates whose experience and potential best align with the role and our mission.
We thoughtfully review every application and invite forward the candidates whose experience and potential best align with the role and our mission.
- Introductory call
- Hiring manager interview
- Technical interview
Work Location
This is a full-time, in-office position at WGU's office in Salt Lake City, UT.
Visa Sponsorship
While we welcome applicants from all backgrounds, WGU is not able to provide visa sponsorship for this role.
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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.
