Product Manager, Web & Apps

California Academy of Sciences · United States

About the California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, research center, and natural history museum—all under one living roof—our mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. Our extensive collections span plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. We are a diverse team of leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who work collaboratively to advance knowledge and inspire action through science and storytelling. When you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. Whether you're working behind the scenes in research or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it. Join a team dedicated to the Academy’s mission, vision, and values, and committed to executing a new strategic plan that will strengthen the organization's financial foundations, cultivate a vibrant internal culture, and foster disciplined, mission-driven growth that will secure the Academy’s future. About the Opportunity The Product Manager for Web & Apps is the central owner of the Academy’s public-facing website and select digital surfaces. The website is both a global science communication platform and one of the institution’s most important revenue engines — driving ticket sales, membership enrollment and renewal, donations, event attendance, program registrations, retail purchases, and digital product engagement. This role blends product strategy, content platform leadership, UX rigor, experimentation, insight-driven decision-making, and complex cross-functional orchestration. You will shape how global audiences discover our science, plan their visit, support our mission, and return again and again, while managing a team of 4 to 6 direct reports who support the work. You will bring structure, clarity, and momentum to a large ecosystem of stakeholders — Science, Creative Studio, Marketing, Membership, Philanthropy, Education, Guest Experience, Sales, Operations, Business Applications, and Retail. What You Will Lead 1. Ownership of the Website as a Revenue & Growth Engine You will drive measurable improvements across all revenue-critical flows, including:

• Ticketing and attendance growth
• Membership join and renewal paths
• Donor and philanthropic giving journeys
• Event attendance and ticket sales
• Educational program bookings
• Retail and e-commerce (digital + physical)
• Digital product engagement and monetization

• Makes scientific content accessible, engaging, and emotionally resonant
• Translates research, exhibits, and conservation work into intuitive digital formats
• Supports exhibitions, events, and programs through dynamic content
• Maintains scientific accuracy, representational integrity, and public trust
• Strengthens the Academy’s voice in biodiversity, climate, and conservation

• Define the long-term product vision across web and digital experiences
• Maintain a sequenced roadmap for UX improvements, content evolution, revenue growth, and platform modernization
• Align roadmap priorities with institutional goals and executive direction
• Connect digital experiences to the Academy’s Museum 3.0 transformation
• Build structured processes for prioritization, resourcing, and trade-offs.

• CMS improvements, structured content models, modular templates, and workflow upgrades
• Performance, accessibility, and mobile-first optimization
• SEO health, discoverability, and technical search improvements
• Responsible use of AI tools for content creation, translation, optimization, and personalization
• Close collaboration with Business Applications, Ops, and Sales to align digital flows with back-end ticketing, POS, CRM, and membership systems
• Familiarity with Tessitura, Shopify, Stripe, Salesforce Commerce, WooCommerce, or similar tools (experience a plus, not required).

• Marketing & Communications: Audience growth, campaigns, acquisition, landing pages
• Creative Studio: Design systems, visual identity, storytelling, component libraries
• Science & Research: Accuracy, content translation, scientific integrity
• Membership: Conversion, retention, segmentation, benefits communication
• Philanthropy & Development: Donor journeys, fundraising pathways, impact storytelling
• Guest Experience: Visit planning, wayfinding, operational clarity
• Education & Events: School programs, family events, community learning
• Retail & E-Commerce: Product sales, order flows, merchandise storytelling
• Sales: Group sales, institutional offerings, partnerships
• Operations & Business Applications: Ticketing, POS, identity systems, CRM, backend integrations

• Own all digital funnels and conversion pathways
• Build dashboards and analyses that reveal bottlenecks and drive enhancements
• Lead A/B testing and experimentation cycles
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Guest Experience to optimize acquisition and conversion
• Drive continuous improvements in average order value and LTV

• Establish content standards that ensure clarity, consistency, accuracy, and accessibility
• Maintain information architecture, navigation, structured content, and taxonomy systems
• Support sustainable content operations through improved workflows and governance
• Balance scientific depth with an intuitive public-facing narrative

• Lead UX improvements across critical user journeys
• Maintain accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1+)
• Partner with Creative Studio to sustain a cohesive, modern design system
• Ensure mobile-first excellence across devices and browsers

• Own backlog prioritization and sprint planning
• Write user stories, specs, and acceptance criteria
• Manage QA, release readiness, and cross-team communication
• Translate institutional goals into buildable, measurable digital initiatives

• 5 to 7+ years of product management experience with consumer-facing websites or digital content platforms
• 2+ years of experience leading a team.
• Proven success optimizing revenue (ticketing, membership, donations, e-commerce)
• Strong experience with CMS platforms, structured content, and workflow systems
• Fluency in UX, analytics, SEO, IA, accessibility, and responsive design
• Experience collaborating across creative, scientific, operational, and technical teams
• Ability to lead through clarity, diplomacy, and structured decision-making
• Analytical fluency with GA4 and experimentation frameworks
• Exceptional communication skills — written, visual, and verbal