Career path hierarchy for {role_name}
A {role_name} career typically progresses from junior to senior roles, with options to specialize or move into leadership. Below is a table of career paths and related roles, including core responsibilities and tasks at each level.
Career path heirarchy
| Roles |
Related roles |
Core responsibilities |
| Associate Digital Product Manager |
Associate Product Manager, Junior Product Manager |
Supports senior PMs, helps with user research, writes simple user stories, assists with backlog grooming and coordination across design and engineering. |
| Digital Product Manager (Mid level) |
Product Manager, Product Owner, Digital Product Specialist |
Owns specific features or a product module, runs discovery and competitor research, maintains the roadmap, defines requirements, works with tech and design, and tracks product KPIs. |
| Senior Digital Product Manager |
Senior Product Manager, Lead Product Manager |
Owns a full product area, sets strategy for that area, mentors junior PMs, drives complex initiatives end to end, works closely with business leaders on goals and trade offs. |
| Group Product Manager / Product Lead |
Group Product Manager, Principal Product Manager |
Leads a small team of PMs, aligns multiple roadmaps, balances resources across squads, partners with engineering and design leaders, influences product portfolio decisions. |
| Director of Product / Head of Product |
Director of Product, Head of Digital Products |
Owns a product portfolio, sets long term product strategy, aligns with company leadership, defines success metrics, manages PM hiring and performance, represents product in exec forums. |
| VP Product / Chief Product Officer |
VP Product, CPO |
Owns overall product vision, investment and portfolio strategy, partners with CEO and CXOs, shapes market positioning, builds the product organisation and culture. |
Digital Product Managers are in steady demand across technology, SaaS, fintech, retail, media and increasingly in traditional industries that are going digital.
Public job market analyses show:
- Product management roles have seen strong growth, with demand increasing as more companies compete on digital products and user experience.
- At the start of 2025, there were over 26,000 Product Manager jobs posted on LinkedIn per week in the United States alone.
- Reports highlight that demand for digital product managers specifically is projected to grow and remains attractive as organisations modernise and build new digital products.
For recruiters, this means:
- Good candidates will usually have multiple options
- Time to respond, clarity in the process, and a good candidate experience are critical.
- Offering growth, ownership, and real product challenges is as important as salary.
These salary ranges are indicative and can vary by company, industry, and negotiation. For accurate info, consult regional salary surveys and industry reports.
