Principal Product Manager - Dealer Marketplace
OPENLANEThis Principal Product Manager role oversees the strategy and roadmap for a wholesale vehicle marketplace. You will lead high-impact strategic domains while mentoring other product managers as the team scales.
What you’d own
- Multi-year vision, strategy, and roadmap for the dealer marketplace
- End-to-end product lifecycle from discovery to optimization
- KPI reporting tied to EBITDA and operational efficiency
- Coaching and mentoring of the product team
Who it’s for
A fit if you…
- ✓You have 8+ years of experience with at least 3 years in a senior leadership capacity
- ✓You are comfortable translating complex data into executive-level strategy and presentations
- ✓You have a proven track record of leading structured product discovery and customer research
- ✓You enjoy mentoring others and building out team structures
Not for you if…
- ✗You prefer a clearly defined roadmap over navigating high ambiguity and undefined problems
- ✗You are looking for an individual contributor role without leadership or coaching responsibilities
- ✗You prefer to work in isolation rather than influencing cross-functional teams without formal authority
Reading between the lines
- The mention of 'bringing structure to undefined problems' and 'acting decisively without perfect information' implies a high degree of ambiguity and a need for self-directed prioritization.
- The requirement to 'lift the product managers around you' suggests that people leadership and organizational scaling are as important as the product output.
Not sure this one is for you? See the best-fit roles across 1,524 open PM roles.
Paste your resume — it runs in your browser. Free, no signup, nothing uploaded.
Benefits
Full job description
Who We Are: At OPENLANE we make wholesale easy so our customers can be more successful. We’re a technology company building the world’s most advanced—and uncomplicated—digital marketplace for used vehicles. We’re a data company helping customers buy and sell smarter with clear, actionable insights they can understand and use. And we’re an innovation company accelerating the future of wholesale remarketing through curiosity, collaboration, and an entrepreneurial spirit.
Our Values: Driven Waybuilders. We pursue challenges that inspire us to build, create, and innovate. Relentless Curiosity. We seek to understand and improve our customers’ experience. Smart Risk-Taking. We transform risk into progress through data, experience, and intuition. Fearless Ownership. We deliver what we promise and learn along the way. We’re Looking For We’re seeking a high-impact Principal Product Manager to own the product strategy for OPENLANE’s dealer marketplace.
This is a hands-on senior role: you’ll go deep on the business and personally drive our most strategic marketplace domains before scaling your impact through others. You’ll set the multi-year vision, define and drive strategy, shape the long-term roadmap, and lead complex, cross-functional initiatives from concept through execution — always grounded in customer needs, the competitive landscape, and the data. As the portfolio and the team grow, this role is on a path to broader product leadership.
You Are: The capabilities we evaluate map to our product competency model. You bring: Strategic Thinking — you connect product decisions to company objectives and translate a clear vision into an executable roadmap. Analytical Ability — you’re fluent in data, from user-behavior patterns to operational and financial performance, and you let it drive prioritization and decisions. Clear Communication — you make the complex simple and drive clarity, including executive-level presentation of strategy, trade-offs, and results.
Empathy — you read customers, stakeholders, and teammates well, and build trust and alignment across all three. Comfort with Ambiguity — you bring structure to undefined problems and act decisively without perfect information. Customer-Obsessed & Outcome-Focused — you engage customers directly to uncover unmet needs and measure success through clear business and customer impact. You Will: Own the multi-year vision, strategy, and roadmap for the dealer marketplace, aligned to company objectives.
Lead the end-to-end product lifecycle — discovery and validation through delivery and optimization. Run deep discovery, customer research, and competitive analysis to inform direction. Prioritize across the portfolio by customer value, business impact, and technical feasibility. Partner closely with Engineering and Design to evaluate technical approaches and drive high-quality execution. Define, monitor, and report KPIs tied to EBITDA, engagement, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Drive executive-level communication of product strategy, trade-offs, and performance. Set a high standard for product rigor and outcomes, and lift the product managers around you — coaching, mentoring, and, as the team grows, building and leading it. Who You Will Work With: Reporting to the VP of Product Management, you’ll partner closely with Engineering, Design, Sales, Operations, Finance, Legal, and Customer Support, and align with senior leadership on strategy and outcomes.
You’ll also help us attract and grow top product talent as the team scales. Must Have's: 8+ years in Product Management, including 3+ at a Senior, Lead, or Principal level. Progressive leadership experience — including building, coaching, and elevating product talent. Proven track record defining, launching, and scaling high-impact digital products with measurable business results. Experience owning complex product domains end-to-end. Strong strategic thinking, connecting product decisions to company objectives.
Exceptional written and verbal communication, including executive-level presentations. Experience leading structured product discovery and customer research. Strong analytical skills, using data to drive prioritization and decisions. Comfort operating amid ambiguity and shifting priorities, with a bias to action. Ability to influence cross-functional teams without formal authority. Nice to Have's: Experience with wholesale auto auctions, dealer marketplaces, or inventory/sales management systems.
Technical fluency partnering with engineering on system-design decisions. Familiarity with Agile, Kanban, Lean, or Scaled Agile (SAFe). A strong professional network you can draw on to attract talent. Bachelor’s degree in Business, Technology, or a related field (MBA or advanced degree a plus). What We Offer: Competitive pay Medical, dental, and vision benefits with employer HSA contributions (US) and FSA options (US) Immediately vested 401K (US) or RRSP (Canada) with company match Paid Vacation, Personal, and Sick Time Paid maternity and paternity leave (US) Employer-paid short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance, and AD&D (US) Robust Employee Assistance Program Employer paid Leap into Service Day to volunteer Tuition Reimbursement for eligible programs Opportunities to expand your skill set and share your knowledge across a publicly traded, global organization Company culture of internal promotions, diverse career paths, and meaningful advancement Sound like a match? Apply Now - We can't wait to hear from you!
About OPENLANE
See all roles →OPENLANE (formerly KAR Global) operates the largest digital marketplace for wholesale used vehicles in the US, connecting thousands of auto dealers as both buyers and sellers. The platform offers multiple sale formats including 24/7 marketplace listings and scheduled live auctions, with AI-enhanced condition reports featuring damage detection and engine audio analysis. Publicly traded on NYSE with a $3.3 billion market cap and operations across the US, Canada, and Europe, it also runs a vehicle financing segment. For PMs, this is a two-sided B2B marketplace with interesting supply chain, pricing, and trust challenges in a traditionally offline industry.
Similar Roles
G2 · US · marketplace
$190k–225k/yr
BetterHelp · US · marketplace
$210k–250k/yr
LawnStarter · US · marketplace
$185k–230k/yr
Zillow · US · marketplace
$169k–285k/yr
Hopper · Latin America (MX) · marketplace
Hopper · US · marketplace
$250k–350k/yr
See what remote principal product manager roles pay — posted salary ranges across the whole board, not survey estimates.