Job description

The Associate Director, Product is a developing senior practitioner who owns strategy workstreams within larger engagements and is taking on growing client relationship responsibility. This person works confidently across the full range of strategic product work with growing independence and is building the presence and judgment to lead in the room. They are accountable for ensuring that strategy doesn't stop at the recommendation — that the thinking is clear, sequenced, and grounded enough for a team to act on it — and are increasingly the person who bridges that gap in practice. They use AI tools actively and independently across research, synthesis, prototyping, and deliverable creation — with developing judgment about where tools strengthen the work and where they introduce risk. They are also beginning to bring that perspective into client conversations, surfacing where AI can help clients move faster or build more durable internal capability. WHAT YOU'LL DO Own discovery workstreams within engagements — competitive research, stakeholder interviews, user needs synthesis — and translate outputs into clear, actionable product insights Develop product frameworks, vision documents, and roadmap inputs that reflect a clear strategic point of view, grounded in business goals and user reality. Translate that thinking into sequenced, scoped direction, defining what gets built first and why in terms a client and a delivery team can both follow Build and apply prioritization models that help clients make deliberate decisions about where to focus. Facilitate alignment sessions with the confidence to move a room from competing options to a clear position, including in the face of disagreement, rather than presenting trade-offs and leaving the call to someone else Ensure strategic direction is expressed in terms a delivery team can act on: reviewing, shaping, and where needed writing user stories that carry the intent of the strategy into the work without losing specificity or getting lost in abstraction Contribute to defining success metrics for engagements and use data and research outputs to validate strategic recommendations, and to flag confidently when a direction needs revisiting Apply AI tools independently across research, synthesis, prototyping, and deliverable creation with developing judgment about where they sharpen thinking and where human interpretation is what matters Begin advising clients on where AI thinking can be embedded into their teams and ways of working, under senior direction Support Senior Directors in new business contexts and develop junior practitioners through active coaching WHAT YOU'LL NEED 6+ years of experience in product strategy, digital strategy, or a related role, with a track record of owning strategy workstreams with limited oversight. Experience carrying that work through to delivery decisions or measurable outcomes is strongly preferred Strong working knowledge across the core areas of strategic product work with the ability to structure a discovery, develop a vision, build a prioritization model, interpret analysis, and ensure strategic intent is expressed in delivery Demonstrated ability to translate strategic thinking into concrete, actionable direction, including shaping or reviewing user stories and product requirements so that a delivery team can work from them without losing the strategic intent behind them Comfort facilitating workshops, presenting to senior stakeholders, holding a clear position under pushback, and making trade-off calls when full alignment isn't achievable Ability to synthesize competitive research, user data, and business context into product recommendations that go beyond best practice with a clear, defensible point of view Active, independent fluency with AI tools for research, synthesis, prototyping, and deliverable creation with developing judgment about where they help and where they fall short Emerging understanding of AI as an organizational capability, and beginning confidence in surfacing those implications for clients Demonstrated ability to develop junior practitioners and manage defined project workstreams with reliability and independence ABOUT US Born in 2001, Code and Theory is a digital-first creative agency that sits at the center of creativity and technology. We pride ourselves on not only solving consumer and business problems, but also helping to establish new capabilities for our clients. With a global client roster of Fortune 100s and start-ups alike, we crave the hardest problems to solve. We have teams distributed across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The Code and Theory global network of agencies is growing and includes Kettle, Instrument, Left Field Labs, Create Group, Current, and TrueLogic. Striving never to be pigeonholed, we work across every major category: from tech to CPG, financial services to travel & hospitality, government and education to media and publishing. We value the collaboration with our client partners, including but not limited to Adidas, Amazon, Con Edison, Diageo, EY, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lenovo, Marriott, Mars, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, and TikTok. The Code and Theory network is comprised of nearly 2,000 people with 50% engineers and 50% creative talent. We’re always on the lookout for smart, driven, and forward-thinking people to join our team. The target range of compensation for this role is $125,000 - $160,000. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and location.

Requirements

Must-haves

Own discovery workstreams within engagements — competitive research, stakeholder interviews, user needs synthesis — and translate outputs into clear, actionable product insights
Contribute to defining success metrics for engagements and use data and research outputs to validate strategic recommendations, and to flag confidently when a direction needs revisiting
Apply AI tools independently across research, synthesis, prototyping, and deliverable creation with developing judgment about where they sharpen thinking and where human interpretation is what matters
Begin advising clients on where AI thinking can be embedded into their teams and ways of working, under senior direction
Support Senior Directors in new business contexts and develop junior practitioners through active coaching
Comfort facilitating workshops, presenting to senior stakeholders, holding a clear position under pushback, and making trade-off calls when full alignment isn't achievable
Ability to synthesize competitive research, user data, and business context into product recommendations that go beyond best practice with a clear, defensible point of view
Active, independent fluency with AI tools for research, synthesis, prototyping, and deliverable creation with developing judgment about where they help and where they fall short
Emerging understanding of AI as an organizational capability, and beginning confidence in surfacing those implications for clients
Demonstrated ability to develop junior practitioners and manage defined project workstreams with reliability and independence

Nice-to-haves

None flagged.

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