Product Engineer at Opengov

Job description

OpenGov is the leader in AI and ERP solutions for local and state governments in the U.S. More than 2,000 cities, counties, state agencies, school districts, and special districts rely on the OpenGov Public Service Platform to operate efficiently, adapt to change, and strengthen the public trust. Category-leading products include enterprise asset management, procurement and contract management, accounting and budgeting, billing and revenue management, permitting and licensing, and transparency and open data. These solutions come together in the OpenGov ERP, allowing public sector organizations to focus on priorities and deliver maximum ROI with every dollar and decision in sync. Learn about OpenGov’s mission to power more effective and accountable government and the vision of high-performance government for every community at OpenGov.com opengov.com. ABOUT THE ROLE OpenGov is seeking a Product Engineer II to take on increasing ownership of a product area with cross-functional exposure. This role is for developing practitioners who can contribute to discovery, roadmap input, and delivery with general direction from a lead, while growing their ability to operate independently. AI-native tooling accelerates execution — your job is to direct it toward the right outcomes for customers. HOW AI WORKS IN THIS ROLE AI-native tooling handles a significant portion of what product managers and UX designers have historically spent their time on. That time is yours to redirect toward higher-leverage work. Specifically: - Spec writing: AI drafts the first spec from your intent statement. You review, sharpen, and own what gets built. - UX design: AI generates mockups from the design system based on your flow definitions. Experience Architects maintain the system itself. You make the product decisions within it. - Research synthesis: AI clusters and themes interview notes, call transcripts, and support data. You interpret what it means for the roadmap and make the call. - Release content: AI generates release notes, in-app announcements, and enablement materials from your shipped features. - Code review: Automated review catches style, security, and regression issues. You stay accountable for quality outcomes — not the review queue. - Test coverage: AI generates test cases from the acceptance criteria you write. Your job is to write criteria that are precise enough to verify. - Competitive intelligence: AI monitors competitor moves and surfaces market signals. You form the point of view and decide what it means for your roadmap. What AI does not do: understand your customers, make the call on what matters, own the outcome, or build the cross-functional trust that makes things ship. That is the job. WHAT YOU'LL OWN - Define and communicate the product vision for your area — grounded in customer research, competitive context, and business goals; not inherited from committee. - Conduct and synthesize customer discovery: translate what you hear into clear, defensible decisions about what to build and what to cut. - Own the product roadmap: prioritize ruthlessly, explain your reasoning publicly, and revise it when new facts warrant it. - Define user experience flows and interaction patterns within the design system; escalate to Experience Architects when genuinely new system-level patterns are required. - Write clear intent documents that AI tooling can execute against; review and own AI-generated specs for accuracy, completeness, and correctness. - Partner with engineering to unblock builds, resolve ambiguity in real time, and make decisions during the development cycle without becoming a bottleneck. - Track adoption, usage, and business outcome metrics; use them to drive the next iteration, not just to report status. - Represent your product in customer conversations, QBRs, and cross-functional reviews — the full commercial picture, not just the feature set. - Identify gaps in AI harnesses and design system coverage; surface them as platform investment requests with clear business justification. QUALIFICATIONS & PREFERRED EXPERIENCE - 2–4 years of experience in product management, software engineering, or a closely adjacent technical role. - Ability to contribute to and navigate cross-functional engineering projects, with awareness of how your work connects to system architecture and broader team goals. - Experience conducting customer or stakeholder interviews, or translating technical requirements and user research into actionable engineering specs. - Solid written and verbal communication; can explain technical tradeoffs clearly, provide project updates, and incorporate feedback at key milestones. - Adapts to changing priorities and demonstrates a track record of shipping reliably. - Developing comfort with AI-assisted development workflows (e.g., AI-assisted coding, code review, or testing tools); willingness to become proficient is required. - Familiarity with design systems, component-based architecture, or API/data modeling is a plus. - Experience with modern SaaS architecture (APIs, cloud infrastructure, CI/CD) preferred.. HOW THIS LEVEL IS DIFFERENTIATED The following competency behaviors distinguish this level from adjacent ones: - Contributes to cross-functional projects and adapts to changing needs; viewed as a reliable team member. - Provides regular updates and receives feedback at key milestones; developing strong listening and communication skills. - Understands specific functional areas and applies expertise to contribute to company goals. - Works within their function and occasionally interfaces in cross-program relationships. - Identifies and articulates problems, extracts simple insights, and proposes solutions within scope. Compensation: Boston, MA: $110,000 - $125,000 On target ranges above include base plus a portion of variable compensation that is earned based on company and individual performance. The final compensation will be determined by a number of factors such as qualifications, expertise, and the candidate’s geographical location. WHY OPENGOV? A Mission That Matters. At OpenGov, public service is personal. We are passionate about our mission to power more effective and accountable government. Government that operates efficiently, adapts to change, and strengthens public trust. Some people say this is boring. We think it’s the core of our democracy. Opportunity to Innovate The next great wave of innovation is unfolding with AI, and it will impact everything—from the way we work to the way governments interact with their residents. Join a trusted team with the passion, technology, and expertise to drive innovation and bring AI to local government. We’ve touched 2,000 communities so far, and we’re just getting started. A Team of Passionate, Driven People This isn’t your typical 9-to-5 job; we operate in a fast-paced, results-driven environment where impact matters more than simply clocking in and out. Our global team of 800+ employees is united in our commitment to challenge the status quo. OpenGov is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dubuque, Dallas, and Pune. A Place to Make Your Mark We pride ourselves on our performance-based culture, where every employee is encouraged to jump in head-first and take action to help us improve. If you have a great idea, we want to hear it. Excellent performance is recognized and rewarded, and we love to promote from within. Benefits That Work for You Enjoy an award-winning workplace with the benefits to match, including: - Comprehensive healthcare options for individuals and families - Flexible vacation policy and paid company holidays - 401(k) with company match - Paid parental leave, wellness stipends, and HSA contributions - Professional development and growth opportunities - A collaborative office environment with weekly catered lunches.

Requirements

Must-haves

AI-native tooling handles a significant portion of what product managers and UX designers have historically spent their time on. That time is yours to redirect toward higher-leverage work. Specifically:
Spec writing: AI drafts the first spec from your intent statement. You review, sharpen, and own what gets built.
UX design: AI generates mockups from the design system based on your flow definitions. Experience Architects maintain the system itself. You make the product decisions within it.
Research synthesis: AI clusters and themes interview notes, call transcripts, and support data. You interpret what it means for the roadmap and make the call.
Release content: AI generates release notes, in-app announcements, and enablement materials from your shipped features.
Code review: Automated review catches style, security, and regression issues. You stay accountable for quality outcomes — not the review queue.
Test coverage: AI generates test cases from the acceptance criteria you write. Your job is to write criteria that are precise enough to verify.
Competitive intelligence: AI monitors competitor moves and surfaces market signals. You form the point of view and decide what it means for your roadmap.
What AI does not do: understand your customers, make the call on what matters, own the outcome, or build the cross-functional trust that makes things ship. That is the job.
Define and communicate the product vision for your area — grounded in customer research, competitive context, and business goals; not inherited from committee.
Conduct and synthesize customer discovery: translate what you hear into clear, defensible decisions about what to build and what to cut.
Own the product roadmap: prioritize ruthlessly, explain your reasoning publicly, and revise it when new facts warrant it.
Define user experience flows and interaction patterns within the design system; escalate to Experience Architects when genuinely new system-level patterns are required.
Write clear intent documents that AI tooling can execute against; review and own AI-generated specs for accuracy, completeness, and correctness.
Partner with engineering to unblock builds, resolve ambiguity in real time, and make decisions during the development cycle without becoming a bottleneck.
Track adoption, usage, and business outcome metrics; use them to drive the next iteration, not just to report status.
Represent your product in customer conversations, QBRs, and cross-functional reviews — the full commercial picture, not just the feature set.
Identify gaps in AI harnesses and design system coverage; surface them as platform investment requests with clear business justification.
2–4 years of experience in product management, software engineering, or a closely adjacent technical role.
Ability to contribute to and navigate cross-functional engineering projects, with awareness of how your work connects to system architecture and broader team goals.
Experience conducting customer or stakeholder interviews, or translating technical requirements and user research into actionable engineering specs.
Solid written and verbal communication; can explain technical tradeoffs clearly, provide project updates, and incorporate feedback at key milestones.

Nice-to-haves

Familiarity with design systems, component-based architecture, or API/data modeling is a plus.
Experience with modern SaaS architecture (APIs, cloud infrastructure, CI/CD) preferred..

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

aidesign systemdesign systemsapici/cd

Platform: ashby
Effort: quick

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Vision

401(K)

Parental Leave

Wellness

Professional Development