Senior Principal Product Manager Innovation / Lounge by Zalando (all genders)

Senior Principal Product Manager Innovation / Lounge by Zalando (all genders)

Join to apply for the Senior Principal Product Manager Innovation / Lounge by Zalando (all genders) role at Zalando

About Lounge – The Home Of Unbeatable Deals

At Lounge by Zalando, our mission is direct and powerful to be the undisputed home of unbeatable deals in European fashion and lifestyle. We provide our members with daily, insider access to limited‑time offers on the world’s most coveted brands. This isn’t just discounting; it’s a curated, high‑pace treasure hunt for Europe’s smartest shoppers, delivering the thrill of finding something amazing at a price you won’t see elsewhere.

The Opportunity – Spearhead the Future of Lounge

Our entire business is built on being the home of unbeatable deals. But how customers find and engage with those deals is about to fundamentally change. The world is moving towards an “agentic,” conversational, and AI‑driven future, and we plan to be at the forefront of this shift. You will lead our ‘Future Innovation’ pilots, acting as our “skunkworks” leader. Your mandate is to run high‑pace, high‑impact pilot projects (such as an AI shopping assistant) to generate critical learnings, de‑risk future bets, and build our next‑generation business capabilities.

This is a true zero‑to‑one product role giving you the chance to act as an entrepreneur by heart while impacting a customer base and business at scale. You will operate as an individual contributor with the scope and influence equivalent to a Head of Product and be a key player in our product leadership team. You will not only ship products; you will shape our product direction, culture and uplevel the craft of our entire product team through your example.

You will be a sparring partner for the C‑suite, a mentor to your peers, and the driving force for innovation that sets Lounge up for long‑term success.

Inclusive by Design

At Zalando, our vision is to be inclusive by design. And this vision starts with our hiring – we do not discriminate on the ‘gender identity, sexual orientation, personal expression, ethnicity, religious belief, or disability status.’ You are welcome to leave out your picture, age, or marital status from your application. We only assess candidates on their qualifications and merit.

We want to provide you with a great candidate experience. Feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support you throughout the hiring process.

do.BETTER – our diversity & inclusion strategy
https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/dobetter-our-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy

Our employee resource groups
https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/our-employee-resource-groups

What We’d Love You To Do (and Love Doing)

• Own Vision and Execution – Build a compelling vision for a portfolio of strategic AI and innovation pilots, comfortable taking bets when ambiguity is high and the market changes at a high pace. Deconstruct your vision into a clear, prioritized roadmap of testable hypotheses, smartly de‑risk new ventures.
• Lead & Maximize Impact – Lead and oversee a high‑performing, cross‑functional squad of engineers, designers, researchers, and data scientists. Accountable for maximizing their impact, fostering a culture of rapid discovery, and balancing executional excellence with pragmatism.
• Solve the Hardest Problems – Act as our pathfinder. Dive deep into our most complex “zero‑to‑one” challenges, spearheading our foray into generative AI. Your goal is not just to ship a feature, but to de‑risk massive future investments and build critical new business capabilities.
• Master the Business – Go beyond user metrics. Build the holistic business case for initiatives, modelling the P&L impact and long‑term strategic value of new, unproven business models.
• Uplevel the Organization – Act as a beacon of product craft. Through your work, written documents, and mentorship, set a new standard for how to innovate, test, and learn at scale, making everyone around you better.
• Communicate with Clarity – Author strategy documents, business cases, and risk assessments that are models of clear, persuasive thinking. Comfortable and effective leading executive‑level discussions on high‑stakes opportunities.

We’d Love to Meet You If…

We are looking for a candidate who has a proven track record of shipping exceptional products and driving business outcomes in a fast‑growing environment.

• Experience 10+ years of product management experience. Proven dual‑track background, with experience in both zero‑to‑one/startup environments and at‑scale, top‑tier consumer tech companies.
• AI Technology Expertise – Proven, hands‑on experience building and launching products with generative AI and conversational technologies is a firm requirement.
• Strategic Acumen – Demonstrated ability to develop a compelling product vision and strategy from highly ambiguous starting points and align the company around it.
• Business Impact – Think like an entrepreneur and business owner. Draw a straight line from a product decision to its impact on revenue, margin, or market share, even when data is sparse.
• Exceptional Influence – Master of stakeholder management and persuasion. Build consensus and drive alignment across functions at all levels, from individual engineers to the C‑suite.
• A “Spike” in Craft – While a strong generalist, have an acknowledged “spike” that blends deep commercial/business acumen with a strong technical understanding of AI systems and architecture.
• AI‑Powered Craft – See AI as a tool to be wielded. Actively and proficiently use AI tools in day‑to‑day workflow to augment thinking, accelerate execution, and elevate product craft.
• Pragmatism & Resilience – Weather shifting priorities, technical debt, and failed experiments. Make right trade‑offs, manage large risks smartly, and navigate the messy reality of building great things.

Our Offer

• Employee shares program
• 40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Zalando Lounge, discounts from external partners
• 2 paid volunteering days a year
• Hybrid working model with 60% remote per week, actual practice is up to each team to best support their collaboration
• Work from abroad for up to 30 working days a year
• 27 days of vacation a year to start
• Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)
• Family services, including counseling and support
• Health and wellbeing options (including Gympass)
• Mental health support and coaching available

Learn all about Zalando and our values here https://jobs.zalando.com/en/?gh_src=22377bdd1us

Why Lounge?

• Impact – The problems you will work on are not incremental. They are foundational to our future business and visible at the highest levels of the company.
• Autonomy – We are hiring you for your judgment. You will be given the trust and autonomy to do the best work of your career.
• Culture – We are building a culture of radical candor, deep curiosity, and relentless focus on the customer. You will be a key architect of that culture.
• Growth – This role is a stepping stone to the most senior product leadership positions in the industry. We are invested in your long‑term success.