Product Manager, Web & Apps

Product Manager, Web & Apps

California Academy of Sciences

The California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, research center, and natural history museumall under one living roofour mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.

Our extensive collections span plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. We are a diverse team of leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who work collaboratively to advance knowledge and inspire action through science and storytelling.

When you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. Whether you're working behind the scenes in research or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it.

About the Opportunity

The Product Manager for Web & Apps is the central owner of the Academy's public-facing website and select digital surfaces. The website is both a global science communication platform and one of the institution's most important revenue engines driving ticket sales, membership enrollment and renewal, donations, event attendance, program registrations, retail purchases, and digital product engagement.

This role blends product strategy, content platform leadership, UX rigor, experimentation, insight-driven decision-making, and complex cross-functional orchestration. You will shape how global audiences discover our science, plan their visit, support our mission, and return again and again, while managing a team of 4 to 6 direct reports who support the work.

You will bring structure, clarity, and momentum to a large ecosystem of stakeholders Science, Creative Studio, Marketing, Membership, Philanthropy, Education, Guest Experience, Sales, Operations, Business Applications, and Retail.

What You Will Lead

1. Ownership of the Website as a Revenue & Growth Engine

• Ticketing and attendance growth
• Membership join and renewal paths
• Donor and philanthropic giving journeys
• Event attendance and ticket sales
• Educational program bookings
• Retail and e-commerce (digital + physical)
• Digital product engagement and monetization

You will own the multi-year vision and roadmap to improve funnel efficiency, reduce friction between user and purchasing experience, and increase conversion across channels.

2. Stewardship of the Digital Science & Storytelling Platform

• Makes scientific content accessible, engaging, and emotionally resonant
• Translates research, exhibits, and conservation work into intuitive digital formats
• Supports exhibitions, events, and programs through dynamic content
• Maintains scientific accuracy, representational integrity, and public trust
• Strengthens the Academy's voice in biodiversity, climate, and conservation

3. Product Strategy & Multi-Year Roadmap

• Define the long-term product vision across web and digital experiences
• Maintain a sequenced roadmap for UX improvements, content evolution, revenue growth, and platform modernization
• Align roadmap priorities with institutional goals and executive direction
• Connect digital experiences to the Academy's Museum 3.0 transformation
• Build structured processes for prioritization, resourcing, and trade-offs.

4. Platform Modernization & Technical Excellence

• CMS improvements, structured content models, modular templates, and workflow upgrades
• Performance, accessibility, and mobile-first optimization
• SEO health, discoverability, and technical search improvements
• Responsible use of AI tools for content creation, translation, optimization, and personalization
• Close collaboration with Business Applications, Ops, and Sales to align digital flows with back-end ticketing, POS, CRM, and membership systems
• Familiarity with Tessitura, Shopify, Stripe, Salesforce Commerce, WooCommerce, or similar tools (experience a plus, not required).

5. Cross-Functional Alignment & Leadership

• Marketing & Communications: Audience growth, campaigns, acquisition, landing pages
• Creative Studio: Design systems, visual identity, storytelling, component libraries
• Science & Research: Accuracy, content translation, scientific integrity
• Membership: Conversion, retention, segmentation, benefits communication
• Philanthropy & Development: Donor journeys, fundraising pathways, impact storytelling
• Guest Experience: Visit planning, wayfinding, operational clarity
• Education & Events: School programs, family events, community learning
• Retail & E-Commerce: Product sales, order flows, merchandise storytelling
• Sales: Group sales, institutional offerings, partnerships
• Operations & Business Applications: Ticketing, POS, identity systems, CRM, backend integrations

You will define processes, establish decision-making frameworks, and ensure the website serves as a unified gateway to everything the Academy offers.

Join a team dedicated to the Academy's mission, vision and values! Currently, the Academy has a new strategic plan including three initiatives Hope for Reefs, Thriving California, and Islands 2030 that leverage biodiversity science, environmental learning, and collaborative engagement to regenerate fragile ecosystems around the world. Learn more at

We hope you are inspired by what we do and are excited to contribute to our mission. The mission of the California Academy of Sciences is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position.

This position is based in San Francisco, California. The specific onsite/hybrid schedule for this position is listed below.

This role sits within the California Academy of Sciences' Innovation Division and reports directly to the Chief Innovation Officer. The Innovation Division strengthens the Academy's relevance, reach, and revenue by uniting storytelling, design, science, and technology to reimagine how audiences engage with the Academy onsite, online, and out in the world. We create emotionally resonant, insight-driven experiences that deepen belonging, spark wonder, and support financial sustainability through increased attendance, member engagement, donations, diversified revenue streams, and modern digital platforms. The Product Manager for Web & Apps is a central contributor to this mission.

Key Responsibilities

Revenue Growth & Conversion Optimization

• Own all digital funnels and conversion pathways
• Build dashboards and analyses that reveal bottlenecks and drive enhancements
• Lead A/B testing and experimentation cycles
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Guest Experience to optimize acquisition and conversion
• Drive continuous improvements in average order value and LTV

Content & Experience Governance

• Establish content standards that ensure clarity, consistency, accuracy, and accessibility
• Maintain information architecture, navigation, structured content, and taxonomy systems
• Support sustainable content operations through improved workflows and governance
• Balance scientific depth with an intuitive public-facing narrative

UX, Design & Accessibility

• Lead UX improvements across critical user journeys
• Maintain accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1+)
• Partner with Creative Studio to sustain a cohesive, modern design system
• Ensure mobile-first excellence across devices and browsers

Execution, Delivery & Product Operations

• Own backlog prioritization and sprint planning
• Write user stories, specs, and acceptance criteria
• Manage QA, release readiness, and cross-team communication
• Translate institutional goals into buildable, measurable digital initiatives

Qualifications: A successful candidate will have the following:

• 8 to 10+ years of product management experience with consumer-facing websites or digital content platforms
• 2+ years of experience leading a team.
• Proven success optimizing revenue (ticketing, membership, donations, e-commerce)
• Strong experience with CMS platforms, structured content, and workflow systems
• Fluency in UX, analytics, SEO, IA, accessibility,