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Location: Remote — US-based
About the RoleCouchbase is hiring a Principal Product Manager to own execution for the Couchbase Mobile portfolio — Couchbase Lite, Sync Gateway / Capella App Services, and Edge Server. This is a mature, widely-adopted portfolio, and this Principal-level role owns the execution rigor — release quality, developer experience, and technical depth of requirements — that keeps it excellent as it grows to support edge and on-device AI use cases.
The portfolio spans a full cloud-to-edge-to-device data layer: Couchbase Lite is the embedded database inside mobile, desktop, and web apps; Sync Gateway and Capella App Services provide self-managed and fully managed sync backends; and Edge Server is our lightweight, resource-constrained edge database for environments. Increasingly, these products also need to support AI-powered applications running at the edge, where data has to stay local, fast, and always available. You'll need a real point of view on how to extend the portfolio, grounded in hands-on technical judgment.
Responsibilities- Turn product strategy for the Couchbase Mobile portfolio (Couchbase Lite, Sync Gateway, Capella App Services, Edge Server) into a detailed, well-sequenced roadmap, and drive it through to shipped, adopted product with rigor.
- Own end-to-end execution day-to-day: write detailed technical product requirements, partner closely with engineering and design, validate pre-release features hands-on, and contribute to the operational cadence (JIRA, sprint/roadmap reviews, agile ceremonies).
- Bring operational excellence to a mature, multi-product portfolio — tighten release quality, close gaps in documentation and developer experience, and systematically remove friction that's built up across established products.
- Shape how the portfolio supports on-device and edge AI use cases, and turn that into concrete, engineering-ready requirements that keep the mobile/edge products relevant as AI moves to the edge.
- Work directly with customers and prospects to pressure-test use cases and turn them into functional requirements and clear build/don't-build calls.
- Be the first line of product ownership on live customer escalations — working directly with field, sales, and support leadership to unblock accounts, and driving fixes through engineering.
- Act as the portfolio's lead technical evangelist: represent Couchbase Mobile in talks, webinars, technical content, and arm sales, solutions engineering, and marketing with the training and positioning they need.
- Represent the portfolio in cross-org planning with senior leadership — this is leadership through execution excellence and technical depth, not people management.
- 8+ years of product management experience, with a track record of driving flawless execution for a mature product or portfolio at scale — distributed systems, databases, or developer platforms strongly preferred.
- In addition to the PM experience above, 3+ years of hands-on software development experience — writing or architecting production applications yourself, not just working alongside engineers who do.
- Demonstrated ability to take an already-successful, mature product and materially improve how well it's executed — release quality, operational rigor, developer experience — not just an ability to conceive new products from scratch.
- A genuine technical/developer background: you've built or architected client-side applications (mobile, desktop, or web) yourself, and you're comfortable prototyping. Fluency in client mobile app technologies (Flutter, KMM etc) is a plus.
- Practical understanding of the concepts behind complex distributed systems — high availability, disaster recovery, security and access control — and how they apply not just to mobile/embedded apps but to server-side sync infrastructure (Sync Gateway, Capella App Services). Familiarity with a public cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
- A working, opinionated understanding of edge computing and AI concepts relevant to on-device and edge inference — and the judgment to turn that into product strategy rather than buzzwords.
- AI-forward in how you work, not just what you ship: you already use AI tools in your own day-to-day PM process (requirements, research, analysis) and push that adoption across the team.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills is a must: equally comfortable in a deep technical design review with engineers and in front of customers, press, or executive leadership.
- Fluency with agile development process and tooling (JIRA or equivalent), and experience operating in a fast-moving, cross-functional org without waiting to be told what to do.
- A high bar for ownership — hard-working, self-directed, and comfortable setting direction under ambiguity and driving alignment across engineering, marketing, and sales without formal authority.
- A strong team player — curious and collaborative, with plenty of good ideas to contribute, and happy to take the time to learn the product and the team.
The anticipated starting base pay range for this role is listed below. Base salary is not the only component of our competitive total rewards package - you may also be eligible for bonus, commissions, and other benefits as described below. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location.
Working at Couchbase
- Put the Customer First: The customer must be at the center of everything we do.
- Be a Good Human, Always: Integrity, empathy, and respect are our non-negotiable bedrock.
- Win as One Team: No one wins alone. Collaboration is how we erase silos.
- Build for Mission Critical: Our product earned customer trust. We honor it by relentlessly pushing what’s technically possible.
Why Couchbase?
What We Offer (Total Rewards)
- Generous Time Off: Flexible programs designed to support your work-life balance.
- Health & Wellness: World-class medical, dental, vision, mental health, life insurance, and employee assistance programs.*
- Financial Security: Competitive retirement plans* and business travel coverage.
- Career Growth: A "Be Valued, Create Value" philosophy focused on your continuous growth.
- Fun & Comfort: Ergonomic setups for both WFH and in-office employees, plus snacks and meals when you’re in the office.
*Note: Specific benefit programs vary by country. Your recruiter can share details for your location.
Disclaimer:Couchbase is committed to being an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans’ status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Join an impact initiative group and experience the amazing feeling of Couchbase can-do culture.By using this website and submitting your information, you acknowledge our Candidate Privacy Notice and understand your personal information may be processed in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Notice following guidelines in your country of application.
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