How to apply for Product Manager

About Local Public, a Public Benefit Corporation

Local Public is a Public Benefit Corporation that powers streaming apps for over 20 PBS member stations, giving local public media a modern presence on mobile and connected TV. As a small, all-remote team, everyone is hands-on and directly shapes products that serve communities across the country. Working here means combining mission-driven impact with the technical challenge of managing a multi-platform app portfolio.

About the role

As Product Manager, you'll grow into ownership of a portfolio of station-branded apps across iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, Roku, Samsung Tizen, and LG webOS, all backed by a shared CMS and API. You'll shape the app roadmap with the Director of Product, run releases, and translate station feedback and app data into well-scoped work for engineers and external partners. Your work directly enables local public media to reach viewers on the devices they use every day.

A typical day

Your day might start with a stand-up with the engineering lead and external development partner, then a roadmap sync with the Director of Product. Later, you'll review app analytics with the data team to refine KPIs, write acceptance criteria for an upcoming release, and meet with a station stakeholder to gather feedback. You'll also coordinate with the Senior Product Designer on a new feature and update the Jira backlog to keep everything moving.

Who Local Public, a Public Benefit Corporation is looking for

• 3+ years of product management experience, ideally with consumer-facing mobile or connected TV apps, and comfort managing a multi-platform portfolio.
• Strong backlog management skills: able to write clear epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria in Jira that engineers and external partners can build from without guesswork.
• Data-informed mindset: experience defining KPIs and building feedback loops with data teams before development begins.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to collaborate remotely with engineers, designers, data teams, external development partners, and non-technical station stakeholders.
• Self-starter who thrives in a small, all-remote, hands-on environment and can manage multiple releases and stakeholders simultaneously.

Tips for this application

• Highlight any experience with connected TV platforms (Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Tizen, LG webOS) or multi-platform app portfolios—this is central to the role.
• Show your process for writing epics, stories, and acceptance criteria: include a brief example of how you turned stakeholder feedback into well-scoped Jira tickets.
• Demonstrate familiarity with defining KPIs and building reporting mechanisms with data teams; mention specific metrics you've used to refine products.
• Emphasize remote collaboration: describe how you've worked effectively with distributed engineering teams, external partners, and non-technical stakeholders.
• Connect with the mission: explain why local public media and public benefit corporations resonate with you, and how you'd approach station-branded apps differently from a single-brand product.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your experience managing a portfolio of apps across multiple platforms (mobile and CTV) and how you prioritize across them.', 'A concrete example of translating stakeholder feedback and app data into a roadmap and backlog that engineers could execute without ambiguity.', 'Your approach to defining KPIs and feedback loops before development, and how that improved a product you managed.', "Why you're excited to work in a small, all-remote, mission-driven team building for PBS member stations."]

Research before applying

• Explore the PBS member station apps Local Public builds (e.g., look up a few stations and their apps) to understand the user experience and platform differences.
• Research Public Benefit Corporations and Local Public's specific mission—understand what 'public benefit' means legally and culturally for this company.
• Learn about the connected TV landscape: Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Tizen, and LG webOS, including their store review processes and user expectations.
• Read about current challenges and opportunities in public media streaming, such as funding models, audience measurement, and local content discovery.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How would you prioritize features across 20+ station-branded apps when different stations have different needs?
• Walk us through how you write an epic and acceptance criteria for a new app feature, and how you ensure engineers have no guesswork.
• Describe a time you used data to refine a product. What KPIs did you track and how did you set up reporting?
• How do you manage releases across multiple platforms with external development partners?
• How would you approach learning the needs of PBS member stations and their viewers if you joined?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Focusing only on mobile app experience and ignoring connected TV platforms—this role explicitly covers eight platforms, so show breadth.
• Being vague about backlog management: avoid saying 'I managed a backlog' without explaining how you wrote stories, acceptance criteria, and collaborated with engineers.
• Neglecting the mission and stakeholder aspect: Local Public serves PBS stations, so candidates who don't show interest in public media or working with non-technical station partners may seem misaligned.