People Product Manager - Payroll Systems

$130,750 - $145,300/Yr

Southwest Airlines - Dallas, TX

Full-time - Mid Level

Onsite - Dallas, TX

Air Transportation

About the position

The People Product Manager at Southwest Airlines plays a crucial role in connecting the company's business customers with technology teams, specifically focusing on the Workday Payroll Systems. This position is integral to the People, Leadership, and Development (PLD) Department, where the manager will support the entire software development lifecycle, from ideation and strategy to planning and execution of various technical applications. The role requires a strong communicator and strategic thinker who is eager to drive impactful initiatives that align with Southwest's mission of connecting people to what matters in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel. In this hybrid position, the People Product Manager will work onsite at the Corporate Campus in Dallas, TX, at least three days a week, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment. The culture at Southwest Airlines emphasizes flexibility and camaraderie, encouraging employees to engage face-to-face to enhance teamwork and creativity. The manager will be responsible for identifying customer needs, refining product features, and collaborating with various stakeholders to ensure that the solutions developed meet both functional and non-functional requirements. This includes leading product definition and refinement, participating in planning events, and providing input on new and existing product features. The ideal candidate will have expert-level experience in managing requirements for complex software products, facilitating solution exploration, and utilizing key performance indicators to inform product decisions. A strong understanding of design thinking and customer-centric approaches is essential, along with the ability to communicate complex business needs effectively to various stakeholders. The role also requires a commitment to maintaining legal, compliance, and security standards across the product lifecycle, ensuring that all aspects of the product align with the company's values and objectives.

Responsibilities

• Identify customer needs and continuously refine Epics into Features, prioritizing and sequencing them on the PI Roadmap.
• Work with Product Owners within the ART to translate Features into Stories that satisfy the Product Vision.
• Ensure Product completeness by creating Feature Acceptance Criteria and maintaining the Feature Definition of Done.
• Collaborate with Architects and other technical personnel to address functional and non-functional requirements while maintaining technical excellence.
• Prepare for product release in collaboration with Change Management, including education, documentation, and training.
• Participate in PI planning by defining and presenting business intent, planned Features, and highlighting dependencies and milestones.
• Actively participate in Inspect and Adapt (I&A) events.
• Lead Feature definition and refinement, including establishing feature acceptance criteria.
• Conduct System Demos to evaluate working software and assess business value delivered against business intent.
• Provide input and feedback to Epic Owners on new and existing Epics, keeping customer needs in mind.
• Participate in the economic prioritization of Features and Enablers using techniques such as Weighted Shortest Job First.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Bachelor's Degree required.
• Expert level experience in managing requirements for large or complex software products.
• Experience facilitating exploration of potential solution alternatives or MVP/MMF options and achieving consensus.
• Knowledge in the collection and use of KPIs and leading indicators to inform Product decisions.
• Experience with Design Thinking and Customer Centricity.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with Workday Payroll Systems preferred.
• Functional experience with cloud-based or ERP HCM and/or payroll systems preferred.

Benefits

• Fly for free on any open seat on all Southwest flights for employees and eligible dependents.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with company contributions up to 9.3% of eligible earnings.
• Potential for annual ProfitSharing contributions when Southwest profits.
• Competitive health insurance options for employees and eligible dependents, including pets.
• Health plan coverage options starting from the first day of employment.