Director of Product Management, Emphasys PHA

Who we are

Aquila, a group within Constellation Software Inc., one of North America’s largest and most respected software companies, invests in category-defining B2B and B2G software businesses globally, providing long-term support and strategic guidance. Emphasys Software has been part of Aquila since 2008.

Operating across five specialized divisions, Emphasys provides mission-critical software that modernizes and streamlines complex processes for housing authorities, lenders, and government agencies in nearly every state. Through both products and services, Emphasys helps house roughly half of the families most in need in the country.

At Emphasys PHA, a division of Emphasys, we develop and support industry-leading software designed specifically for Public Housing Authorities across the United States. As a trusted provider in the affordable housing sector, our solutions help PHAs efficiently manage operations, ensure regulatory compliance, and deliver critical housing services to families and individuals in need. From applicant intake to rent calculations and unit inspections, our platform supports the full lifecycle of public housing programs—empowering agencies to focus on their mission of providing safe, stable, and affordable housing.

Who we need

Reporting to the CEO, we are hiring a Director of Product Management to lead and strengthen our Product function. As our new Director of Product Management, you will bring greater structure, discipline, and strategic direction to how we define, prioritize, and deliver our product roadmap. Leading a team of three Product Owners, you will establish stronger product management practices, coach and develop the team, and partner closely with Development, Sales, Marketing, and industry leadership to connect customer needs and market opportunities with business priorities. You will balance strategy with hands-on leadership as we evolve our product offering, including the continued transition from a legacy desktop application toward a more modern, web-based platform.

This is a remote role open to candidates based in the United States.

What’s in it for you

The opportunity to shape the Product function. You will step into a team with deep industry knowledge and an opportunity to introduce the product management structure, practices, and operating rhythm that will help it evolve. You will have the autonomy to strengthen roadmapping, prioritization, and agile ways of working while coaching a team that is ready to build its product management capabilities. Your experience will directly influence how the function operates and how product decisions are made.

A meaningful product transformation. You will help guide the evolution of an established software product as we continue moving from a legacy desktop application toward a more modern, web-based platform. You will have the opportunity to balance customer needs and commitments with innovation and technical investment, helping determine what we build, why it matters, and where we focus next.

Evolve how Product works with AI. You will help the Product team adopt and mature AI-enabled ways of working, including the emerging AI Delivery Life Cycle (AI-DLC) methodology. As these practices continue to evolve across the organization, you will help the team explore where AI can strengthen product discovery, decision-making, development, and delivery, encouraging thoughtful experimentation while establishing practical approaches that can scale.

Influence and visibility. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will have a voice in decisions that connect product direction with customer needs, market opportunities, and business growth. You will work closely with Development, Sales, Marketing, and industry leadership and engage directly with customers, giving you broad exposure and the opportunity to influence both product strategy and how that strategy comes to life.

How you will make an impact:

• Set the product direction. You will define and communicate a clear product vision and strategy, connecting customer needs, market opportunities, and business priorities. You will translate that direction into a longer-term roadmap that gives teams greater clarity on where we are going, why it matters, and what comes next.
• Bring structure to product management. You will establish stronger product management practices, operating rhythms, and agile ways of working. You will bring greater discipline to prioritization, backlog management, planning, and decision-making, helping the team move from reactive delivery toward a more consistent and strategic approach.
• Lead the evolution of the product. You will help guide the continued transition from a legacy desktop application toward a more modern, web-based product. Partnering closely with Development, you will balance innovation, technical investment, customer commitments, and business priorities to support predictable, high-quality delivery.
• Develop and empower the team. You will lead, coach, and develop a team of three Product Owners, building their product management capabilities and creating greater clarity around ownership and accountability. Initially operating as a player-coach, you will provide hands-on guidance while helping the team become increasingly strategic and effective.
• Bring the customer into product decisions. You will engage directly with customers to understand their workflows, challenges, and priorities and bring those insights back into product strategy and planning. You will confidently present product direction, listen to feedback, and ensure customer needs are considered alongside broader market and business opportunities.
• Connect Product across the business. You will partner with Development, Sales, Marketing, and industry leadership to create stronger alignment around product priorities and opportunities. You will contribute product insight to positioning, packaging, pricing, strategic accounts, and growth discussions, helping connect product decisions to customer value and business outcomes.

Here’s what you bring:

• The product leadership experience. You have led a product team and know how to build the structure, practices, and accountability that enable people to do their best work. You have experience coaching and developing Product Owners or Product Managers while remaining close enough to the work to provide practical, hands-on guidance when needed.
• The strategic and operational mindset. You can translate customer needs, market opportunities, and business objectives into a clear product strategy and actionable roadmap. You know how to prioritize competing needs, make thoughtful trade-offs, and bring greater discipline and predictability to how product decisions are made and executed.
• The product management discipline. You have worked within strong product management environments and understand agile principles, backlog management, roadmapping, prioritization, and product lifecycle practices. You can assess what is working, identify where greater structure is needed, and introduce processes that help a team become more strategic and effective without adding unnecessary complexity.
• The customer focus. You are comfortable engaging directly with customers to understand their workflows, challenges, and priorities and using those insights to inform product decisions. You can present product direction with confidence, navigate differing perspectives, and build credibility with customers and industry stakeholders.
• The cross-functional leadership. You can build trusted relationships across Development, Sales, Marketing, and leadership teams, bringing different perspectives together around shared priorities. You communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences and can challenge assumptions, influence decisions, and push back constructively when needed.
• The adaptability. You are comfortable joining an established business and product at an important point in its evolution. You bring curiosity and sound judgment to learning a specialized market and are open to exploring how emerging technologies, including AI-assisted development, can support better products and more effective ways of working.
• The AI-forward mindset. You are curious about how AI is changing the product discipline and are motivated to explore how it can improve the way products are discovered, developed, and delivered. You may already have experience incorporating AI-enabled tools or methodologies into product practices, or you bring the curiosity and willingness to learn, experiment, and help a team adopt new ways of working as technologies and approaches continue to evolve.

Why join?

Aquila is a division of Constellation Software Inc., one of the largest and most successful software companies in Canada and the most successful technology stock in Canada over the last 10 years [TSE: CSU].

Our entrepreneurial culture, lean environment, and people come together to form a dynamic organization where purpose drives our growth. This is a place where high performance and hard work are rewarded, where leaders are grown, and where the best ideas win. With the autonomy to be creative and curious, we collaborate and iterate to achieve real impact in the communities we support.

We spend our days asking questions and challenging the status quo, manipulating our structure, roles, and internal operations in order to stay ahead in a competitive landscape.

If you share our growth mindset, relationship-focused approach, and high moral fiber, you will thrive at Aquila.

Apply now.

Diversity and inclusion are not mere words on paper to us. We welcome and appreciate candidates with a range of backgrounds and experiences. If you have most of the qualifications we are seeking, and want to play an integral role in our success, apply to express your interest.

What you can expect from our interview process:

• A virtual interview with a Talent Advisor to discuss your interest in joining the company and in the role. The conversation will be recorded using BrightHire, an AI-powered video interview tool. More details will be shared when you are invited to interview.
• An interview with the CEO focused on your product leadership experience and your approach to building product management discipline, developing a team, and strengthening how product strategy and execution come together.
• A final interview with members of the leadership team focused on your leadership approach, cross-functional collaboration, and how you would work across the organization to help evolve the Product function.

Aquila welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

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