5 Skills for AI PMs
Earn $900k / year by learning hot commodity skills
Want to make $900k as an AI product manager at Netflix? The streaming giant’s recent job posting set the internet ablaze, stirring unrest amongst displaced writers and motivation for PMs evading replacement by their friendly neighborhood Bard.
I’ve worked alongside top minds in generative AI for the past seven months. As an AI-native product leader, I've learned the five essential skills that PMs need to stay ahead of the curve. Inspired by Slack CPO Noah Weiss’ 10 Traits of Great PMs, we’ll outline these skills. (I’m assuming you’re already half decent in all of Weiss’ traits. If not, time to brush up before you hop on the bandwagon.)
AI PMs automate busywork
They don’t waste time on grunt work, instead using tools to free up time for more strategic tasks. Busywork — such as roadmap drafting, user data analysis, and marketing campaign planning — can all be automated with products in the AI Cambrian explosion.
Ex. Hey Bard, “Pretend you’re Steve Jobs and define a minimalist product requirement document for <new feature>.”
AI PMs know legal jargon and landscapes
In an arena that shifts under their feet, they stay abreast of regulatory changes and ethical frameworks. They communicate language in layman’s terms, so their teams can make strategic calls before stepping on new landmines. They communicate company ethics with users to quell fears and build trust.
Ex. Their morning information diet includes AI regulation. They share relevant updates with the team in a #news channel.
AI PMs speak the modern stack
They are fluent in the cost, scalability, implementation time, and latency tradeoffs of AI systems. Additionally, they can speak about algorithms and data structures, as their engineer counterparts will inevitably speak of product ideas in terms of neural nets and state machines and you-name-it. They understand the philosophical underpinnings of technical references, and thereby maintain respect of the technical team.
Ex. Can you answer why NPCs are one of the more costly genAI systems?
AI PMs are data ninjas
They’re not afraid to get their hands dirty in the data, and they're always looking for ways to improve their models. They know how to run experiments, interpret results, and translate user feedback into actionable insights. They're also experts at sourcing and managing QA teams.
Ex. They can give data-backed suggestions to tune image generation models for specific use cases based on user input and QA benchmarks.
AI PMs design rebelliously
They have strong knowledge of traditional design, including tools like Figma and conventions like design systems. But they also think about how to design for prompt-based systems, rather than traditional interaction formats.
Ex. Midjourney choosing to launch a Discord bot rather than traditional app, thereby winning a modern distribution channel and avoiding hefty App Store fees.
Master these skills, and find yourself nabbing jobs like the $900k/year Netflix position. These high paying jobs are bound to proliferate, so now’s the time to stop calling AI a hypewave and start capitalizing on the trend.