Principal Product Manager, Applied AI &… at Proofpoint · Pittsburgh

Principal Product Manager, Applied AI & Agentic Services Solutions Location: Sunnyvale, CA About Us: Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across their people and AI workflows. Our mission is simple: safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people. How We Work: At Proofpoint you’ll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity guided by our BRAVE core values: Bold in how we dream and innovate Responsive to feedback, challenges and opportunities Accountable for results and best in class outcomes Visionary in future focused problem-solving Exceptional in execution and impact Role Overview The Services organization is creating a Principal Product Manager, Applied AI & Agentic Solutions role to lead the identification, incubation, and scaling of AI-enabled capabilities across how Proofpoint delivers services and how Services teamsoperateinternally. This role sits at the intersection of product management, service operations, applied AI, and workflow innovation. Its charter is toidentifyhigh-value opportunities where AI can materially improve service delivery efficiency, analyst productivity, consistency, quality, scalability, and customer outcomes, then drive those opportunities from problem discovery through prototype validation, operational adoption, and transition into durable capabilities or differentiated offerings. This is not a traditionalfeatureroadmap PM role. It is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can bring structure to ambiguity, work across organizational boundaries, and translate emerging AI capabilities into practical, measurable business value. In this context, “agentic” refers to bounded AI systems that can retrieve context, reason across multi-step workflows, use approved tools, and support or automate actions under defined guardrails and human oversight. Relevant examples may include analyst copilots, knowledge-assisted triage, implementation guidance, workflow orchestration, decision support, case summarization, and quality automation. Responsibilities Identifyand prioritize high-value opportunities across the Services organization where AI-enabled workflows, automation, and decision support can improve operational efficiency, consistency, quality, scalability, analyst effectiveness, or customer outcomes. Partner with Professional Services, Managed Services, Advisory, Support, threat analysts, domain experts, and Services leadership to understand operational pain points and uncover the highest-leverage use cases. Define clear problem statements, target users, hypotheses, business cases, success metrics, and prioritization criteria for internal and customer-facing AI-enabled solutions. Translate opportunities into clear requirements, workflow designs, and operating concepts that support rapid prototyping, cross-functional alignment, and scalable execution. Lead the design and validation of AI-powered workflows, including retrieval-based systems, copilots, workflow orchestration, bounded agent behaviors, approved tool use, human-in-the-loop review, and operational guardrails. Work closely with engineering and technical partners to rapidly prototype, test, and refine solutions in production-adjacent environments. Coordinate prototype demonstrations and stakeholder reviews to gather feedback,align ondirection, and accelerate decision-making. Use structured project management practices and tools such as Jira to track initiatives, surface dependencies, and help inform prioritization and resourcing decisions for AI systems development. Establish evaluation frameworks that measure solution quality, trustworthiness, adoption, business impact, latency, cost, and operational risk. Evaluate prototypes using operational, financial, and user adoption metrics, and make clear recommendations on whether to scale, iterate, operationalize, transition, orretirea solution. Identifyreusable capabilities that should evolve into internal platforms,deliveryaccelerators, packaged services, or customer-facing offers. Partner with Product, Engineering, and Go-To-Market teams to transition validated opportunities toward longer-term ownership, broader rollout, or monetization whereappropriate. Ensure solutions are designed withappropriate attentionto governance, security, trust, quality, and customer impact. Communicate strategy, tradeoffs, progress, and recommendations clearly to Services leadership and cross-functional stakeholders. Helpestablisha repeatable model for how Servicesdiscovers,incubates,evaluates, andscalesAI-enabled solutions over time. Required Qualifications 8+ years of product management experience in enterprise software, SaaS, cybersecurity, workflow systems, automation, orsimilarlytechnical domains. Proven ability tointegratedthreat intelligence and vulnerability data into products, services, and customer facing portals and dashboards. Proofrequired. Demonstrated ability to build and deliver security focused agentic AI projects usingKarpathicloop self-improvement, AI agent creation, and Level 3 agentic processing. Proofrequired. Proven delivery of retrieval-based systems, copilots, agents, tool use, and evaluation, with human oversight. Examplesrequired. Experience working closely with engineering teams on security products including Emerging Threats Intelligence,ETProRuleset, and Proofpoint Targeted Attack Protection, internal platforms, workflow systems, and automation solutions. Experience defining success metrics tied to measurable business and operational outcomes such as cycle time, analyst productivity, quality, consistency, adoption, margin, or customer impact. Demonstrated ability to drive cross-functional execution through requirements definition, stakeholder alignment, prototype reviews, and disciplined delivery processes. Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence senior technical and non-technical stakeholders. Strong ownership mindset and comfortoperatingin a fast-moving environment with incomplete information and evolving priorities. Preferred Qualifications Experience in Professional Services, Managed Services, Support, Customer Success, threat operations, or other service-adjacentproductor operational roles. Experience building or scaling AI-assisted workflow products, analyst tools, internal platforms, or automation systems with measurable adoption and impact. Experience translating internal workflow innovations into scalable external offerings, reusable service accelerators, or productized capabilities. Familiarity with enterprise cybersecurity workflows, analyst operations, and customer environments. Experience with AI governance, evaluation frameworks, rollout criteria, and quality controls in production settings. Success in This Role Internal AI-enabled workflows measurably improve service delivery efficiency, analyst productivity, consistency, and quality. Services teams gain scalable, reusable capabilities that improve customer outcomes and operational performance. High-potential ideas arevalidatedquickly and rigorously, with evidence-based decisions on where to scale and where to stop. The most successful internal innovations are translated into differentiated offerings, reusable accelerators, or long-term strategic capabilities. Proofpoint builds durable AI-enabled service advantages thatbenefitboth internal operators and external customers. Why This Role Matters This role is an opportunity to shape how ServicesappliesAI in real operating environments. Its purpose is not experimentation for its own sake, but building practical, trusted, high-impact capabilities that improve how teams work and how customers experience Proofpoint services. For the right leader, this is an opportunity to define a new capability area for Services and help build durable advantage for the organization over time. Why Proofpoint? At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Here are just a few reasons you’ll love working with us: Competitive compensation Comprehensive benefits Career success on your terms Flexible work environment Annual wellness and community outreach days Always on recognition for your contributions Global collaboration and networking opportunities Our Culture: Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success-every day, for everyone. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to accessibility@proofpoint.com. How to Apply Interested? Submit your application along with any supporting information- we can’t wait to hear from you! Consistent with Proofpoint values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets as set out below. Pay within these ranges varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate. The range provided may represent a candidate range and may not reflect the full range for an individual tenured employee. This role may be eligible for variable compensation and/or equity. We offer a competitive benefits package, including flexible time off, a comprehensive well-being program with two paid Wellbeing Days and two paid Volunteer Days per year, plus a three-week Work from Anywhere option. Base Pay Ranges: SF Bay Area, New York City Metro Area: Base Pay Range: 200,300.00 - 293,810.00 USD California (excludes SF Bay Area), Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington DC Metro, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Alaska: Base Pay Range: 167,300.00 - 245,355.00 USD All other cities and states excluding those listed above: Base Pay Range: 152,900.00 - 224,235.00 USD Additional Locations: Pittsburgh, PA