About Us:

Have you ever had the opportunity to impact the lives of millions of people in a meaningful way and help them enjoy time away with their friends and families building memories? 

That is what we do here at HomeAway.com, an Expedia Inc. company. We are the leading vacation rental website in the world with more than one million online bookable vacation rentals. Our mission is to make every vacation rental in the world available to every traveler in the world through our online marketplace and we're committed to helping families and friends find the perfect vacation rental to create unforgettable travel experiences together. 

The Opportunity:

Want to work in an exciting, high-energy role responsible for helping to change the face of online travel? The Principal Product Manager for Marketplace Rankings will drive HomeAway’s ranking/relevance platform and algorithms. This role would be responsible for the design of the algorithms that drive the ranking, relevance and sort of vacation rentals, a critical driver of conversion and revenue. A successful individual should be able to seamlessly span technology, revenue management, market management and data science/analytics teams to create and implement a compelling product that drives the greatest conversion from vacation rental search. Bring your experience, creativity, communication, collaboration skills, and desire to be the best, and join us as we continue to reinvent travel.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead the Marketplace Rankings Product Line Team with ownership of core ranking/relevance algorithms and technology platform
• Develop and execute the vision, strategy and roadmap for ensuring every HomeAway traveler can easily find the perfect vacation rental via our relevancy models
• Drive algorithms that align the interests of Travelers, Owners, & HomeAway leading to increased customer relevance and greater marketplace contributions to their performance
• Team with the Traveler, Partner and Mobile product line teams to deliver a holistic search experience on HomeAway’s online and multi-channel platforms
• Act as the product champion and evangelize the product vision effectively to stakeholders and independently drive alignment on product requirements
• Evolve marketplace algorithms through a “build, measure, learn” approach, informed by A/B testing and statistical analysis of search behaviors
• Conduct competitive analysis to identify gaps and opportunities that will further inform the product roadmap for our sort platform
• Work closely with Data Scientists and Technical Leaders to understand how to develop the business case for innovative, revolutionary and disruptive new capabilities
• Collaborate with the development teams to evaluate technical options. Work closely with business and technology teams to prioritize and schedule enhancements, new features and fixes
• Drive the cross group working sessions to ensure alignment for strategic initiatives
• Manage resolution of urgent technical issues, communicating with global business stakeholders and escalating as necessary to ensure timely resolution and minimize business impact
• Track and report on key metrics

Required Skills / Experience:

• 5+ years' Product management experience understanding, communicating, and prioritizing technology business requirements
• Self-starter with demonstrated strengths managing multiple projects simultaneously and driving them to completion with limited direction
• Ability to evangelize and articulate innovative technology for both technical and non-technical audiences
• Proven skills at cultivating strong working relationships and driving collaboration across multiple business and technical teams
• Proven influencing skills: the ability to manage expectations of business partners while maintaining productive relationships
• Demonstrated ability to design, build and manage highly complex projects
• Proven knowledge of statistics, economics and e-commerce standards/best practices
• Strong track record of managing complex project schedules, resources and communications. Experience with the agile methodology a plus
• Solid understanding of technical concepts, architecture, software engineering a requirement. Previous experience in software engineering a plus
• Demonstrated ability to use SQL or HQL to obtain data for analysis or decision making
• Experience working with or managing Data Scientists preferred
• Experience in the travel vertical + eCommerce, including behavioral analysis/optimization is a plus
• BS in Computer Science or equivalent

Benefits:

• Competitive health and insurance benefits
• Competitive salary
• Annual target bonus or commission
• Paid vacation and sick time
• Vacation rental on a yearly basis (taxable benefit)
• Employee Stock Purchase Program
• Free snacks and beverages
• Frequent company update talks with our leadership team
• Free listing on HomeAway.com
• Electric, adjustable stand-up desk
• Discounted Metro & Rail pass
• Casual dress code