Principal Product Manager - Cloud Volumes ONTAP; Strategy & Thought Leadership

Job Summary

This role reports to the Sr. Director and General Manager for Cloud Volumes ONTAP and is a senior Individual Contributor (Principal level) role with enterprise-wide scope and impact. The Principal Product Manager is accountable for shaping the long-term product and business strategy for Cloud Volumes ONTAP (CVO), with a focus on hybrid and multi-cloud growth, differentiation, and industry thought leadership.

This position does not have direct people management responsibilities. Instead, it operates as a strategic force multiplier across Product Management, Engineering, GTM, and Executive Leadership. Success in this role comes from setting direction, influencing priorities, aligning cross-functional stakeholders, and articulating a clear and compelling point of view on the future of cloud data management, automation, and operational simplicity.

The role is expected to represent CVO strategy internally and externally, engage with senior executives, customers, and partners, and help position Net App as a clear market leader in hybrid and multi-cloud data infrastructure.

Product & Business Strategy

Own and articulate the long-term vision and strategic direction for Cloud Volumes ONTAP, aligned with Net App’s hybrid and multi-cloud priorities.

Define and evolve differentiated value propositions spanning core storage, automation, security, marketplace and data management services.

Identify and evaluate growth opportunities across workloads, verticals, cloud marketplaces, regional and sovereign cloud offerings, and emerging customer segments.

Anticipate technology trends, customer adoption patterns, and competitive dynamics, translating insights into actionable product and investment strategies.

Drive portfolio-level thinking across on-prem, hybrid, and public cloud deployments, ensuring strategic coherence, customer value, and business ROI.

Strategic Road mapping & Portfolio Influence

Influence and shape multi-year product roadmaps in partnership with engineering leadership and peer product managers.

Define strategic investment themes, business cases, success metrics, and expected outcomes to guide prioritization and trade-off decisions.

Ensure alignment across related Net App products and services to deliver integrated, end-to-end data management solutions.

Serve as a strategic advisor and reviewer for major product, architecture, and platform decisions impacting CVO and adjacent offerings.

Thought Leadership & Evangelism

Act as a recognized internal and external thought leader in cloud storage, hybrid multi-cloud architectures, automation, and data services.

Develop and communicate strong points of view through executive presentations, whitepapers, customer briefings, and industry events.

Partner closely with Product Marketing, Sales, and Strategic Alliances to create a consistent and compelling narrative for CVO and the broader cloud portfolio.

Represent product and portfolio strategy with executive stakeholders, key customers, hyperscaler partners, and strategic ecosystem participants.

Cross-Functional Leadership (Without Direct Reports)

Influence and align cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, GTM, Marketing, Finance, Support) through clarity of vision, credibility, and collaboration.

Coach and mentor product managers and technical leaders informally through strategic guidance, feedback, and domain expertise.

Operate with a leadership mindset—driving outcomes through influence and accountability rather than formal authority.

Capabilities & Skills

Deep expertise in enterprise storage, data services, and cloud infrastructure markets.

Strong strategic thinking with the ability to connect market insight, product vision, and business outcomes.

Proven ability to influence senior leaders and drive alignment across complex, matrixed organizations.

Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level storytelling and narrative building.

Strong analytical orientation; comfort defining, interpreting, and using product, business, and financial metrics to guide decisions.

High degree of ownership, autonomy, and bias toward action in ambiguous, fast-moving…