Institute of Product Leadership
Search
Close this search box.

A Guide to the Role of Platform Product Manager

  • 5 min read

In tech, a lot is happening behind the scenes to keep your favorite apps and services running smoothly. One of the heroes in this process is the Platform Product Manager. They’re the ones making sure that all the pieces of a company’s technology fit together perfectly, creating a solid foundation that supports everything from the smallest feature to the most complex system.

Being a Platform Product Manager means taking on the challenge of building and maintaining the infrastructure that powers multiple products. It’s a role that demands both technical know-how and strategic thinking. Instead of focusing on just one product, these managers ensure that all the tools and systems work together, providing a stable base to handle whatever the future throws at it.

In this blog, we’ll explore what it takes to succeed as a Platform Product Manager. We’ll explore how this role differs from other product management positions, the unique challenges it presents, and the skills needed to thrive. Whether you’re thinking about stepping into this role or simply curious about what it involves, this blog will give you a clear and engaging look into Platform Product Management.

Key Takeaways:

  • The platform product manager builds and maintains the technology infrastructure that supports multiple products.
  • The job requires technical know-how, strategic thinking, and collaboration with engineers.
  • The platform’s PMs focus on building stable and scalable systems that will allow other products to work well.
  • It becomes effective only after building the right technical skills and experiences with internal tools and platforms.
  • Salaries are different based on experience, location, and the company size for a Product Manager in India.
In this article
    Add a header to begin generating the table of contents

    What is a Platform Product Manager?

    A Platform Product Manager plays a key role in tech companies that depend on increasingly complex software platforms. While classic product managers are more typically concerned with more customer-facing products, platform PMs manage the underlying technology that makes various other, different products work. Their work is to be robust and scaleable to meet the various needs of internal teams, such as development and operation.

    For example, a Platform PM at such a company as Google could own the process of developing the infrastructure supporting all of Google’s services, from search to maps to cloud computing. It is a highly tech-savvy position that demands great communication skills to coordinate with engineering teams as well as other stakeholders.

    Platform Product Manager vs. Product Manager

    Though both roles are somewhat alike, the focus on the latter is quite different. Traditionally, a Product Manager focused on the experience of the end user, through collaboration with design, marketing, and sales teams to fulfill the needs of products in the marketplace. They are customer-centric because they have to make decisions that depend on user feedback, market research, and competitive analysis.

    On the other hand, a Platform PM will focus on the internal users—engineers, developers, and all product teams inside the organization. Their objective is to make a stable platform which these teams would be able to build upon. A Platform PM focuses on technical excellence, scalability, and long-term stability over quick customer feedback.

    For instance, while a Product Manager at Amazon might focus on enhancements to the shopper’s checkout experience, a Platform PM might be focused on the payments processing system underlying millions of transactions during peak holiday shopping periods such as Black Friday.

    What Makes the Role of Platform Product Manager So Challenging?

    The role of a Platform PM comes with its own set of unique challenges:

    1. Technical Complexity: Platform PMs will work on systems that will be extremely complex and hence require a deep understanding of software architecture, databases, APIs, and cloud infrastructure, which gives the platform PM the need to communicate effectively with technical teams and support decisions that will affect the company-wide technology stack.
    2. Long-Term Vision: All the changes concerning platform products can’t be put to the test or iterated at a moment’s notice. Some of them may take months or even years to impact the current work of a Platform PM, making planning for future scalability and stability a necessity.
    3. Balancing Stakeholder Needs: A Platform PM must balance the needs of internal teams, each with their priorities and timelines. They need to know how to prioritize-assure that it supports key business functions but is pliable enough for future growth.
    4. Risk Management: Changes to a platform can have wide-reaching effects, potentially disrupting multiple products if not handled carefully. Therefore, the platform PMs should be precise in their planning, testing, and deployment to avoid risks.

    Real-life examples of challenges include companies such as Facebook, with more than a billion users and thousands of developers. The slightest problem in the platform may lead to widespread outages not only for the users but to the businesses that have used Facebook’s infrastructure for their products.

    Platform Product Manager Responsibilities

    The responsibilities of a Platform product manager can vary depending on the company and the platform they manage, but some common tasks include:

    1. Defining the Platform Roadmap: The Platform PM has to create and maintain a strategic roadmap, which should contribute directly toward the overall company goals. These include the setting of the major initiatives, the setting of timelines, and the appropriateness of the allocation of critical resources.
    2. Collaboration with Engineering Teams: Platform PMs work in conjunction with the engineering teams to elicit requirements, prioritize features, and guide the development processes to ensure the platform is well-built to support existing and foreseeable needs.
    3. Stakeholder Management: Platform PMs will need to communicate often enough with internal stakeholders such as other product managers, engineering leaders, and executives. They’ll also gather feedback, set up expectations, and ensure that the platform is solving the needs of multiple teams.
    4. Monitoring and Optimization: After the platform is deployed, platform PMs monitor the performance of the platform and identify bottlenecks, which make essential optimizations to scale infrastructure, improve APIs, improve security features, etc.
    5. Documentation and Training: The platform PMs are mostly responsible for creating documentation on the usage of the platform by the internal teams and training programs. This is very important for the induction of new members and maintaining continuity throughout the organization.

    Making the Shift to Platform Product Management

    Transitioning to a Platform PM role can be a significant career move, especially for those with a background in traditional product management. Here are some steps to help make the shift:

    1. Develop Technical Expertise: The first step to becoming a Platform PM is to be technically savvy. Take courses on software architecture, cloud computing, and data management. You must be familiar with these tools and platforms-AWS, Google Cloud, and Kubernetes.
    2. Gain Experience with Internal Products: If you already are a PM, take opportunities to work on internal tools or infrastructure projects. This will give you a small taste of the challenges and responsibilities coming with the role of being a Platform PM.
    3. Build Strong Relationships with Engineering Teams: As you have to work closely with engineers, a good relationship with technical teams should be built. Learn their languages and their pain points.
    4. Focus on Long-Term Planning: The way you should run the platform should be distinct from traditional product management, which often pegs on quick iterations following the complaints of a customer. You should take enough time to reflect and understand the long-term implications of your actions.
    5. Network with Other Platform PMs: Engage communities and conferences about platform management. Intradisciplinary networks with others are a good source of advice and will also keep you abreast of industry trends.

    Platform Product Management Salary in India

    The salaries for platform product managers in India are vastly variable and will depend on factors such as experience, location, or the size of the company. Here’s a breakdown:

    1. Entry-Level (0-3 years): Entry-level salaries for platform PMs are usually between ₹10,00,000 to ₹20,00,000 per year. Companies in major tech hubs pay more, such as Bangalore and Hyderabad, because of the cost of living and the talent competition.
    2. Mid-Level (4-8 years): A few years of experience may let Platform PMs earn approximately ₹20,00,000 to ₹35,00,000 a year. The range varies sharply, including the size of a company as well as the complexity of a platform.
    3. Senior-Level (9+ years): Senior Platform PMs with a track record can command anything well above ₹40,00,000. Some go up to ₹60,00,000 and above, especially in top tech companies or unicorn startups.
    4. Location-Based Variations: Salaries can also vary based on the location within India. Platform PMs in Bangalore and Mumbai usually take home more pay than other locations because of the high percentages of tech companies and the costs of living in those areas.

    Sources for salary data include platforms like Glassdoor, Payscale, and LinkedIn, which provide up-to-date information based on employee-reported data.

    It is not easy to be a Platform Product Manager; it requires a new balance of technical skills and strategic thinking with a collaborative ability to work with multiple teams. They are the backbone of any tech-driven company in that they guarantee their infrastructure for a variety of products is fully robust, scalable, and prepared for future demands.

    More companies are building complex digital ecosystems, so the demand for Platform Product Managers will continue to increase. How one gets into this role depends solely on an interest and the development of the right skills, internal experience with tools, and good engineering team relationships. Of course, it is not an easy path, but the tremendous impact of a platform that is well managed on its parent company makes it a career worthwhile.

    Whether you’re exploring this role as a potential career move or simply aiming to understand its significance within the tech industry, becoming a Platform Product Manager offers a rewarding opportunity to shape the technological foundation that drives innovation and growth.

    executive mba in product management

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Strong technical knowledge, excellent communication skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to manage multiple stakeholders are crucial for success in this role.

    Platform PMs prioritize tasks based on the needs of the business, technical feasibility, and the potential impact on the platform’s performance and scalability.

    Common tools include Jira for project management, Confluence for documentation, and various cloud services like AWS or Google Cloud for platform management.

    While coding isn’t mandatory, a strong understanding of software development and technical concepts is highly beneficial.

    Gaining technical knowledge, working on internal products, and building strong relationships with engineering teams are key steps to making the transition.

    Institute of Product Leadership is Asia’s First Business School providing accredited degree programs and certification courses exclusively in Product Management, Strategy, and Leadership.
    Explore Our Programs
    Facebook
    Twitter
    LinkedIn
    Our Popular Product Management Programs
    executive mba in product leadership
    Our Trending Product Management Programs
    Trending Posts
    WordPress admin themes

    About Institute of Product Leadership

    About Us
    Contact Us
    Faculty & Coaches
    Alumni
    Success Stories
    Press & Media
    Corporate Training
    Career Management
    Hire Talent
    Privacy Policy
    Refund Policy
    Student Loans and Financing
    Sitemap
    Careers @ IPL

    Product Management Courses

    University Programs
    Executive MBA in Product Leadership
    Certificate Programs
    Certified Associate Product Manager
    International Certificate in Product Management
    Post Graduate Program in Product Management
    International Certificate in Strategy & Leadership
    Product Management Professional Workshop

    Product Community

    Product Leaders Forum
    IPL Alumni Network

    Free Resources

    Events
    Blogs
    Knowledge Center
    Toolkits & Templates