Product Manager - Audio

The Economist Group is the leading source of analysis on international business and world affairs. We deliver world-class, thought-provoking content through a range of formats including web, app, print, audio, conferences and film. What unites us is our independence, global perspective and commitment to clarity of thought.

Audio is an increasingly important way subscribers experience The Economist. From article narrations and text-to-speech to our portfolio of podcasts, our audio products give our journalism a distinctly human dimension and a growing role in how subscribers build a lasting habit with us.

We are seeking a Product Manager to own the listening experience and audio operations at The Economist. This is a craft-focused role for someone who cares deeply about what great audio product feels like and who wants to go deep on making it excellent.

About the role

The Product Manager for Audio will own the quality and delivery of The Economist's listening experiences across our app, web, and third-party platforms. This means day-to-day responsibility for the in-app and on-web audio player, article narration and text-to-speech pipelines, podcast hosting and distribution via Acast, and how listeners find and engage with our audio on platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The role sits within a broader Audio and Video product team and reports to the Principal PM, Audio and Video. You will work closely with Editorial, Engineering and Analytics to make audio experiences that are reliable, engaging and worthy of The Economist's reputation.

This is an individual contributor role suited to a PM who wants to own a meaningful product area with real depth, not someone looking to manage upward or own strategy from day one.

Responsibilities

• Own the listening experience across our app, web and third-party platforms, including player quality, playback reliability and the end-to-end listener journey.
• Lead delivery of article narration and text-to-speech scaling in partnership with Editorial and production teams.
• Manage podcast hosting and distribution via Acast, and our presence on listening platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
• Define and track success metrics for audio engagement, listening depth and habit formation.
• Work closely with Engineering on audio infrastructure decisions including streaming performance, content delivery and third-party integrations.
• Partner with the Principal PM to feed insights from audio into the broader Audio and Video roadmap.
• Communicate progress, risks and priorities clearly to stakeholders across product, editorial and engineering.

The ideal skills for this role

• Executor: You have shipped audio or media product features in a consumer app or digital platform, and you know how to get things done in a lean cross-functional team.
• Detail-oriented: You care about the craft of listening, noticing when playback continuity, buffering or interface clarity is slightly off.
• Subscription-minded: You understand how listening habits drive long-term subscriber value and make product decisions with engagement and retention in mind.
• Data-informed: Comfortable defining success metrics, running experiments, and using data to make and defend product decisions.
• Editorially-aware: Confident working with editorial colleagues, understanding their constraints, and balancing listener experience with journalistic standards.
• Collaborative: Works well within a small squad and across engineering, design and data science.

Domain knowledge

• Great to have audio product experience including in-app and web players, narration pipelines, podcast hosting and distribution, but not a must, especially if you are a self-starter and have solid app experience
• Text-to-speech technologies and their application in editorial content products
• Podcast hosting and distribution platforms such as Acast, and listener platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts
• Engagement and retention metrics for audio formats
• Multi-platform product delivery across web, app and third-party platforms
• Enthusiasm for The Economist's mission, journalism and global audience

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