Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative

cartesiaยท Product
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๐Ÿ“ *HQ - San Francisco, CAFullTime๐Ÿ’ฐ USD 180Kโ€“250K/yr

About this role

About Cartesia

Our mission is to architect AI that learns from and interacts with the world like humans do.

We're pioneering the model architectures that will make this possible. Our founding team met as PhDs at the Stanford AI Lab, where we invented State Space Models or SSMs, a new primitive for training efficient, large-scale foundation models. Our team combines deep expertise in model innovation and systems engineering paired with a design-minded product engineering team to build and ship cutting edge models and experiences.

We're funded by leading investors at Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, along with Factory, Conviction, A Star, General Catalyst, SV Angel, Databricks and others. We're fortunate to have the support of many amazing advisors, and 90+ angels across many industries, including the world's foremost experts in AI.

About the Role

Cartesia is hiring a Product Manager to lead a new initiative at the company โ€” a 0โ†’1 product effort building on top of our foundation models. We're looking for someone to operate as the CEO of this initiative.

This is not a traditional PM role. We're looking for someone who has already lived the 0โ†’1 loop โ€” customer discovery, building, selling โ€” and who can set the pace for a squad of researchers, engineers, designers, and GTM partners. You'll own the initiative end to end and report directly to the Head of Product. You'll be the dedicated PM on this product, with the scope to shape strategy, run discovery, spar with research, and push deals to close alongside GTM.

Your Impact

  • Own the initiative's roadmap, strategy, and execution pace โ€” translate customer evidence into strong, opinionated bets and kill work that isn't worth doing

  • Shape go-to-market alongside the GTM team, from positioning to pricing to which segments we go after first

  • Run customer discovery personally and partner with GTM to close the early wave of customers

  • Drive cross-functional alignment across research, engineering, design, and GTM as a peer โ€” without relying on formal authority

  • Become a credible external voice for Cartesia through writing, talks, and customer-facing thought leadership

What You Bring

  • Founder experience: you have founded (or been founding PM at) a B2B SaaS, AI, or developer-tools startup and personally taken a 0โ†’1 product into market โ€” living the full loop of customer discovery โ†’ building โ†’ selling

  • Execution velocity and ownership: a deep bias to ship, comfort with ambiguity, and a track record of setting the pace for the people around you; you treat blockers as personal problems to solve

  • Deep working knowledge of modern AI/ML systems and the tradeoffs that matter in production โ€” or a clear track record of getting to expert-level in a technical domain within weeks

  • Customer-led and sales-comfortable: you've personally driven early customer acquisition at a previous company, can run a discovery call solo, walk a technical buyer through architecture, and push a deal to close alongside GTM

  • Product taste paired with technical depth: you can spar with research and engineering on model behavior, eval design, and architecture, with strong opinions grounded in customer evidence

  • Cross-functional leadership without authority: you've led R&D + GTM + design as a founder and can do it again here as a peer; a strong written communicator who produces primers, narratives, and POVs that travel on their own

Nice to Have

  • Already a credible external voice in applied AI โ€” or clearly capable of becoming one and excited to

  • Built a real-time or applied AI product previously

  • Prior PM time at a high-velocity AI lab or infra company (Anthropic, OpenAI, etc.)

  • Technical degree or prior engineering experience

More Details

๐Ÿข In-office policy: Weโ€™re an in-person team based out of offices in ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ San Francisco, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง London and ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ Bangalore. We love being in the office, hanging out together, and learning from each other every day.

๐ŸŒŽ Visa sponsorship: We provide visa sponsorship support and assess each circumstance on a case-by-case basis. However, visa sponsorship is dependent on many factors, including the role you are applying for, and the location you are going to be based, and so we can't always guarantee success. Your Recruiter will work with you to understand your visa sponsorship needs from the first call.

๐Ÿšข We ship fast. All of our work is novel and cutting edge, and execution speed is paramount. We have a high bar, and we donโ€™t sacrifice quality or design along the way.

๐Ÿค We support each other. We have an open & inclusive culture thatโ€™s focused on giving everyone the resources they need to succeed.

Our Benefits (US Employees Only)

๐Ÿ’ฐ Compensation. Competitive base salary alongside attractive equity package.

๐Ÿฉบ Health Insurance. Fully covered medical insurance along with dental and vision for you and your family.

๐Ÿฆ 401(k)

๐Ÿš† Commuter Allowance. A monthly stipend to help you get to and from the office.

๐Ÿ–๏ธ Flexible PTO. Take as much time as you need to recharge your batteries.

๐Ÿฒ Meals & Snacks. Lunch, dinner and plenty of snacks, provided daily.

๐Ÿฆ– Your own personal Yoshi.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative role at cartesia?
The listed salary for this Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative position at cartesia is USD 180Kโ€“250K/yr. This is an FullTime role.
Where is the Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative position at cartesia located?
This Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative role at cartesia is based in *HQ - San Francisco, CA. The position is listed as on-site or hybrid. Check the full job description or apply directly to confirm the work arrangement.
Is the Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative role at cartesia full-time or part-time?
This is listed as a FullTime position. It is posted as a Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative role in the Product department at cartesia.
Which team or department does the Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative at cartesia belong to?
This Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative position is part of the Product department at cartesia. See the full job description for more information about the team structure and responsibilities.
How do I apply for the Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative position at cartesia?
Click the "Apply Now" button on this page. You will be redirected to cartesia's official application portal hosted on ashby where you can submit your application directly.
When was the Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative job at cartesia posted?
This Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative position at cartesia was posted on May 15, 2026. Apply as soon as possible โ€” early applications are often reviewed first.
Product Manager / Former Founder, New Initiative
cartesia ยท ๐Ÿ’ฐ USD 180Kโ€“250K/yr
Apply for this role โ†—

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