Director – Product Development

Description

This position is eligible for teleworking, which is currently 2 days per week. New hires are eligible to apply 30 days after their effective date of hire.

About Us

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is North America's largest transportation network, serving a population of 15.3 million people across a 5,000-square-mile travel area surrounding New York City, Long Island, southeastern New York State, and Connecticut. The MTA network comprises the nation’s largest bus fleet and more subway and commuter rail cars than all other U.S. transit systems combined. MTA strives to provide a safe and reliable commute, excellent customer service, and rewarding opportunities.

Opening

The MTA transportation network has a very large system and infrastructure for financial, business, automated train, transportation, power, and physical security. The MTA IT Department is centrally responsible for providing a full range of Information and Operational Technology services to the MTA agencies and administrative units through its operating and support units. These services are provided on a 24/7/365 basis to support the MTA organization and its ridership. 

MTA IT’s Product Development group is empowered, multi-functional teams focused on the end-to-end management of development products from strategy to delivery. Using innovative processes and tools, the teams are responsible for developing and maintaining highly effective, secure, and innovative transportation, operational, and back-end information systems to support MTA goals and priorities. 

Summary

This role is responsible for overseeing the development of product lifecycles from inception/innovation through design, build, and ultimately the ongoing run stage before an eventual product retirement. This role must possess knowledge in an IT discipline critical to IT operations and a broad understanding of related domains (e.g., AI/ML, cloud services, cyber security, penetration testing, architecture, etc.).

This premium technical role demands a high level of expertise and precision, as it involves leading cutting-edge projects, solving complex technical challenges, and ensuring the delivery of premium quality solutions that meet stringent performance and reliability standards. This position requires a proactive approach to innovation, a commitment to continuous improvement, and the ability to inspire and mentor a team of skilled professionals to achieve excellence in their technical endeavors.

The role is responsible for directing interdisciplinary teams assigned to design, develop, and maintain one or more product lines. This includes a range of products critical to IT operations, including, but not limited to:

• Corp Finance/ Capital Planning & Budget
• Legal, Risk & Safety
• Enterprise Asset Management 
• Workforce Products (Payroll, Pension, Timekeeping, Recruitment) 
• Employee Experience 
• Platforms/Back-End Operations/DBA 
• Bus & Paratransit
• Scheduling Crew Pick
• Transportation Intelligent Systems, Train Control 
• B&T Products 
• Customer Experience 
• Revenue Fare Collections

Responsibilities

Premium Role Responsibilities – May conduct one or multiple of the responsibilities listed below in the IT discipline:

• Possesses knowledge in an IT discipline critical to IT operations and a broad understanding of related domains (e.g., AI/ML, cloud services, cyber security, penetration testing, architecture, etc.).
• Researches and implements new leading market practices.
• s/standards to inform the strategic direction of key IT disciplines such as AI/ML, cloud services, cyber security, penetration testing, architecture, etc.
• Possesses knowledge of UX principles to guide the development of products that provide a seamless and intuitive user experience.
• May collaborate with the cybersecurity team to conduct penetration testing and manage White Hat operations to safeguard our software assets.
• May contribute to the design and implementation of machine learning models and AI strategies to enhance our transportation computing offerings.
• May assist in the development and management of cloud-based infrastructure, ensuring scalability, security, and performance.
• Works closely with senior management to execute software development projects that align with the company's strategic goals.
• May support the software engineering teams, advocating for best practices in coding, testing, and continuous integration/deployment.

Core Role Responsibilities

• Oversees the product vision and strategy being implemented into the product development team’s work. 
• Reviews and oversees potential identified and unidentified risks to the product. Supports the development of mitigation strategies.
• Develops the budget for product initiatives. Oversees that product initiatives are completed on time and within budget.
• Leads and manages through change, including the ability to adapt to shifting priorities and market conditions.
• Translates strategies and policies into operational plans, ensuring alignment with company objectives.
• Directs IT teams, fostering professional growth and ensuring adherence to best practices.
• Delivers monthly or quarterly results, with performance subject to regular review against targets.
• Collaborates with IT and business leaders to create and manage product roadmaps aligned with digital strategies.
• Oversees team compliance with governance processes and adherence to technology architectures and methodologies.
• Develops and monitors system support processes to maintain product quality and sustainability.
• Understands customer needs, market trends, and the competitive landscape to inform product strategy and feature prioritization. 
• Contributes to or influences the strategic direction of one or more disciplines within IT.
• Directs day-to-day operations and motivates team(s) to achieve results; may be responsible for a budget.
• Oversees product lifecycle, from ideation, definition, prototyping, design, validation & testing, launch, run stage, and eventual product retirement.
• Records metrics on the sustainability, viability, and quality of delivered products within agreed service targets.
• Monitors the effectiveness and efficiency of product(s), and develops, proposes, and implements improvement strategies. 
• Oversees team priorities and resource demand/supply; recommends timelines and resources needed to achieve goals and objectives.
• Attracts, develops, coaches, and retains high-performance team members, empowering them to elevate their level of responsibility, span of control, and performance.
• Identifies, assesses, and mitigates risks. These risks may arise from numerous sources (e.g., financial instability, legal obligations, strategic management mistakes, and unforeseen incidents).
• Ensures program/portfolio/product and personnel adhere to all organizational policies and procedures, as well as any relevant laws and regulations, including MTA standards, ethical polices and guidelines. Performs periodic recertifications of devices and user usage. 
• Establishes and monitors metrics for organizational performance to ensure alignment with MTA's objectives. Responsible for maintaining dashboards, deploying tools for service optimization, and overseeing usage to enhance monitoring effectiveness.
• If applicable, identifies and selects vendors and products to be standardized by MTA, and orchestrates the establishment of contracts for their initial purchase and continued procurement. Collaborates with MTA IT Finance, technical teams, Legal, Procurement, specific MTA agency personnel, and vendors to establish contractual agreements and distribution protocols.
• Performs other duties and tasks as assigned.
• Observing the work performed by the contractor.
• Reviews invoices and approves them if the work meets contractual standards.
• Addresses performance issues with the contractor when possible.
• Escalates issues to other parties as needed

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree or related fields or equivalent experience. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Experience: Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience with a minimum of four years supervisory/ management experience

Technical Skills

• An expert with a deep understanding of technology.
• Expert ability to develop and implement enterprise product solutions. Ability to prioritize, handle multitasking, and work in an agile environment. Ability to quickly learn and understand new technologies.
• Strong experience in managing projects and initiatives.
• Strong experience with constant shifting needs and demands of the business Departments.
• Experience in at least one software engineering methodology, including but not limited to:  Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, DevOps, Extreme Programming (XP), Kanban, Lean, Rapid Application Development (RAD)
• Experience with the following language(s): Job Specific (e.g., Ruby, Python, Java, C++, COBOL, etc.)
• Familiarity with the following vendor-specific platforms: Job Specific (e.g., Azure, Windows Server platforms, or Linux)

Premium Technical Skills(Must meet the criteria for at least one of the premium skills/IT disciplines listed below in order to align to a premium role.) 

• Knowledge of network security, including firewalls and enterprise cloud integrations, and experience in systems administration for Linux and Windows OS, as well as virtualization in the cloud.
• Knowledge of deploying and managing hybrid multi-cloud environments (Azure, AWS, GCP) and on-premises systems.
• Knowledge of cloud computing, including architecture, development, operations, security, automation, and financial management.
• Knowledge of infrastructure automation using scripting languages (shell, Python, Ruby, PowerShell) and configuration management tools (Terraform, Chef, Puppet, CloudFormation).
• Knowledge of large-scale data center migrations to the cloud.
• Knowledge of AI/ML solutions and operations.
• Knowledge of modern AI and ML frameworks and architectures to develop and deploy AI models.
• Knowledge of software for simulation modeling and analysis of rail systems, such as train performance simulators, traffic management systems, and maintenance management software.
• Knowledge of evaluating an organization’s security infrastructure, IT systems, and protocols.
• Knowledge of conducting authorized security penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities.

Leadership Skills

• Expert leadership in leading change by developing inter/intra team communication and cohesiveness; sustainment of culture and supporting staff during organizational growth/changes.
• Expert leadership in leading people by working with staff to develop systems to ensure consistent, high-quality project management discipline for all technology-related initiatives and endeavors.
• Expert leadership in driving results by meeting organizational goals and customer expectations and making decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
• Expert leadership in business acumen by providing direction on evaluation, selection, implementation, and maintenance of information systems, ensuring appropriate investment in strategic and operational systems.
• Expert leadership in building coalitions by internally and externally building partnerships with key stakeholders to help achieve the MTA’s mission or common goals through influence or negotiations.

Behavioral Skills

• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, provide coaching, and direct feedback.
• Expert in active listening, attention to detail, customer service, prioritization, and problem-solving skills.
• Expert in working independently and strategically.
• Expert in identifying and analyzing risks and developing effective mitigation strategies.
• Expert technical knowledge and a diverse skillset to understand various technologies, systems, and potential risks.
• Expert in critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Expert in interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with both technical and non-technical peers.
• Expert in managing multiple projects simultaneously and prioritizing tasks based on urgency and impact.
• Extensive hands-on experience with related tools.
• Expert experience with working under pressure and meeting deadlines individually and collaboratively. Thinks logically, assesses problems, and is results-oriented.
• Expert in identifying complex business and technology risks and associated vulnerabilities.
• Expert in communicating effectively, both orally and in writing, to interact with team members, customers, management, and support personnel (technical and non-technical).
• Expert in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with employees at all levels within the organization, and with both internal and external customers.

Competencies

Other Information

Pursuant to the New York State Public Officers Law & the MTA Code of Ethics, all employees who hold a policymaking position must file an Annual Statement of Financial Disclosure (FDS) with the NYS Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (the “Commission”).

Equal Employment Opportunity

MTA and its subsidiary and affiliated agencies are Equal Opportunity Employers, including with respect to veteran status and individuals with disabilities.

The MTA encourages qualified applicants from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and abilities, including military service members, to apply.