San Francisco Product Management: AI, Product Strategy, Stakeholder Management Lead 715 Roles -- January 2026

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San Francisco's January 2026 product management market shows 724 open roles across 364 employers, with AI/ML PM positions reaching 25% of demand - the highest concentration among tracked cities. Remote and flexible arrangements account for 87% of postings, while the 44:1 senior-to-junior ratio marks the most competitive entry-level market.

This report analyzes 715 Product Management job postings from 357+ companies tracked via direct employer career pages and job board aggregators. Our coverage skews toward tech-forward and scaling companies; large enterprises using enterprise hiring platforms may be underrepresented. Coverage varies by section and is noted throughout.

Key Takeaways for Job Seekers

1.0Prioritize AI skills With AI appearing in 25% of job requirements - the highest of any tracked city - demonstrating AI product experience or coursework may differentiate your application.

1.1Target Fintech and Mobility These two sectors account for 34% of roles combined. Mobility is actively expanding (up 4 percentage points), making it a potential area for faster hiring cycles.

1.2Leverage remote flexibility 43% of roles are fully remote. Consider applying to San Francisco-based companies even if you are not local, as remote arrangements are widely available.

1.3Entry candidates: focus on Growth-stage companies Young companies (under 5 years) represent only 9% of hiring. Growth-stage firms (50%) may offer more pathways for junior candidates than Mature enterprises.

1.4Expect senior-level competition With 60% of roles at Senior level and a 44:1 senior-to-junior ratio, differentiate through specialized skills like AI, platform expertise, or strong growth metrics.

Skills Demand

49% of roles with skills data

Low

High

Skills insight: AI skills lead at 25% - the highest of any tracked city - followed by stakeholder management (17%), product strategy (16%), and roadmapping (15%). SQL (14%) and data analysis (13%) reflect continued emphasis on data-informed product decisions. The most common skill pairs combine cross-functional collaboration with roadmapping and product strategy.

Seniority Distribution

Junior: 0-2 years | Mid-Level: 3-5 years | Senior: 6-10 years | Staff/Principal: 11+ years (IC track) | Director+: Management track

Low

High

vs December 2025

Biggest Gainer

Director+

+3pp

Biggest Decline

Staff/Principal

-2pp

Senior-to-Junior Ratio

43:1

Senior+ roles per Junior role

Entry Accessibility Rate

Junior + Mid-Level roles combined

Senior roles account for 60% of demand, with Director+ at 20% and Staff/Principal at 13%. The 44:1 senior-to-junior ratio is the most competitive entry-level market among tracked cities. Director+ roles gained 5 percentage points from December, possibly driven by organizational restructuring following January layoffs.

Working Arrangement

Onsite: office full-time | Hybrid: mix of office and remote | Remote: work from anywhere | Flexible: employee chooses arrangement

95% of roles with known working arrangement

42%Remote

Remote42%

Hybrid25%

Flexible19%

Onsite13%

Remote leads at 43%, followed by Hybrid at 24% and Flexible at 20%. Only 13% of roles require full onsite presence. The 87% flexibility rate indicates San Francisco employers continue to prioritize location flexibility to attract talent, despite some high-profile return-to-office mandates elsewhere.

Role Specialization

Low

High

vs December 2025

Biggest Gainer

ai_ml_pm

+12pp

Biggest Decline

technical_pm

-13pp

Core PM roles lead at 41%, with AI/ML PM at 25% - the highest AI/ML concentration among tracked cities. AI/ML PM demand rose 11 percentage points from December while Technical PM declined 13 percentage points, suggesting reallocation of technical product talent toward AI initiatives. Growth PM (11%) and Platform PM (9%) round out the specializations.

IC vs Management Track

84%IC

Individual Contributor84%

Management16%

Individual contributor roles make up 79% of openings, with management positions at 21%. This ratio suggests a balanced opportunity set for both IC-track and management-track product professionals, though IC roles remain the primary pathway.

Compensation

17% of roles with disclosed salary ranges

Overall Distribution

25th Percentile

$181K

Median

$210K

75th Percentile

$230K

IQR (Spread)

$49K

Advertised Salary by Seniority

Advertised Salary by Role

Market Context

1.Highest AI/ML PM concentration San Francisco's 25% AI/ML PM share is the highest among all tracked cities, reflecting the region's position as a hub for artificial intelligence development and investment.

2.January 2026 layoffs peak According to Challenger data, January 2026 layoffs reached the highest level since 2009. This may contribute to the elevated senior-to-junior ratio as experienced talent re-enters the market.

3.Most competitive entry market The 44:1 senior-to-junior ratio is the most competitive entry-level market among tracked cities. Only 7% of roles are accessible to candidates with under 3 years of experience.

4.Uber expands PM hiring Uber leads all employers with 5 open PM roles, adding 3 positions from December. This expansion aligns with the broader Mobility sector's 4 percentage point gain.

5.Technical to AI/ML PM shift Technical PM roles declined 13 percentage points while AI/ML PM roles gained 11 percentage points, suggesting companies are reallocating technical product talent toward AI-focused initiatives.

Methodology

This report analyzes direct employer job postings for Product Management roles in San Francisco during January 2026.

Data collection:

1.Over 700 roles from 364+ employers aggregated from multiple sources
2.Recruitment agency postings identified and excluded (2% of raw data)
3.Jobs deduplicated across sources to avoid double-counting

Classification:

1.Roles classified using an LLM-powered taxonomy
2.Subfamily, seniority, skills, and working arrangement extracted
3.Employer metadata enriched from company databases where available

Limitations:

1.Not a complete census of the market - some roles may not be captured
2.Skills analysis based on 349 roles with skill data (49% coverage)
3.Salary data available due to pay transparency law
4.Working arrangement based on 196 ATS-sourced roles (Adzuna excluded due to truncated descriptions)

Data coverage:

85%

Seniority coverage

Roles with seniority level classified

95%

Arrangement coverage

Roles with working arrangement known

49%

Skills coverage

Roles with skills extracted from description

73%

Employer metadata

Roles with enriched company data

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