Product Manager – Vector (Optimisation)
easyJet · United Kingdom-London-London Luton Airport ·
- Category
- Product
Product Manager owning Vector, easyJet's optimisation product that re-plans the airline's schedule through to the day of operations. Day to day: set vision and roadmap, lead a cross-functional squad of engineers and data scientists, and manage stakeholders and vendors to deliver solver-driven recommendations for flights, crew and ground resources.
At easyJet, we are on a mission to transform our integrated Planning and Operations into a world class digitally optimised operation, through the use of new and emerging technologies.
We are looking for a Product Manager to join the growing team, taking end-to-end accountability for products within a wider product group, working alongside the Senior Product Manager, fellow Product Managers and the business teams who rely on these products every day.
Product and its ways of working is new to easyJet, and we are looking for people who are able to help us mature our capability as we journey through the skies together!
This role sits at the intersect between the business, technology teams and our customers, and will really make the difference. The team is highly specialised in emerging technologies and importantly understands how planning, operational and commercial decisions connect in a rapidly changing landscape.
JOB PURPOSE
As a Product Manager, you will own the strategy, development and delivery of Vector, the product that connects the schedule to the day of operations, along with one or two closely related products that support it — work that directly affects millions of passengers and frontline staff across Europe.
Operational planning has to commit early. Aircraft are assigned to lines of flying, crew to pairings, ground resource, slots and maintenance to a shape of day that made sense when the plan was built. By the time the operation arrives, many of those commitments are no longer necessary and some are actively unhelpful, because they narrow the options available to the people running the day. Vector’s first purpose is to distinguish the planning constraints that still protect the operation from those that are simply artefacts of when the decision was taken, and to release the rest in a controlled, auditable way so that the day of operations inherits freedom rather than inherited assumptions
Vector’s second purpose is to recommend. It provides the recommender and solver that works across Day 3, Day 2 and the day of operation itself, re-optimising as the picture firms up — weather, airspace and flow restrictions, crew availability and hours, aircraft serviceability, loads and connections. Vector proposes the moves worth making, whether that is re-timing, swapping aircraft or crew, adjusting ground resource, or trading one flight’s punctuality for the integrity of the rest of the day, and it presents each recommendation with its reasoning and its expected operational and commercial impact attached. Accountability for the decision stays with the operational teams; earning their trust in the recommendations, and being honest about where the solver is and is not reliable, is the real measure of the product.
This makes Vector a bridge product. It consumes the forecasts, economics and planning data produced elsewhere in the product group(s) rather than owning them, and hands its recommendations to the teams and systems that act on them. Holding that boundary clearly is part of the role, as is building a team— engineers, data scientists and optimisation specialists — that can turn a hard operations research problem into something an operations controller will actually use under pressure at three in the morning.
Working closely with the Senior Product Manager and the Head of Technology, you will take full accountability for your products across their whole lifecycle — setting the vision, defining the roadmap and leading the cross-functional team that delivers it. That team, made up of engineers, analysts, Data Scientists and delivery partners, will rely on your leadership to ensure every product decision is grounded in customer insight, operational efficiency and commercial value. You will also contribute to the strategy of the wider product group, making sure your products earn their place within it.
This is a highly collaborative role. You’ll work closely with Network Operations Control, Operational Planning and Scheduling, Flight Planning, Crewing, Ground Operations, Maintenance Control, Airports, Commercial and Finance, as well as fellow Product Managers across the portfolio and the optimisation and software partners behind these products, translating complex business challenges into clear priorities and value-focused roadmaps. You’ll align your product strategy with the group roadmap and broader corporate objectives, ensuring your plans support both near-term delivery and long-term transformation. You’ll provide clear, data-driven insight that informs decisions at group and portfolio level
This role is ideal for a hands-on product thinker who thrives in a high-volume, high-impact environment and can balance a compelling product vision with day-to-day execution.
JOB ACCOUNTABILITIES
Product Strategy & Vision
Define and own the vision, strategy and roadmap for one to three products, from idea to value.
Ensure alignment with the strategy of the wider product group, organisational goals, user needs, and evolving market and operational dynamics.
Build the value case for your products and manage the resource and funding allocated to them, contributing to the wider product group budget owned by the Senior Product Manager.
Stakeholder Management
Build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders across the business and with external partners and suppliers.
Act as the recognised expert and single point of contact for your products, translating priorities into actionable initiatives and negotiating trade-offs where necessary, escalating decisions that span the wider group.
Product Planning & Execution
Own the end-to-end lifecycle of your products, from idea and discovery through delivery, adoption and optimisation.
Translate business challenges into clear, prioritised product backlogs and ensure timely, high-quality delivery.
Define and track success metrics (OKRS and KPIS), ensuring your products deliver tangible business outcomes. Use data and insights to inform decisions, iterate on solutions, and continuously improve product performance.
Cross-Functional Leadership
Provide day-to-day leadership to a multidisciplinary squad, ensuring alignment across business SMEs, Technology, Data, Analytics, and external partners.
Contribute to a high-performing, collaborative team culture focused on delivering measurable value, and share practice openly with fellow Product Managers across the group.
Governance & Compliance
Ensure your product development adheres to legal, regulatory and operational standards.
Apply best practice in product governance, risk management, and ethical technology use.
Communication & Reporting
Act as the focal point for communication on your products, providing regular updates to the Senior Product Manager, Head of Technology and wider stakeholders on progress, risks and value realisation.
Ensure transparency and alignment with stakeholders at every level.
Product, Service & Vendor Management
Own the ongoing service performance of your products, working with Technology, suppliers and support partners to ensure the availability, reliability and support a 24/7 operation demands — agreeing and monitoring the service levels that matter to users, acting as the product-side escalation point for major incidents, and ensuring change is introduced safely with testing, training, documentation and operational readiness in place.
Manage the commercial and delivery relationship with your software vendors and implementation partners in line with easyJet’s procurement and supplier management frameworks, owning or contributing to contracts, licensing and subscriptions, tracking consumption and cost, running regular service and roadmap reviews, and making and defending clear configure, extend or replace decisions.
Represent easyJet externally in user groups, customer advisory boards and product forums to influence vendor roadmaps, maintain an evidence-based view of the vendor and wider market landscape, and build relationships with peer airlines to share practice and strengthen easyJet’s position in roadmap and commercial discussions.
COMPETENCIES
Ownership and Delivery
Achieves in line with expectations by setting stretching objectives focussed on key priorities. Has a strong results orientation, anticipating obstacles and dealing with setbacks. Holds their squad and delivery partners to account where work is not progressing in line with expectations. Considers the broader implications of their decisions on the rest of the business. Analyses an issue from a business, rather than a functional or personal, perspective.
Building Relationships
Communicates information in a clear and compelling way to relevant people. Builds trust quickly with a wide range of people, both within and outside of own function, to ensure that everyone is aligned. Identifies and proactively involves relevant people in their decision making, seeking to listen to and understand a wide range of views and opinions. Proactively builds relationships and works cooperatively with individuals across the business.
Business Performance
Understands the key financial and operating concepts that drive the business and the interactions between them. Has a strong understanding of the industry and uses this to achieve best practice in what they are doing. Understands the broader implications of what they are doing and seeks to ensure alignment and minimise duplication and overlap. Understands the long-term strategy of easyJet and how their products and objectives align to it.
Customer and Shareholder Value
Seeks to identify and manage risk on an ongoing basis, ensuring that the customer’s and the organisation’s needs are balanced appropriately. Builds long-term and sustainable relationships with customers by continually challenging how their products can exceed customer expectations. Always has the customer in mind when making decisions. Understands the needs of shareholder groups and the different perspectives that they have.
Leading Through Influence
Provides clear direction to their squad, ensuring that everyone is clear on how their work aligns to the bigger picture. Prepared to have difficult conversations with others to maintain a high level of performance. Leads without formal authority, earning followership through clarity, credibility and consistency between what they say and how they behave. Engages positively with others across their department and uses formal and informal recognition on a regular basis.