---
title: 'Staff Product Manager, AI/ML at Firsthand'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-product-manager-ai-ml-firsthand-new-york-yy14x23rf1xb'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Staff Product Manager, AI/ML at Firsthand

- **Company:** Firsthand
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-02-02
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/firsthand/316858fe-d2c3-48dc-8ed2-4c1a348a8567

## Job description

## About Firsthand

Firsthand has built the first AI-powered Brand Agent platform, transforming the way marketers and publishers engage consumers through their own AI agents, anywhere online. While most AI applications in marketing and advertising focus on back-office automation, the Firsthand Brand Agent Platform™ powers front-line consumer engagement. Operating across both owned properties and paid media, Firsthand's Brand Agents make a company’s expertise accessible in real time, adapting to consumers’ interests and guiding them towards the information they need to take action. Central to the platform is Lakebed™, the company’s AI-first data and knowledge rights management system that ensures brands retain full ownership and control of their expertise. Firsthand is led by Jon Heller, Michael Rubenstein, and Wei Wei, whose previous ventures helped build the foundations of modern digital advertising. Backed by Radical Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Aperiam Ventures, and Crossbeam Venture Partners, Firsthand is shaping the future of AI-driven consumer engagement. Firsthand is headquartered in NYC, with team members working together in-office three days a week.

## The Role

Firsthand is looking for a skilled Staff Product Manager who will be responsible for inventing, designing, and implementing novel solutions for the AI landscape within the Firsthand platform.

## Responsibilities

- Conceptualize and design new features within the platform, using a data-informed approach and establishing clear metrics for success
- Navigate through ambiguity and change to collaboratively drive alignment with cross- functional teammates
- Work with enterprise customers and internal stakeholders to understand their needs and incorporate those insights into product decisions
- Communicate product vision, strategy, and roadmap to key stakeholders, including senior leadership, to drive alignment and decision-making
- Stay informed of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices to drive continuous improvement and innovation

## Qualifications

- BS or MS in computer science, related scientific or technical field, or equivalent professional experience
- 7+ years of experience in product management, preferably with 3+ years of experience building ML and AI solutions at enterprise scale
- Problem-solver with the ability to create simple and intuitive solutions from complex requirements
- Passion for learning and invention, as well as for efficient processes and scalable execution
- Experience with the product development cycle and new product launches
- Excellent communicator and collaborator, with the ability to effectively share complex technical concepts with both technical and non-technical stakeholders

How to Apply If you are ready to embark on an exhilarating journey at the forefront of AI, seize this incredible opportunity and apply here. We eagerly anticipate hearing from you! Note: Compensation and equity will be market-competitive for well-capitalized, early stage startups and will be discussed during the interview process.

## About Firsthand

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Firsthand provides the first Brand Agent Platform that enables marketers and publishers to deploy AI-powered brand representatives to engage consumers directly across owned and paid media.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Jonathan Heller (co-CEO), Michael Rubenstein (co-CEO), Wei Wei (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: AI-powered marketing and advertising technology
- **Target customers**: B2B – marketers and publishers seeking to use AI agents for consumer engagement
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “AI isn’t just a new technology — it’s a new communication medium that enables brands to engage consumers directly, wherever they are.”

## Products & Services
- **[Brand Agent Platform™](https://www.firsthand.ai/)**: A SaaS platform that lets brands create custom AI agents (“Brand Agents”) that deliver personalized, real-time guidance to consumers on the brand’s own site, across paid media, and beyond. Agents are powered by the brand’s own knowledge and voice.
- **[Lakebed™](https://www.firsthand.ai/)**: An AI-first data and knowledge rights management solution that ensures brands retain full ownership and control of their content and data when sharing it with partners and AI agents. Enables secure, real-time data sharing without transferring ownership.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$32.6 million** (Seed + Series A)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Radical Ventures (lead), FirstMark Capital, Aperiam Ventures, Crossbeam Venture Partners
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew **80% YoY** to 41 employees (as of mid-2025); active hiring for key roles; founded by digital advertising veterans who built DoubleClick (Google), AppNexus (Microsoft), and Freewheel (Comcast)

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-mover in Brand Agent category**: Firsthand claims to be the industry’s first platform purpose-built for brand-owned AI agents.
- **Data rights management (Lakebed)**: Differentiates by giving brands full control over their intellectual property and data, addressing a key concern for enterprises adopting AI.
- **Founding team pedigree**: Leaders previously shaped programmatic advertising and streaming TV advertising at scale, bringing deep industry relationships and credibility.
- **Backed by top AI and ad-tech investors**: Radical Ventures (AI-focused) and FirstMark Capital (ad-tech focused) provide both capital and strategic guidance.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling the platform**: Currently hiring for product management (AI/ML), account executive (agency partnerships), and applied research scientist roles, indicating investment in product development and go-to-market.
- **Expanding publisher and marketer adoption**: Focus on shortening the path from consumer interest to action by deploying agents across multiple touchpoints.
- **Maintaining data control narrative**: Continues to emphasize Lakebed as a core differentiator for brands wary of losing data ownership.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture highlights**: Values include “Partner for the win-win,” “Innovate with purpose,” “Small steps, big impact,” and “Understand, be understood.” Emphasis on meaningful solutions over hype.
- **Remote/hybrid policy**: Hybrid model – team works together in the New York City office three days a week; remote flexibility available.
- **Notable perks**: Unlimited PTO, 401(k) from day 1, zero-cost medical plans, paid parental leave. Benefits described as “constantly evolving.”
- **Engineering culture**: AI-first challenges, solving complex real-world problems at the forefront of generative AI. Team includes technologists, product leaders, and go-to-market experts with backgrounds in digital advertising, gaming, TV, and HR tech.
- **Leadership accessibility**: Led by proven entrepreneurs who have scaled companies to hundreds of millions in revenue; employees get exposure to industry veterans.

## Sources
1. [firsthand.ai](https://www.firsthand.ai/) – Company homepage and product description
2. [firsthand.ai/about](https://www.firsthand.ai/about) – About page, leadership, investors, values
3. [firsthand.ai/careers](https://www.firsthand.ai/careers) – Careers page, benefits, recruitment process
4. [linkedin.com/company/firsthand-labs](https://www.linkedin.com/company/firsthand-labs) – LinkedIn profile with funding, headcount, open positions, demographics
5. [builtin.com/company/firsthand](https://builtin.com/company/firsthand) – Built In profile with office location, open jobs, culture summary

## Other roles at Firsthand

- [Senior Agentic Experience Designer (Contractor)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-agentic-experience-designer-contractor-firsthand-new-york-an76h3evxv4b) — New York, NY
- [Staff Product Manager, AI/ML](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-product-manager-ai-ml-strava-san-francisco-689e97aknqxj) — San Francisco, CA