At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design and development of Hopper's AI travel assistant, shaping user experiences for millions.
- Company: Join a fast-growing startup revolutionising travel with cutting-edge technology.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, unlimited PTO, equity packages, and generous parental leave.
- Other info: Dynamic teams, open communication, and a culture that encourages risk-taking.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in travel tech while working with innovative AI solutions.
- Qualifications: 8+ years in product management, design fluency, and experience with enterprise clients required.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
HTS Assist is Hopper's agentic AI assistant for travel, resolving real customer issues like flight changes, cancellations, refunds, and bookings over chat and voice for some of the largest travel brands and enterprises in the world. As Principal Product Manager, you will own the customer-facing agent end to end: the conversations, the interface, and the experience our partners put in front of millions of travelers. This is a deliberately design-leaning role, and you will be the day-to-day design decision-maker, shaping flows and interfaces directly in close partnership with partner design teams and our in-house designer.
What would your day-to-day look like:
- Own the roadmap for the customer-facing conversational agent across chat and voice, from intent coverage and conversation design to the interfaces partners embed in their apps and websites.
- Engage enterprise partners through discovery, requirement shaping, and launch decisions, translating partner asks into product choices that keep one product serving many partners.
- Partner with Partner Solutions on implementation and onboarding.
- Drive design daily, working hands-on in Figma to produce flows and wireframes, and partner with design on high-fidelity and production assets.
- Build working prototypes using AI coding tools where they beat a written spec, to test conversation flows and interface ideas.
- Define and defend quality bars with the evaluation team, covering resolution rate, containment, escalation correctness, and conversation quality.
- Specify agent behavior in detail, including resolution, tone, escalation policy, guardrails, and edge cases, and iterate from production conversation data.
- Stay close to GTM, Partner Solutions, and Success teams, feeding what the field learns back into the roadmap.
An ideal candidate has:
- 8+ years of product management experience, including principal or lead-level ownership of a customer-facing product, with conversational AI, customer experience automation, or an adjacent space strongly preferred.
- Design fluency, comfortable manipulating design files and producing flows and basic mocks solo in Figma, having operated as a de facto design lead on a lean team.
- The ability to write enough code to get a prototype working without waiting on an engineer, treating AI tools as a normal part of how they build.
- Hands-on front-end experience, having built or shipped web front ends and able to engage engineers credibly.
- Deep partner-facing experience with enterprise clients, ideally in regulated industries, shaping requirements and launch decisions at the product level.
- A data-driven approach grounded in customer service and automation metrics, including resolution, containment, CSAT, and escalation quality.
- Working familiarity with LLM-based products, including prompt and behavior design, AI quality practices, and their failure modes.
Perks and benefits of working with us:
- Well-funded and proven startup with large ambitions, competitive salary, upsides of pre-IPO equity packages.
- Hopper covers 100% of the premiums for the employee for a group insurance plan through Vitality Health.
- Automatic contributions when you start with Hopper through Smart Pension.
- Please ask us about our very generous parental leave, much above industry standards.
- Access to co-working space on demand through FlexDesk and a work-from-home stipend.
- Carrot Cash travel stipend.
- Unlimited PTO.
- Entrepreneurial culture where pushing limits and taking risks is everyday business.
- Open communication with management and company leadership.
- Small, dynamic teams with massive impact.
About Hopper:
At Hopper, we are on a mission to become the leading travel platform globally, powering Hopper's mobile app, website and our B2B business, HTS (Hopper Technology Solutions). By leveraging massive amounts of data and advanced machine learning algorithms, Hopper combines its world-class travel agency offering with proprietary fintech products to bring transparency, flexibility and savings to travelers globally. We have developed several unique fintech solutions that address everything from pricing volatility to trip disruptions, helping people travel better and save more on their trips.
The Hopper platform serves hundreds of millions of travelers globally and continues to capture market share around the world. The Hopper app has been downloaded over 120 million times and has become largely popular among younger travelers, with 70% of its users being Gen Z and millennials.
While many know us as the Gen Z and Millennial travel app, Hopper has evolved to become much more than that. In recent years, we've grown into a travel fintech provider, commerce platform, and global travel agency that powers some of the world's largest brands.
Through HTS, our B2B division, the company supercharges its partners' direct channels by integrating our fintech products on their sites or powering end-to-end travel portals. Today, our partners include leading travel brands like Capital One, Nubank, Air Canada, and many more.
Here are just a few stats that demonstrate the company's recent growth: billions of dollars worth of travel and travel fintech are sold through Hopper and HTS's channels every year. Our fintech products, including Cancel for Any Reason and Flight Disruption Assistance, have exceptionally strong CSAT because the terms are always clear and customers receive instant, no-questions-asked resolutions. Almost 30% of our app customers purchase at least one fintech product when making a booking, and consumers are 1.6x more likely to repurchase if they add fintech to their booking versus booking travel alone.
Given the success of its fintech products, Hopper launched a B2B initiative, HTS (Hopper Technology Solutions), which represents more than 75% of the business. Through HTS, any travel provider, including airlines, hotels, banks, and travel agencies, can integrate and seamlessly distribute Hopper's fintech or travel inventory on their direct channels. As its first HTS partnership, the company partnered with Capital One to co-develop Capital One Travel, a travel portal designed specifically for cardholders. Other HTS partners include Air Canada, Uber, CommBank, Nubank, Flair Airlines and many more.
Hopper has been named the #1 most innovative company in travel by Fast Company. Hopper has been downloaded over 120 million times and continues to see millions of new installs each month. Hopper is now the #3 largest online travel agency in North America, and 70% of our app customers are Gen Z and millennial travelers.
Hopper has raised over $750 million USD of private capital and is backed by some of the largest institutional investors and banks in the world. HTS is primed to continue its growth as the leading travel ecommerce provider in a $1 trillion online shopping category. The Hopper app and website will also continue to be the preferred travel provider for Gen Z and Millennials.
Come take off with us!
Principal Product Manager- Conversational AI employer: Hopper
Hopper is an exceptional employer that fosters a vibrant and innovative work culture in the heart of Edinburgh. With a focus on AI-driven solutions, employees enjoy competitive salaries, equity options, and unlimited paid time off, all while being encouraged to take risks and communicate openly. The company prioritises employee growth, offering opportunities to lead impactful projects and develop skills in a fast-paced startup environment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Product Manager- Conversational AI
✨Join Product Management Meetups
Get involved in local product management meetups or workshops. These events are perfect for meeting industry folks, sharing ideas, and staying updated on trends. Plus, you never know who might be hiring—it's a fantastic way to make connections that could lead to a job at places like Hopper!
✨Show Off Your Product Sense
Create case studies or mini-projects showcasing your product management skills, and share them on platforms like Medium or LinkedIn. This not only puts your skills on display but also boosts your visibility in the product community. Imagine how impressed the hiring team at Hopper would be by your initiative!
✨Utilise Online Communities
Dive into online product management communities like Product Coalition or Mind the Product. Engage in discussions, ask questions, and share your insights. These platforms are goldmines for networking and finding hidden job opportunities—many companies often scout talent from within these circles.
✨Leverage Your University Network
If you’ve recently graduated or are still in uni, tap into your alumni network for connections in product management. Many universities have their own job boards and affinity resources to help graduates land roles. Don't forget to keep an eye out for job openings at Hopper through your school's career services!
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Product Manager- Conversational AI
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Product Passion:When applying for a product management role like Principal Product Manager- Conversational AI, let your passion for developing products shine through in your cover letter. Share specific examples of products you've managed, how you solved user needs, and any successful outcomes you've achieved. This is your chance to showcase your understanding of the product lifecycle!
Highlight Your Cross-Functional Skills:Product management isn't just about understanding the product; it’s about collaborating with different teams! Make sure to emphasise your experience working with developers, designers, and marketers. Use your CV to showcase your ability to bridge gaps between these areas, and include relevant experiences that demonstrate your communication and leadership skills!
Include Your Metrics and Achievements:In a full-time product management application, data speaks volumes! Quantify your achievements wherever possible. Did you increase user retention by a certain percentage? Launch a product ahead of schedule? Include these metrics in your CV to paint a picture of your impact and effectiveness in previous roles.
Tailor Your CV to the Role:Make sure your CV is tailored for the Principal Product Manager- Conversational AI position at Hopper. Use keywords from the job description and ensure your relevant experiences are front and centre. Highlight any certifications or relevant training you’ve completed that will make you stand out as a strong candidate for the role. And remember, we’re excited to see your application on our website!
How to prepare for a job interview at Hopper
✨Understand the Product Life Cycle
As a product management candidate, we need to get our head around the complete product life cycle. Be prepared to discuss real-world examples of how you’ve managed product development from ideation to launch. Bring specific insights on tools like JIRA or Trello that can help streamline these processes.
✨Showcase Your Cross-Functional Skills
Product management is all about collaboration. We should be ready to highlight how we’ve worked across teams—think marketing, engineering, and design. Prepare to discuss scenarios where you had to mediate differing opinions and how you got everyone on board with a shared vision.
✨Prepare for Case Studies
In a full-time role, we can expect to encounter case study questions during our interviews. Practise solving hypothetical product problems on the spot, such as prioritising features for a new app or improving user engagement metrics. This will show our analytical thinking and decision-making skills.
✨Know Your Metrics
Let’s face it, numbers are our best friends in product management. We should prepare to discuss key performance indicators (KPIs) and how we've used analytics to inform product decisions. Dive into examples where data has driven our strategy for improvements or justified product changes.