VP, API Strategy & Product Management

Position Summary: 

We are in an extraordinary position with deep infrastructure engineering technology; broad market adoption combined with whitespace market opportunity; and a risk-tolerant and user-first strategy to pursue an API-centric approach for developers and AI agentic workflows. 

We are looking for a visionary leader to serve as the VP, API Strategy & Product Management. You will collaborate with and influence cross-functional teams across Bentley to facilitate the exposure of their capabilities and extension interfaces to external developers via APIs. You are responsible for establishing the vision and strategy to deliver a comprehensive API portfolio that is intuitive, complementary, and consistent in terminology, security protocols, and monetization frameworks.

Just as importantly, you will be a pivotal culture builder. Your primary mission will be to establish and execute a unified vision for a comprehensive API portfolio that  is intuitive, consistent, and drives maximum developer adoption. The ideal candidate has proven success driving market-visible business outcomes; communicating to a breadth of stakeholders; and transparently creating alignment and visible market momentum. 

Reporting directly to the Chief Platform Officer, you will work alongside diverse teams to expose a broad range of APIs. This enables external developers to create extensions for desktop applications such as MicroStation; develop advanced modeling applications on our digital twin native development platform; and integrate with collaborative environments like Bentley Infrastructure Cloud or cloud-based solutions leveraging technologies such as Cesium, iTwin, and Seequent Evo. 

You will ensure the APIs are structured for optimal discoverability by both human and AI users, and you hold accountability for maximizing adoption across the entire API suite. 

Responsibilities 

• Strategic Leadership & Vision: Collaboratively define, communicate, and drive the enterprise-wide API vision and platform strategy, influencing how the company builds, delivers, and monetizes its capabilities.
• Business Ownership & Financial Management: Help define the monetization strategy and prioritize our API offerings. Regularly present updates and progress to the leadership team.
• Performance & Accountability: Establish and champion a framework of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to drive performance, ensure accountability, and provide transparent reporting on the health of the API business.
• Portfolio & Investment Management: Manage the API portfolio as a business, making data-driven decisions on investment, managing risk, and navigating strategic tradeoffs to maximize market opportunity and return on investment.
• Leadership: Model effective leadership by bringing clarity, accountability, thoughtful decision-making, and a commitment to high standards. Contribute experience and perspective to help elevate outcomes and support the growth of others.
• Governance & Execution: Establish and lead a cross-functional API governance council to ensure consistency, quality, and strategic alignment across the organization.
• External Advocacy: Serve as a community advocate for Bentley’s API offerings at developer conferences, industry forums, and customer advisory board meetings.
• Market Innovation: Lead the Infrastructure AI co-innovation program to identify, validate, and prioritize API improvements that anticipate and solve the needs of our users.

Qualifications 

• Developer persona veteran: Previous experiences in leading product management for a technically oriented product, targeting developers, with a deep understanding of their needs and workflows.
• Strategic thinking:
  • Experience driving  pragmatic approaches to achieve early market fit, setting clear milestones to  align cross-functional teams and celebrating impactful wins to build momentum at scale
  • Ability to lead the collaboration creation, communication, and execution of a visionary mid- to long-term roadmap, strategically integrating disparate APIs into a cohesive, differentiated platform offering that supports organizational growth and competitive advantage.

• Enterprise-scale influencer 
• Proven experiences influencing without direct authority using business rationale 
• Confidence and credibility to engage with a breadth of stakeholders, from individual developers to C-suite executives 
• Leadership & Culture Builder:
• Track record of building, mentoring, and scaling product management teams through periods of high growth.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop senior-level talent, such as Directors and Principals, to build a strong leadership bench.
• Advocate: Authentic, credible, and inspirational public speaker with the ability to articulate a compelling vision to technical and business audiences alike. Humility: Adaptable, humble, and always learning. Proven capable of working through steep learning curves with no task too small nor too big