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2. Role 1: Strategic Product Leader (Contract Perm)

Core Objective

• Define where and how KWS should build automation-led QA products for B2B gaming customers.
• Help the business move from services-led delivery to a productised / SaaS-style offering.

Key Characteristics

• CTPO-level profile (senior credible board-facing).
• Strong Product Management fundamentals.
• Deep QA / testing / automation background.
• Ideally from a gaming or interactive entertainment environment.
• Clear understanding of B2B customers (selling into studios publishers enterprise clients).

Stakeholder Exposure

• Presenting directly to:
  • Board
  • EQT (PE sponsor)
• Working closely with:
  • CEO
  • Group Transformation Officer
  • CDO (particularly on pitches)
• Will primarily engage with 3 business divisions with emphasis on the Globalize division.

Delivery Reality

• High political complexity internally.
• Business does not yet know where to build (tech geography ownership).
• Contractor required initially to:
  • Stay neutral
  • Cut through politics
  • Shape strategy without long-term internal bias

Contract Structure

• 6-month contract strong likelihood of extension / contract-to-perm.
• Budget exists but sits within 2026 planning.

3. Geography & Operating Model Challenges

• Distributed engineering teams:
  • Melbourne Australia
  • Montreal Canada
  • UK
• Key friction points:
  • Melbourne team resistant to late-night calls (e.g. 9pm local).
  • Montreal UK teams operate on more traditional overlap hours.
• One of the Product Leaders challenges will be to:
  • Link Australian and Montreal engineers
  • Establish workable collaboration models without forcing unsustainable hours.

4. Commercial & Cultural Considerations

• Selling technology-led services into creative organisations:
  • Internally (within Keywords studios)
  • Externally (B2B customers)
• Requires someone comfortable operating between:
  • Engineers
  • Creative teams
  • Senior commercial stakeholders
• Must translate technical automation value into commercial and creative outcomes.

Job Specification: Product & GTM Director (AuQA) (Contractor)

Strategic Context: Keywords Studios is transitioning from a traditional B2B service provider to an AI-first Digital Products leader. The AuQA initiative (Mighty TestBot & TestBuddy) is the spearhead of this transformation. This role is tasked with delivering a 20% productivity uplift across our 13000-strong specialist base moving the needle from selling hours to selling outcomes.

The Mandate:

• Operational Excellence: Realize a $13M-$14M productivity impact by integrating Autonomous QA tools into the Globalize divisions core workflow.
• Commercial Evolution: Pivot the business from Time & Materials (T&M) to Outcome-Based Pricing (e.g. cost per automated test suite cost per bug-free build).
• Global Orchestration: Manage the Golden Triangle of stakeholders: Melbourne (Engineering) Montreal (Pilot Ops) and UK/US (Strategic Clients).

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

1. Productivity Target: Evidence of a 20% reduction in manual effort for automated tasks within 12 months.
2. Commercial Conversion: Secure at least three Platinum client partnerships for the AuQA productized offering.
3. Roadmap Velocity: Successful transition of Mighty tools from internal prototypes to market-ready SaaS-lite products.

Candidate Requirements (The Dan Criteria):

• Zero Learning Curve: Must have led similar global digital transformations in B2B service or gaming sectors.
• Communication Mastery: Ability to navigate the unsociable hours required to sync Australia and Canada from a UK base without losing strategic focus.
• Financial Literacy: Deep understanding of how digital efficiency impacts the P&L and the ability to articulate Value-Based Pricing to skeptical clients and internal sales teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Product Evolution & Market Fit: Transform internal engineering outputs into a client-ready product suite. Partner with Platinum clients to co-develop features that solve real-world AAA development bottlenecks.
• The 20% Productivity Mandate: Define track and deliver a robust roadmap specifically designed to extract 20% efficiency gains across the Globalize division.
• Strategic GTM & Pricing: Design and test Outcomes-Based pricing models that protect margins while providing a competitive edge in a consolidating market.
• Global Technical Orchestration: Act as the strategic bridge between our Melbourne-based Engineering team and the Montreal-based Pilot operations.
• Budgetary Stewardship: Manage the initiative against the allocated digital investment budget prioritizing features that drive the highest ROI and client stickiness.

Candidate Profile:

• Strategic Resilience: Capable of managing a complex global stakeholder map across multiple time zones (AU/CA/UK).
• B2B Product Visionary: Experience in shifting traditional service organizations toward digital product models.
• Outcome-Obsessed: You dont just deliver features; you deliver measurable productivity and business value.
• Technically Credible: Sufficiently versed in AI/ML and Agentic workflows to challenge engineering timelines and evaluate third-party Buy opportunities.

Strategic Strategy Visual: The Transition to Outcome-Based Value

To ensure the candidate understands the commercial shift we are demanding I will be looking for their ability to execute against this model:

My Assessment of the Selection Process:

Since youve confirmed we are moving to Outcome-Based Pricing this candidate must be a Commercial Product Manager not just a Technical Product Manager. They need to be able to talk to a CFO about ROI just as fluently as they talk to a Developer about API integration.