Product Strategy Director, Customer Data Platform

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Director, Product Management – Customer Data Platform

Company: Cigna Healthcare

Location: Santa Monica, CA (Remote OK for United States)

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Management / Data Platforms / Revenue Operations Enabler

Date Posted: December 3, 2025

Experience Level: 10+ years

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the strategic vision, roadmap development, and execution for Evernorth’s Customer Data Platform (CDP), a critical running platform with active customers.

• Drive platform reliability, adoption, and Return on Investment (ROI) through strategic decision-making, including build/buy/retire assessments of overlapping and legacy assets.

• Simplify the data landscape by reducing cost-to-serve and enabling large-scale, compliant personalization for internal teams.

• Translate complex business objectives into clear product roadmaps, measurable product requirements, and actionable user stories for technical and non-technical audiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Product Strategy Director," the responsibilities clearly align with a senior Product Management role focused on a core platform. The "strategy" aspect is integrated into roadmap development and long-term vision setting for the CDP. The role's emphasis on data, personalization, and enabling internal teams positions it as a crucial component for revenue operations and GTM strategy enablement.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Drive Product Vision & Roadmap: Define and evolve the Customer Data Platform (CDP) vision and roadmap, ensuring strict alignment with enterprise digital strategy and Evernorth's business objectives.

• Translate Strategy into Action: Define detailed business requirements and convert them into measurable product requirements, epics, and user stories with clear, testable acceptance criteria for Agile development teams.

• Enable Capability Development: Oversee the design and delivery of reusable, enterprise-wide platform features and enablers (e.g., LLMs, Content Management Systems, Enterprise Design Systems, 3rd Party Vendor integrations) in close partnership with engineering, architecture, and data science teams.

• Champion Governance & Compliance: Establish and enforce robust governance for critical data layers (including AIE, Claims, PHI, Registration data) and ensure secure, compliant data activation and access controls are maintained.

• Collaborate Across the Enterprise: Engage executive stakeholders and cross-functional teams—including marketing, analytics, operations, clinical, and legal—to ensure CDP capabilities effectively meet diverse business needs and drive widespread adoption.

• Measure & Optimize Platform Performance: Define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for capability utilization, business impact, and operational efficiency; continuously monitor platform performance, and identify strategic opportunities for enhancement and optimization.

• Evangelize & Enable Adoption: Support platform adoption through comprehensive training programs, clear documentation, and close collaboration with customer-facing teams to articulate product positioning, value proposition, and key benefits.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong focus on platform enablement, data governance, and cross-functional collaboration, which are critical for operations teams leveraging the CDP for GTM strategies. The emphasis on "enterprise adoption at scale" and "driving adoption" suggests a need for strong change management and enablement skills, directly impacting operational efficiency and effectiveness.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• Minimum of 7+ years in digital product management.

• Minimum of 5+ years specifically managing other product managers, demonstrating strong leadership and team development capabilities.

Required Skills:

• Product Vision & Strategy: Ability to conceive, define, and evolve product visions and roadmaps, aligning them with overarching enterprise digital strategy.

• Platform Product Management: Deep experience in managing complex platform products, including data and MarTech solutions, with a focus on enterprise-wide adoption.

• Data Architecture & Observability: Technical fluency across data and event architectures (e.g., cloud data warehouses/lakes like Snowflake/Databricks, streaming/CDC, identity/consent management) and observability principles (metrics, tracing, logs).

• Agile Execution: Proven ability to translate business requirements into measurable product requirements, epics, and user stories with clear acceptance criteria for Agile development teams.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills with extensive experience engaging and influencing executive stakeholders across diverse business units.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Strong analytical skills and a data-driven mindset, with hands-on experience in A/B testing, analytics implementation, and performance monitoring.

• Governance & Compliance: Understanding of data governance principles and experience establishing secure, compliant data activation and access controls, particularly with sensitive data like PHI.

• Leadership & Team Development: Strong leadership skills with an emphasis on coaching, mentoring, and developing product talent.

Preferred Skills:

• API/SDK Management: Ownership of APIs/SDKs, including experience with versioning, deprecation strategies, and compatibility management.

• Vendor/Legacy Stack Evaluation: Experience evaluating vendor solutions and legacy technology stacks, driving consolidate/modernize/retire decisions with clear ROI and migration execution plans.

• Developer Experience (DX) Improvement: Proven record of improving developer experience through documentation, sample code, and enablement programs, with measurable platform KPIs.

• Familiarity with CDP/Engagement Technologies: Experience with specific CDP/engagement technologies such as Redpoint, Adobe RTCDP/Journey Optimizer, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and related data platforms like Snowflake/Databricks with streaming frameworks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "5+ years managing other product managers" indicates this is a senior leadership role within the product organization, requiring not just individual contribution but also team enablement and management. The technical fluency requirement is particularly strong, pointing to a need for a candidate who can deeply engage with engineering and data teams on platform architecture.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Platform Strategy & Roadmap Examples: Showcase examples of strategic roadmaps developed for complex platforms, demonstrating foresight in anticipating trends and incorporating them into short- and long-term plans.

• Product Requirements & User Stories: Include well-defined examples of business and product requirements, epics, and user stories with clear acceptance criteria, demonstrating the ability to translate strategy into actionable development tasks.

• Data Governance & Compliance Frameworks: Present any frameworks or processes developed for data governance, security, and compliance, particularly concerning sensitive data types.

• Build/Buy/Retire Case Studies: Provide examples of analyses conducted on technology stacks (vendor or legacy), including decision-making processes for consolidation, modernization, or retirement, supported by ROI projections and migration execution plans.

• Metrics & KPI Definition: Demonstrate experience defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for platform utilization, business impact, and operational efficiency, along with examples of performance monitoring and optimization strategies.

Process Documentation:

• Agile Development Workflows: Documentation of processes for managing product backlogs, prioritizing initiatives, and working with engineering teams in an Agile/Scrum environment.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration Frameworks: Examples of established processes for engaging and collaborating with diverse stakeholders across Product, Engineering, Analytics, Marketing, Clinical, and Operations teams.

• Change Management & Adoption Plans: Documentation outlining strategies and processes for driving platform adoption, including training, enablement materials, and communication plans.

• Data Activation & Control Procedures: Documented procedures for safe, compliant data activation, access control, and governance of sensitive data layers.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role of this seniority, a portfolio is crucial. It should not just list projects but demonstrate strategic thinking, hands-on execution in platform management, and a clear understanding of how data platforms enable business outcomes. The emphasis on governance and compliance suggests including examples of how these critical operational aspects were managed.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• $158,300 - $263,900 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health & Well-being:

  • Medical, Vision, and Dental insurance plans.
  • Dedicated well-being and behavioral health programs.

• Retirement & Financial Security:

  • 401(k) plan with company match.
  • Company-paid life insurance.

• Professional Development:

  • Tuition reimbursement for continued education and skill enhancement.

• Work-Life Balance:

  • A minimum of 18 days of paid time off (PTO) per year.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time hours, assumed to be approximately 40 hours per week.

• Given the "Remote OK" status and the nature of a Director-level role, flexibility in working hours may be expected to accommodate collaboration across time zones and urgent platform needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is broad, reflecting significant variance based on experience and location within the US. For candidates in high cost-of-living areas like Santa Monica, the higher end of the range would be more typical. The inclusion of an annual bonus and long-term incentive plan indicates a performance-driven compensation structure beyond base salary.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Healthcare / Health Services / Insurance Technology

Company Size: Large Enterprise (The Cigna Group is a major global health services company.)

Founded: The Cigna Group has a long history, with roots dating back to the 18th century. Evernorth Health Services was formed more recently to consolidate various health services capabilities.

Team Structure:

• Product & Technology Focus: This role is within Evernorth's Digital team, specifically focused on the Customer Data Platform (CDP). The team likely comprises product managers, engineers, data scientists, analysts, and potentially UX/UI designers.

• Reporting Structure: The role reports into the Product Strategy Senior Director, indicating a hierarchical structure within the product management function.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: A significant aspect of the role involves partnering with Product & Technology leadership, Research, Analytics, Clinical teams, Development/Delivery teams, and key stakeholders across business units like Marketing and Operations.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Operations: The role heavily emphasizes data, analytics, and personalization, suggesting a culture that values data-informed decision-making for product development and business strategy.

• Agile & Lean Principles: Responsibilities like defining user stories, managing roadmaps, and continuous optimization point to the use of Agile and Lean methodologies for platform development and management.

• Customer-Centric Approach: The focus on customer data and enabling personalized interactions underscores a commitment to understanding and serving customer needs effectively.

Company Website: https://www.cigna.com/ (for Cigna Healthcare) and https://www.evernorth.com/ (for Evernorth Health Services)

📝 Enhancement Note: Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth operate within the highly regulated healthcare industry. This context implies a strong emphasis on compliance, data security, and ethical data handling, which will be paramount for the CDP. The scale of the organization means this CDP role has the potential for significant impact across a vast customer base.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Director, Product Management – Customer Data Platform. This is a senior leadership position within the product organization, responsible for a critical, revenue-enabling platform. It requires strategic oversight, team management, and significant cross-functional influence.

Reporting Structure: Reports to the Product Strategy Senior Director. This indicates a clear path for career progression within product strategy and leadership, potentially towards VP-level roles in Product Management or GTM Strategy.

Operations Impact: The CDP is central to enabling personalization, driving customer engagement, and improving the effectiveness of GTM strategies across various channels (Email, SMS, IVR, Bot). By increasing reliability, adoption, and ROI of the CDP, this role directly impacts revenue generation, customer retention, and operational efficiency by streamlining data usage for marketing and customer service initiatives.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Expansion: Potential to expand leadership scope to encompass additional data-centric platforms or broader GTM technology enablement functions.

• Strategic Influence: Opportunity to shape the future of Evernorth's digital customer engagement strategy through CDP evolution and advanced data utilization.

• Industry Expertise: Deepen expertise in Customer Data Platforms, data governance, personalization at scale, and the nuances of the healthcare industry's digital transformation.

• Advancement: Clear career progression path within The Cigna Group's product and digital organizations, potentially into Senior Director or VP roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a critical enabler for data-driven GTM and customer experience initiatives. The growth opportunities are tied to increasing strategic influence and expanding leadership responsibilities in a rapidly evolving digital health landscape.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid/Remote-First (The listing specifies "United States Work at Home" as an option and "Remote OK" with a primary location in Santa Monica, CA. This suggests a flexible work arrangement.)

Office Location(s): Primary office presence in Santa Monica, CA, but open to remote work within the United States, provided a reliable internet connection (cable broadband or fiber optic with at least 10Mbps download/5Mbps upload) is available.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative & Dynamic: The role requires extensive collaboration with diverse teams (Product, Engineering, Analytics, Marketing, Operations, Clinical, Legal), suggesting a dynamic, team-oriented environment.

• Technology-Rich: Access to modern collaboration tools, data analytics platforms, and potentially cloud-based development environments will be essential for managing a CDP.

• Strategic Focus: The emphasis on strategy, roadmap development, and executive engagement indicates a work environment that values forward-thinking and impactful contributions.

Work Schedule:

• Full-time position, typically 40 hours per week.

• Flexibility may be required to coordinate with teams across different time zones and address critical platform needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Remote OK" status for the US is a significant benefit, offering flexibility. However, the need for effective collaboration with numerous internal stakeholders suggests that strong remote communication and asynchronous work practices will be key.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Application review, potentially followed by a brief call with a recruiter to assess basic qualifications and alignment.

• Hiring Manager Interview: In-depth discussion with the Product Strategy Senior Director or Hiring Manager focusing on experience, strategic thinking, platform management philosophy, and leadership style.

• Cross-Functional Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with key partners from Engineering, Analytics, Marketing, and Operations to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and ability to influence.

• Product Case Study/Presentation: Candidates may be asked to present a portfolio piece or work through a hypothetical CDP strategy/roadmap challenge, demonstrating problem-solving skills, strategic thinking, and communication ability.

• Executive Interview: Final interview with senior leadership to assess strategic vision, executive presence, and overall fit with the company's direction.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: For each portfolio item, clearly articulate the business problem, your strategic approach, the execution steps, and, most importantly, the measurable impact (ROI, adoption rates, efficiency gains, customer satisfaction).

• Demonstrate Platform Expertise: Showcase examples of managing complex platforms, particularly data platforms, MarTech, or CDPs. Highlight your understanding of data architecture, governance, and scalability.

• Highlight Leadership: Include examples of how you've managed and developed product teams, mentored junior product managers, and influenced cross-functional stakeholders.

• Showcase Strategic Thinking: Be prepared to discuss how you define product vision, develop roadmaps, prioritize initiatives, and make build/buy/retire decisions, using specific examples from your experience.

• Technical Depth: Be ready to discuss technical aspects of data platforms, including cloud infrastructure, data pipelines, APIs, and security protocols, demonstrating your technical fluency.

Challenge Preparation:

• CDP Strategy & Roadmap: Prepare to discuss how you would approach developing a CDP strategy and roadmap for a large healthcare organization, considering data privacy, compliance, personalization goals, and integration challenges.

• Data Governance Scenarios: Anticipate questions about managing sensitive data (PHI), establishing access controls, and ensuring compliance with regulations like HIPAA.

• Build vs. Buy Decisions: Practice articulating the framework for evaluating whether to build new CDP capabilities in-house, buy a vendor solution, or retire existing systems, including the ROI analysis involved.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Prepare examples of how you've successfully aligned diverse stakeholder groups with competing priorities around a common product vision.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a "running platform with active customers" means candidates need to demonstrate experience not just in launching new products but also in optimizing and scaling existing ones. The portfolio should reflect this blend of strategic development and ongoing operational improvement.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Customer Data Platform (CDP): Familiarity with enterprise-grade CDPs is essential. Examples include:

  • Redpoint Global
  • Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) / Journey Optimizer
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud (specifically its data/journey capabilities)
  • Other major CDP players in the enterprise space.

• Data Warehousing/Lake: Experience with cloud data platforms is critical.

  • Snowflake
  • Databricks
  • Google BigQuery
  • Amazon Redshift

• Data Integration & Streaming:

  • ETL/ELT tools
  • Streaming frameworks (e.g., Kafka, Kinesis)

Analytics & Reporting:

• Business Intelligence (BI) Tools: Tableau, Power BI, Looker for data visualization and dashboard creation.

• Web & Product Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Amplitude, Mixpanel for tracking user behavior and platform adoption.

• Data Analysis: SQL for data querying and analysis is a fundamental requirement.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: Experience with Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar CRM platforms that integrate with CDPs.

• Marketing Automation Platforms: Hubspot, Marketo, Pardot, or similar for campaign execution and workflow automation.

• Integration Platforms: Experience with iPaaS solutions (e.g., MuleSoft, Dell Boomi) or direct API integrations to connect systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The mention of specific technologies like Snowflake, Databricks, and CDP examples (Redpoint, Adobe, Salesforce) is highly specific and valuable. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their depth of experience with these or comparable enterprise-grade data and marketing technology solutions.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Data-Driven Excellence: A core value likely centers around leveraging data for informed decision-making, driving efficiency, and measuring impact rigorously. Expect a strong emphasis on analytics and insights.

• Customer-Centricity: The focus on customer data and personalization suggests a culture that prioritizes understanding and meeting customer needs to enhance their experience and drive engagement.

• Innovation & Agility: The dynamic nature of digital transformation and platform development implies a culture that embraces innovation, experimentation (e.g., A/B testing), and the ability to adapt quickly to market changes.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Given the extensive cross-functional responsibilities, strong collaboration, open communication, and a partnership mindset are likely highly valued.

• Governance & Compliance: Within the healthcare sector, adherence to strict governance and compliance standards is not just a value but a fundamental operational necessity.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Expect a highly integrated approach where product managers work hand-in-hand with engineering, analytics, marketing, and operations teams from ideation through to deployment and ongoing optimization.

• Data-Informed Discussions: Collaboration likely involves data-backed arguments and discussions, with a focus on measurable outcomes and evidence-based decision-making.

• Proactive Communication: Given the complexity and distributed nature of work (potential for remote teams), proactive and clear communication will be essential for successful collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's emphasis on "changing lives" and "improving health and vitality" suggests a mission-driven culture. Operations professionals in this environment are likely motivated by the impact of their work on customer well-being and health outcomes.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Data Integration Complexity: Integrating diverse data sources into a unified CDP while maintaining data quality, accuracy, and compliance across a large enterprise.

• Legacy System Modernization: Navigating the complexities of assessing and potentially consolidating or retiring overlapping and legacy data assets to reduce costs and streamline operations.

• Balancing Innovation with Compliance: Driving innovation in personalization and AI while strictly adhering to healthcare regulations (HIPAA) and data privacy laws.

• Driving Enterprise Adoption: Overcoming organizational inertia and ensuring widespread adoption and effective utilization of CDP capabilities across various business units.

• Measuring ROI for Platform Investments: Clearly demonstrating the tangible business value and ROI of CDP investments to executive stakeholders.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Data & AI Skills: Opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies like LLMs and advanced analytics, deepening expertise in AI-driven personalization.

• Healthcare Industry Expertise: Gaining deep insights into the healthcare ecosystem, regulatory landscape, and the unique challenges of digital transformation in this sector.

• Platform Strategy Leadership: Developing advanced skills in enterprise platform strategy, vendor management, and large-scale technology adoption.

• Mentorship & Executive Exposure: Learning from senior leaders within The Cigna Group and gaining exposure to executive-level strategic discussions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are typical for a senior role managing a critical enterprise data platform, particularly in a regulated industry. The growth opportunities are robust, offering significant professional development in high-demand areas like AI, data strategy, and enterprise platform leadership.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your process for developing a product roadmap for an enterprise data platform like a CDP. How do you prioritize initiatives, and how do you ensure alignment with business strategy and stakeholder needs?" (Focus on your framework, prioritization criteria, and stakeholder management approach.)

• "How would you assess the current state of Evernorth's CDP, identify areas for improvement, and make build/buy/retire decisions? Walk us through a past example where you managed a similar technology evaluation and consolidation effort." (Highlight your analytical process, decision-making criteria, and ROI justification.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your understanding of The Cigna Group and Evernorth, what do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges for a Customer Data Platform in the healthcare space today?" (Showcase your industry research and strategic thinking.)

• "How do you foster a data-driven culture and encourage adoption of new platform capabilities among diverse teams, including those with varying technical proficiencies?" (Focus on your change management and enablement strategies.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, follow a clear structure: Problem/Opportunity -> Your Strategy/Solution -> Execution Details -> Measurable Outcomes/Impact.

• Quantify Everything: Wherever possible, use numbers and metrics to demonstrate the impact of your work (e.g., % increase in adoption, $ saved in cost-to-serve, % improvement in campaign performance, reduction in data errors).

• Highlight Collaboration: Show how you worked with engineering, analytics, and business teams. Emphasize your role in bridging gaps and driving consensus.

• Technical Depth & Business Acumen: Be prepared to discuss both the technical architecture of your solutions and the business value they delivered, demonstrating a balanced understanding.

• Focus on CDP Relevance: Tailor your examples to highlight experience with data platforms, customer engagement, personalization, and managing complex technology stacks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview questions are designed to probe strategic thinking, leadership capabilities, technical depth, and understanding of the healthcare data landscape. Candidates should prepare specific, quantifiable examples from their experience that directly address these areas.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Management position:

• Submit your application through the Cigna Careers portal via the provided URL.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate a portfolio that prominently features your experience with enterprise data platforms, CDPs, MarTech, and driving large-scale adoption. Include specific examples of roadmap development, data governance frameworks, and technology evaluation case studies with clear, quantifiable results.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly highlights your experience in product management, leadership (managing other PMs), platform strategy, and technical fluency in data architectures. Use keywords from the job description, such as "Customer Data Platform," "Product Strategy," "Data Products," "A/B Testing," "Governance," and "Technical Fluency."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your approach to product strategy, roadmap development, data governance, and cross-functional collaboration. Prepare detailed case studies using the STAR method, focusing on quantifiable achievements and demonstrating your strategic and leadership capabilities.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Cigna Healthcare, Evernorth Health Services, and the broader healthcare technology landscape. Understand their business objectives, market position, and the role of data and personalization in their GTM strategy.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.