Surface Pattern Design Jobs in Pittsburgh, PA (NOW HIRING)

The Head of AI Product Validation & MVP Scale-Up, Early Adopter Validation & MVP Scale-Up is a highly seasoned product leader who validates enterprise product value propositions with early adopters, converts real-world learning into product direction, and prepares successful MVPs for repeatable scale across the enterprise.

Operating with significant autonomy, you will address highly complex, ambiguous, and cross-functional product challenges by testing assumptions with real users, clarifying what drives adoption, and surfacing the business, process, data, and change requirements needed to expand an MVP beyond a pilot. You will influence senior stakeholders through insight, judgment, and demonstrated evidence of market and business value.

Key Responsibilities

Value Proposition Validation & Product Strategy

• Define and own the validation strategy for new digital or AI-enabled products, ensuring the value proposition is tested with the right early adopter segments.
• Translate customer, user, and workflow insights into a clear product direction that sharpens differentiation and business relevance.
• Guide prioritization decisions based on evidence of desirability, feasibility, and business value rather than internal assumptions alone.

Early Adopter Engagement & Learning Loops

• Lead structured engagement with early adopters to test assumptions, gather feedback, and understand what drives willingness to adopt, expand, and advocate.
• Design and run iterative learning cycles that convert interviews, pilots, usage data, and stakeholder feedback into concrete product and commercialization decisions.
• Distinguish signal from noise by identifying the patterns that are relevant for broader enterprise adoption versus one-off requests from pilot users.

Evidence, Metrics & Scale Readiness

• Establish and monitor validation metrics that demonstrate value realization, user traction, process fit, and readiness for broader rollout.
• Surface the product, process, data, integration, support, and change management requirements required to move from MVP to enterprise scale.
• Create evidence-based recommendations on whether to persevere, refine, reposition, or stop an MVP based on observed outcomes and scaling potential.

Cross-Functional Stakeholder Leadership

• Partner closely with business leaders, product teams, data scientists, engineers, IT, operations, and change leaders to ensure early adopter feedback informs the right enterprise decisions.
• Act as a consultant, aligning stakeholders around what has been validated, what remains uncertain, and what must be true to scale successfully.
• Communicate trade-offs, learning, adoption barriers, and scale implications to senior stakeholders and sponsors.

MVP Shaping & Development Governance

• Define, prioritize, and refine epics, experiments, and user stories required to validate the core value proposition and remove barriers to adoption.
• Ensure delivered MVP capabilities are fit for learning, measurable in use, and aligned to the questions the business needs answered before scaling.
• Review outcomes from each release and translate them into backlog decisions that improve both product value and scale readiness.

Commercialization & Scale Transition

• Build the scale-up case for successful MVPs by clarifying repeatable value, implementation requirements, support needs, and operating model implications.
• Balance scope, timeline, cost, and learning objectives to maximize both near-term validation and long-term enterprise viability.
• Identify opportunities to accelerate adoption by removing friction in onboarding, integration, governance, training, and stakeholder ownership.

People Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, manage, and develop product managers or cross-functional product resources, setting clear expectations for customer validation, learning velocity, and business impact.
• Provide coaching, mentorship, and performance feedback to strengthen product judgment, discovery practices, and stakeholder effectiveness.
• Assign work based on capability and experience while enabling team members to operate with appropriate autonomy.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex product, adoption, and scale-readiness decisions.
• Foster a culture of accountability, evidence-based decision-making, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressively increasing responsibility in product management, product strategy, innovation, venture incubation, digital transformation, or related enterprise roles.
• Bachelor's degree required in business, technology, engineering, computer science, chemistry, or a related field.
• Advanced degree preferred; master's or Ph.D. in chemistry or a related scientific discipline
• Demonstrated success validating AI system value propositions across enterprise functions, with particular depth in science- and technology-oriented domains.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing stakeholders through ambiguity to move complex AI systems from MVP to broader enterprise adoption; strong familiarity with R&D, applied science, or adjacent technical environments preferred.

How we work: At PPG, we bring teams together to accelerate collaboration and career development, with in-person work Monday through Thursday and the opportunity to work remotely on Flexible Fridays. Schedules may vary by location.

About us: 

PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD™ 

Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com and follow @PPG on X. 

The PPG Way 2030  

We are customer champions 

Proactive. Bold. Trustworthy. Everything we do starts with our customers. We listen, move fast and don’t stop until we solve their biggest challenges. When our customers win, we all grow. 

We act with purpose and speed 

Agile. Data-driven. Empowered. We take smart risks to stay ahead of the competition. We work proactively with agility, using quality data to develop solutions that create value.  

We are excellent operators 

Productive. Collaborative. Accountable. No matter our role, we identify problems, take ownership and always bring solutions. We are both proactive and responsive to drive continuous improvement and deliver results. We support our frontline, the faces of PPG to our customers.   

We compete to win 

Future-focused. Driven. Ambitious. We are passionate about growing our business and winning with our customers. We deliver results, embrace new technologies and leverage agility and speed as strengths. 

We are PPG proud 

Strong. United. Passionate. We work safely, act with integrity and value our diverse perspectives. We celebrate achievements and take pride in the positive impact we create together to protect and beautify the world. 

At PPG we use AI in the hiring process to make the process more efficient. AI tools do not make hiring decisions. You can learn more by going to  https://careers.ppg.com/us/en/candidate-resources.  

PPG provides equal opportunity to all candidates and employees. We offer an opportunity to grow and develop your career in an environment that provides a fulfilling workplace for employees, creates an environment for continuous learning, and embraces the ideas and diversity of others. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, pregnancy, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, disability status, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.  

If you need an adjustment due to a disability, please email recruiting@ppg.com. 

PPG pay ranges and benefits can vary by location which allows us to compensate employees competitively in different geographic markets. PPG considers several factors in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, qualifications and education, licensure and certifications, and other organizational needs. Other incentives may apply.  
Our employee benefits programs are designed to support the health and well-being of our employees. Any insurance coverages and benefits will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans and associated governing plan documents.  Benefits will be discussed with you by your recruiter during the hiring process. 

PPG values your feedback on our recruiting process. We encourage you to visit Glassdoor.com and provide feedback on the process, so that we can do better today than yesterday.