About Ascend

Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a dynamic platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while accessing the resources of a Top 25 firm to help them grow. Ascend provides access to growth capital, robust talent acquisition and training, leading quality management resources, best-of-breed technology, AI tools, an offshore captive, shared back-office services, a catalytic leadership system, and modernized equity incentives so that firms can surmount today’s industry challenges to reach their full potential.

For more information, visit www.ascendtogether.com.

About Alpine Investors

Alpine Investors is a people-driven private equity firm that is committed to building great companies by working with, learning from, and developing exceptional people. Alpine prides itself on fostering cultures where people value empowerment, diversity, fairness, integrity, and intellectual honesty. Founded in 2001, Alpine specializes in investments in companies in the software and services industries. Alpine has over $15 billion in AUM and has offices in San Francisco, New York, and Salt Lake City.

For more information on the firm, visit www.alpineinvestors.com

Position Summary

Ascend is building an AI team to revolutionize the accounting industry and not just improve it. We’re leveraging Machine Learning (ML) and Large Language Models (LLMs) to build AI-powered workflows that will transform how accountants work. This is a rare ground-floor opportunity to build products from the ground up with zero tech debt, join a fast-moving team, and help redefine an entire industry.

As the Principal Product Manager, AI, reporting to the Vice President, AI Solutions you’ll own the strategy and roadmap for your product area, focusing on accountant-facing AI solutions. You’ll work backward from customer needs, demonstrate deep customer empathy, and become an industry expert in AI-driven accounting services. You won’t just be iterating on old systems - you’ll be creating something entirely new, shaping the future of AI-powered accounting.

Ascend’s goal is to revitalize the accounting industry, and your mission is to build game-changing AI products that redefine workflows, improve cost structures, and set new industry standards. If you thrive in a fast-moving, high-impact environment, where you can ship at velocity and make bold bets, this is the opportunity you’ve been looking for. Success means delivering high-impact AI solutions quickly, iteratively, and at scale

This is a fully remote role.

Key Responsibilities

Working with the VP, AI Solutions, the Principal Product Manager, AI will be responsible for the following:

Being a strong influencer of Ascend’s AI strategy, in partnership with the rest of the AI Team.
Working backward from customer needs, develop and communicate your product vision to Ascend leadership and the AI team
Develop a 12-month prioritized roadmap in collaboration with Engineering.
Own the product lifecycle for your product area, from ideation to launch, ensuring continuous iteration and improvement.
Identify and drive large-scale transformation opportunities within your product area.
Develop and execute product strategies that enhance Ascend’s operating margins.
Align and manage dependencies between product areas to ensure a cohesive roadmap.
Provide clear, structured input to Engineering to ensure smooth product development.
Ensure Engineering priorities align with business objectives.
Develop strong ML/LLM hypotheses based on customer research and deep industry understanding.
Partner with AI Engineering to define and prioritize ML/LLM experiments.
Improve and iterate on product launch mechanisms while defining and tracking key metrics post-launch to drive continuous improvement.
Communicate outcomes clearly, adjust priorities based on results, escalate and recommend pivots when needed.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, or equivalent work experience and education; Master’s degree is a plus.