Sr. Product Specialist

About the role

AppFolio is a community of dreamers, big thinkers, problem solvers, active listeners, and multipliers. As the Senior Product Adoption Specialist for Affordable Housing, you will help customers realize the full value of AppFolio’s solutions at scale. This role acts as a guide who architects success for customers across the adoption journey, ensuring new customers navigate early use milestones while serving as the premier expert for existing customers facing complex regulatory hurdles. You will serve as the trusted bridge between our product, our largest customers, and state/federal agencies, directly impacting AppFolio's growth in the mixed-portfolio market.

Responsibilities

• Ensure customers successfully master Affordable Housing tools to realize full product value and drive long-term loyalty.
• Develop high-impact resources such as playbooks and lead webinars that empower the broader team to drive adoption across a high volume of units.
• Act as a key bridge for Product, Sales, and Customer Care teams, providing the voice of the customer to influence software improvements.
• Use segment data to identify trends in unhealthy behavior and design initiatives to prevent systemic issues before they occur.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for HAP vouchers, TRACS submissions, LIHTC reporting, Tenant Income Certification, and HUD forms.
• Lead customers through post-onboarding milestones to ensure certification and subsidy management are set up for long-term success.

Qualifications

• Customer Obsessed: Proactively identifies and implements strategies to enhance the customer experience at scale, ensuring customers realize full product value and long-term loyalty.
• Raise the Bar: Multiplies the strengths of others by leading by example, fostering a culture of coaching and collaboration, and improving team performance through shared knowledge and scalable resources.
• Business Acumen: Understands the mechanics and economics of the Affordable Housing industry and uses data to identify trends in customer behavior to prevent systemic issues.
• Strategy & Innovation: Acts without being told what to do; brings new ideas with scalable implementation plans, such as playbooks and webinars.
• Consultative Communication: Speaks and writes articulately in a variety of settings, adjusting messages for different audiences and acting as a trusted bridge between customers and internal teams.
• Security & Compliance: Comfortably deals with complex federal and state requirements, simplifying intricate HUD/LIHTC regulations into clear, actionable workflows.

Requirements

• Must have one of these certifications: Certified Occupancy Specialist (COS) or Certified Professional of Occupancy (CPO).
• Must have one of these certifications: Tax Credit Specialist (TCS) or Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM).
• 5+ years of experience in Affordable Housing compliance (HUD and LIHTC).
• Advanced knowledge of TRACS, voucher submissions, and state-specific LIHTC reporting.
• Proven ability to manage a high volume of units/tasks while maintaining a focus on long-term adoption goals.
• Exceptional ability to explain complex regulatory requirements to both executive-level customers and internal stakeholders.
• A "multiplier" mentality—someone who improves team performance by sharing knowledge and building better processes.
• Experience partnering cross-functionally with Product and Engineering to influence product improvements based on customer needs and adoption trends.
• Able to communicate clearly and concisely with team, manager, and customers via phone, chat, and email.

Nice to Have

• Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP).
• Blended Occupancy Specialist (BOS).

Pay

The compensation range for this role is $70,400 to $88,000 base pay. The actual compensation will be determined by factors including skills, education, experience, and internal equity.

Benefits

Regular full-time employees are eligible for benefits. Additional benefits or discretionary bonuses may be available based on role and employment type.