Staff Product Manager, Inference

About the role

We're looking for a Product Manager to own LiveKit Inference: the gateway that gives developers managed access to the best models for voice AI, through a single integration. This product is one of the most important revenue-generating products we have, and it needs a dedicated owner.

Responsibilities

• Set the vision and roadmap for LiveKit Inference, from which models and providers we offer to how we think about the space evolving strategically over the medium and long term.
• Partner directly with the engineering team that builds it. This involves both commercial relationships with frontier model labs as well as direct model hosting and optimization.
• Ship a model layer which developers reach for by default. Make accessing the best models through LiveKit easier and better than integrating providers directly, and keep raising the bar.
• Keep pace with the model landscape. Decide which models, providers, and modalities we add and when, so LiveKit stays ahead of a fast-moving space.
• Grow the value we deliver and capture. Consolidate model spend onto LiveKit in a way that raises the value customers get without raising their cost.
• Get deep with customers and data. Understand how teams actually use models in production, and let that shape priorities.

Requirements

• 8+ years in product management, at a senior or staff level, ideally having owned a developer-facing API, platform, or AI/ML product.
• Technical depth. You can reason about model serving, routing, latency, and quality tradeoffs, and earn the trust of strong engineers.
• Infrastructure and tradeoff sense. You've owned a product where cost, performance, and vendor or provider tradeoffs were central, and you can keep a product current as the landscape shifts.
• Cross-functional influence. LiveKit's engineering teams operate with high autonomy. You influence through clarity, trust, and good judgment, not process or hierarchy.
• Communication as a superpower. You write clearly, present well, and can move between a board-level strategy conversation and a detailed technical discussion with an engineering lead.
• Comfort with ambiguity. We're a small product team at a fast-growing company. You'll figure out what matters, prioritize ruthlessly, and move quickly without perfect information.

Qualifications

• Built a model gateway, inference API, model-provider product, or AI/ML platform.
• Familiarity with model benchmarking and how both performance and quality are measured (e.g. TTFT).
• Familiarity with the STT, TTS, LLM, and realtime model space and top providers.
• Background at a developer tools, API infrastructure, or AI/ML company.
• Familiarity with voice AI, real-time communication, or telephony.
• Experience with usage-based pricing models and cost or margin optimization.

Skills

• Obsessed with making the best product for our customers.
• Known as the go-to person for tackling tough problems.
• Work hard and can build and ship fast.
• Focused on polish, detail, and quality.
• A fast learner, frequently picking up new tips, tricks, and skills.

Benefits

• Our commitment to you includes an opportunity to build something truly impactful to the world.
• You will contribute to open source alongside world-class engineers.
• We offer competitive salary and equity packages.
• We provide health, dental, and vision benefits.
• We offer a flexible vacation policy.

Pay

Compensation Range: $225K - $265K

Schedule

Not specified