Sr. PM Public Sector Transportation - Career Growth Role in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This is a senior, high-impact product strategy role at the intersection of government policy and transportation technology — a rare and growing niche. PrePass holds a dominant market position in weigh station bypass and toll management, giving the right candidate a platform to shape national transportation infrastructure policy from the private sector.
Compensation context: While no salary is listed, Senior Product Manager roles in transportation tech with public-sector focus typically command $140,000–$185,000 annually in the US, depending on location. PrePass's lifestyle account, 401(k) match, and tuition reimbursement add meaningful total compensation value.
Skills you'll develop:
- Federal and state grant strategy (FHWA, FMCSA funding cycles)
- Government procurement and RFP/RFI processes
- Cross-functional product roadmap ownership in a regulated industry
- Stakeholder management at the C-suite and agency director level
- Transportation policy and commercial vehicle compliance expertise
Career trajectory: This role builds a rare profile — product management experience with government relations depth — which is highly transferable to VP of Product, Head of Policy, or Director of Government Affairs roles at transportation, logistics, or smart city companies.
Green flags: Clear success metrics defined, broad cross-functional ownership, thought leadership exposure through national forums. Watch for: No explicit remote policy stated, and the 30% travel requirement may not suit all candidates. The role spans many domains (grants, policy, product delivery) which could lead to scope creep without clear boundaries.
About PrePass
PrePass® is North America's most trusted weigh station bypass and toll management platform. We're transforming how the transportation industry operates—creating solutions that keep trucks moving safely, efficiently, and compliantly. This means making bold decisions and building systems that support not only fleets but the broader economy. It all starts with enabling commercial vehicles to keep rolling with seamless toll management, weigh station bypass, and safety solutions. It's what we do best, and we do it to meet the demands of the road every day.
That's why people join us: our solutions are implemented in real-time, on highways and interstates across the nation, helping fleets go farther, faster. This work challenges and rewards, presenting complex problems that need ambitious answers. We hire bold thinkers with a heart for impact, a passion for progress, and the optimism to shape the future of transportation.
About the Role
PrePass is seeking a Sr. Product Manager, Public Sector to lead an enterprise-wide strategy connecting government needs, transportation policy, funding, research, pilots, and procurement opportunities with PrePass capabilities.
This role connects Public Sector and Product, owns the consolidated public-sector roadmap and prioritization process, represents public-sector customers across Product, and positions PrePass to engage before programs and requirements are fully defined.
Key Responsibilities
Lead Public-Sector Product Strategy
- Integrate opportunities across Safety, Innovation, Site Systems, 360SmartView, Compliance, and Bypass into a unified public-sector roadmap.
- Translate agency needs, policy changes, and funding priorities into product implications, opportunity hypotheses, and recommendations.
- Evaluate opportunities based on customer value, strategic fit, roadmap alignment, funding potential, product readiness, and organizational capacity.
- Develop leadership decision materials that clarify value, tradeoffs, dependencies, and the recommended path, then drive agreed product outcomes.
Deliver Public-Sector Product Outcomes
- Translate contract commitments, RFP responses, grant deliverables, and regulatory mandates into clear requirements for value-stream Product Managers.
- Partner with Product, Engineering, and Product Operations to prioritize commitments and deliver them on schedule.
- Provide product expertise for RFP responses, state onboarding, and renewals.
- Define and report outcomes, including agency adoption, data quality, safety impact, and contribution to renewals and new states.
Co-Lead Grants, Pilots, and Upstream Development
- Monitor and evaluate federal and state grants, research opportunities, demonstrations, and pilot funding cycles.
- Participate in coalitions with agencies, state DOTs, enforcement organizations, University Transportation Centers, research institutions, carriers, and technology partners.
- Identify collaborations and PoC requirements early so opportunities address public-sector needs and align with PrePass investments and capabilities.
Policy, Regulatory, and Market Intelligence
- Partner internally to assess legislation, rulemakings, standards, and government initiatives affecting commercial vehicle safety and compliance, and communicate roadmap implications early.
- Coordinate product input into RFIs, RFPs, public comments, research initiatives, standards discussions, and related government opportunities.
Represent PrePass as a Public-Sector Thought Leader
- Represent PrePass in relevant forums, including FMCSA, FHWA, CVSA, state DOTs, University Transportation Centers, IRP and IFTA committees, ITS America initiatives, and autonomous vehicle task forces.
- Build trusted relationships with leaders who influence transportation policy, funding, research, procurement, and implementation.
What Success Looks Like
- PrePass maintains a clear, current, and actionable public-sector strategy and consolidated roadmap.
- Public-sector opportunities are identified and shaped before grant, pilot, and procurement requirements are finalized.
- Product teams receive timely insight that improves planning and aligns funded pursuits with PrePass capabilities and investments, including voice of the customer.
- Public-sector stakeholders increasingly engage PrePass as a trusted strategic, technical, and commercialization partner.
Qualifications
- 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in transportation product management, public-sector program development, transportation technology, innovation, or a related discipline.
- Demonstrated success translating public-sector transportation needs into technology, product, pilot, or program strategies.
- Expertise in federal and state transportation funding, including identifying opportunities, shaping concepts, coordinating partners, developing scopes, and leading proposals.
- Experience coordinating cross-functional teams to translate public-sector needs into actionable product strategies and measurable outcomes.
- Established relationships across the public-sector transportation ecosystem, such as federal agencies, state DOTs, enforcement organizations, CVSA, University Transportation Centers, task forces, advisory councils, or industry associations.
- Ability to travel regularly up to 30% for agency meetings, conferences, task forces, partner development, and industry engagements.
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Public Policy, Transportation, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience, is a plus.
How We Will Take Care of You
- Robust benefit package that includes medical, dental, and vision that start on date of hire.
- Paid Time Off, to include vacation, sick, holidays, and floating holidays.
- 401(k) plan with employer match.
- Company-funded "lifestyle account" upon date of hire for you to apply toward your physical and mental well-being (e.g., ski passes, retreats, gym memberships).
- Tuition Reimbursement Program.
- Voluntary benefits, including Legal and Pet Discounts.
- Employee Assistance Program (available at no cost to you).
- Company-sponsored and funded "Culture Team" that focuses on the Physical, Mental, and Professional well-being of employees.
- Community Give-Back initiatives.
- Culture that focuses on employee development initiatives.
Join Us
At PrePass, our mission drives us. We invest in relationships. We challenge ourselves to innovate and improve. We win together. Simply put, we live our Core Values.
Ready to help move the transportation industry forward? Join us and let's drive progress—together.
Frequently Asked Questions
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