Company
Navigating cancer is like embarking on a treacherous hike—without a map, gear, or guide. Manta Cares provides the most comprehensive self-advocacy toolkit available, empowering patients every step of the way. We are transforming the cancer journey.
Manta Cares is a digital health company founded and led by cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and oncologists. Our team brings over 50 years of combined healthcare experience, with backgrounds at McKinsey, Stanford, MIT, and ASCO, among others. Backed by top-tier venture funds—including Pear Ventures, Sozo Ventures, and 1843 Capital—we are generating revenue through partnerships with leading life sciences organizations.
Opportunity for Impact
At Manta Cares, every feature we build directly impacts patients, caregivers, and advocates navigating the challenges of cancer. In this capacity, you’ll bridge Product and Engineering, translating strategy into well-scoped, technically sound, and execution-ready tickets to drive seamless development and meaningful impact on day one.
With strong strategic product thinking in place, your role is to complement that strength with deep technical execution—owning feature readiness, technical refinement, and product analytics to keep development cycles smooth and engineering tightly aligned. If you thrive on turning complex ideas into actionable plans and optimizing processes in a fast-moving, early-stage environment, this role is for you.
Role & Responsibilities
Manta Cares is hiring a Founding Technical Product Manager to bridge Product and Engineering, ensuring seamless execution. You’ll translate product ideas into engineering-ready tickets, scope features, and refine technical requirements to streamline development and deliver high-impact tools for cancer patients and caregivers.
The Founding Technical Product Manager will:
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Translate product ideas into clear, engineering-ready specs, ensuring all features are well-defined and technically feasible before development begins.
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Work closely with engineers to scope and refine features, proactively identifying edge cases, dependencies, and technical challenges.
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Own the creation of engineering-ready tickets, writing clear user stories, acceptance criteria, and technical considerations to ensure smooth execution.
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Manage the product backlog, keeping it organized, prioritized, and up to date for efficient sprint planning.
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Ensure proper instrumentation and data tracking, defining requirements to measure user behavior, feature adoption, and product performance.
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Act as the first line of validation for tickets, ensuring all necessary technical details are included before development starts.
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Facilitate backlog grooming and sprint planning, helping to align engineering and product teams for smooth execution.
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Support sprint retrospectives, identifying areas where the scoping and handoff process can improve.
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Identify process inefficiencies and recommend improvements, ensuring product and engineering collaboration runs smoothly.
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Help unblock engineers by providing detailed product specs, reducing ambiguity and ensuring fast, effective execution.
Professional Qualifications
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Strong technical understanding of how software is built, including APIs, databases, and system design.
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Experience working directly with engineers to break down projects into well-scoped, actionable work.
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Ability to write clear, detailed product specs and tickets, ensuring engineering can execute efficiently.
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Proficiency in Jira, Shortcut, or similar tools for backlog management and technical documentation.
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Strong analytical skills, with the ability to define and track key product metrics.
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Excellent communication skills, able to bridge the gap between Product and Engineering.
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Experience in a resource-constrained startup environment, ideally at the 0-1 or early-stage level (Seed to Series A).
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Bonus: Prior experience as a software engineer or in a highly technical role.
Personal Characteristics
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Mission-Driven & Impact-Oriented – Passionate about building products that improve the lives of patients and caregivers.
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Highly Organized & Detail-Oriented – Thrives on clarity, structure, and process-driven execution.
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Technically Fluent – Comfortable discussing engineering concepts and thinking through technical feasibility.
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Problem-Solver – Able to anticipate risks, identify edge cases, and proactively resolve challenges.
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Execution-Focused & Adaptable – Moves fast, iterates effectively, and thrives in an early-stage startup environment.
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Resourceful & Comfortable with Ambiguity – Has worked in small teams, worn multiple hats, and knows how to operate with limited resources.
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Collaborative & Communicative – Excels in cross-functional teamwork, ensuring alignment across Product and Engineering.
