Principal Product Manager, Vision AI
About this role
Defining computer vision and camera-powered products forms the core daily focus for the Principal Product Manager, Vision AI at Toast. Working within the Enterprise Drive-Thru team, the individual shapes the long-term roadmap for capabilities like vehicle detection, identification, tracking, timing, and operational intelligence. The role exists to build next-generation technology for large restaurant brands by bridging software, AI, hardware, and restaurant operations.
Collaboration happens across engineering, design, hardware operations, security, legal, customer care, sales, and senior leadership to guide products from zero to one. Candidates who excel in this environment bring a background in delivering AI-enabled systems, managing hardware ecosystems, and navigating ambiguous problem spaces with strategic customer research.
What you will do
- Own the Vision AI product vision and strategy while defining the long-term roadmap for vehicle detection, tracking, timing, and operational intelligence.
- Drive zero-to-one product development through discovery, prototyping, pilots, commercialization, and scaling in ambiguous problem spaces.
- Shape Enterprise Drive-Thru strategy by identifying opportunities where Toast can build differentiated solutions for multi-location restaurant brands.
- Define the hardware ecosystem required to support Vision AI and Drive-Thru products, including cameras, media players, networking, and digital menu boards.
- Conduct customer research and field validation with enterprise customers and restaurants to translate operational workflows into product strategy.
- Evaluate technology partners and make build versus buy versus partner decisions across cloud, edge, performance, cost, and scalability.
- Partner with go-to-market teams on packaging, positioning, pricing inputs, pilots, and rollout strategies to drive enterprise growth.
- Influence cross-functional teams across engineering, design, hardware, and senior leadership to align execution with product strategy.
What you need
- Bring over 8 years of product management experience owning complex products or multi-team initiatives from strategy through scale.
- Demonstrate experience delivering AI-enabled products, machine learning systems, computer vision applications, or adjacent emerging technologies.
- Show a proven ability to take ambiguous opportunities from discovery through prototype, pilot, commercialization, and scale.
- Possess experience building products for large, complex customers while balancing individual needs with scalable investments.
- Exhibit technical fluency to partner deeply with engineering and hardware teams on architecture, integrations, and AI systems.
- Apply strategic decision-making to balance customer impact, performance, scalability, and operational complexity.
- Conduct deep customer discovery, field research, and pilots with strategic enterprise customers.
Nice to have
- Experience with computer vision, camera systems, video analytics, or machine learning products, especially real-time video
- Experience building products that combine software and hardware
- Familiarity with AI model evaluation, experimentation, and performance measurement
- Experience in restaurant, retail, hospitality, automotive, transportation, or other operationally complex environments
- Familiarity with drive-thru operations or multi-location restaurant technology
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the remote work policy for this role?
This role can be based in California or remote in CST. Toast embraces a hybrid work model that fosters in-person collaboration while valuing individual needs.
What is the salary range for this position?
The base salary range depends on the geographic zone, with Zone A ranging from $190,000 to $304,000 USD, Zone B from $165,000 to $264,000 USD, and Zone C from $149,000 to $238,000 USD. Starting salary is determined based on skills, experience, and geographic location.
What does the hiring process involve regarding AI tools?
Toast uses AI tools to support recruiters and interviewers with tasks like note-taking, summarization, and documentation of interviews. All hiring decisions are made by people, and candidates are asked to complete interviews and assessments without real-time AI tools or recording bots unless instructed otherwise.