For companies hiring a product lead

Interim Product Manager / Head of Product

I cover the product seat you've posted so the roadmap and the launch still have an owner.

Rick WongHead of Product Engineering — AI data products

What I do

The problem

The product seat is empty. Engineers are building without a product owner. The roadmap is stalled, or a launch is close and no one owns the calls.

Cover the Product Manager / Head of Product seat while you hire.
Own the roadmap calls the empty seat was supposed to make.
Keep product, engineering and program talking.
Build the team's capability so your hire inherits a moving product, not a stalled one.
Hand the seat over cleanly.

Who this is for

Mid-market companies whose product manager or head of product left, or was never hired, with a roadmap or launch that cannot wait.
The owner, founder, VP or head with the budget.

Who this isn’t for

Companies that only want another full-time employee and have no appetite for coverage.

How AI fits

AI does drafting and synthesis. I own judgment, people, and the outcome. A person signs off on anything that goes out.

Where I’ve sat

I've held IC seats in product and engineering, up through the executive seat. I work across engineering, product and program at once. What people I've worked with say is on LinkedIn.

What people I’ve worked with say

Notes

These seats overlap. If the gap is the program around a dated build, see interim Technical Program Manager.

At a glance

Seat: Product Manager / Head of Product.
Who it is for: Mid-market companies with an empty product seat and a live initiative. Buyer is an owner, founder, VP or head with the budget.
Engagement: Conversation, then a time-boxed covering trial with one success check, then coverage while you search and a clean handoff. Coverage runs month-to-month while you search.
Availability: Open now for new engagements, as of October 2026.
Location: Irvine, CA, working with US startups remotely. Core hours 1–9pm PT (Pacific).
Cost: We work it out in the first conversation, scoped to the seat.
Contact: rick@datasaa.com

Questions

Is this interim VP of product or fractional head of product?

Those are the search terms. The seat I cover is Product Manager / Head of Product. You keep searching for the permanent hire.

Do we stop hiring a product manager?

No. You keep searching. I cover the seat in the meantime.

What does it cost?

We work it out in the first conversation, scoped to the seat.

Start with an email.

Posted a product manager or head of product seat you can't afford to leave empty? Let's talk about covering it while you hire.

Email rick@datasaa.com

Subject: “Product seat - via datasaa.com/cover-the-seat/head-of-product” (the link above fills it in).