Jen Schmitz

Product Leader · 15+ Years

Product Strategy · Cross-Functional Leader · Enabler at Scale

I drive product strategy and cross-functional alignment that enables organizations to scale. 15+ years translating complex markets into clear direction, building high-performing teams, and delivering measurable business outcomes.

How I Lead See the Work

$50M+

ARR built
in a new category

4

Functions built
Product · Design
Data · Ops

3

New platforms
launched 0→1

Jen Schmitz

Philosophy

Six principles that shape how I lead.

Earned through 15+ years leading product, not from a textbook.

Principle 01

Build, Don't Theorize

I believe starting is the best way to learn and make progress. Launch early, label it beta, listen, respond, ship, improve.

Principle 02

Shared Outcomes > Delivery Targets

I align the entire org to shared business outcomes. Achieve scale goals with everyone moving in the same direction, faster.

Principle 03

Speed, Not Process for Process' Sake

Every process I implement has a specific goal: reduce risk, increase speed to market, prepare for scale. If it doesn't serve the mission, I drop it.

Principle 04

Be a Sponge, Not a Brick

Strong convictions, loosely held. Stay flexible, absorb new inputs, adapt. You can't control everything, but you can drive forward with clarity.

Principle 05

Left-Shift the Problems

Stop being a firefighter. Build gates, templates, and AI-driven checks at the start of the process so the end is predictable and fast.

Principle 06

Don't Let Perfect Kill Good

Ship. Learn. Iterate. The best products aren't born perfect, they're built through relentless improvement and real-world feedback loops.

Strengths

What I bring to a product org.

Where I create the most leverage for a product organization.

01

Product Vision to Business Outcomes

I connect market opportunity to product strategy to measurable results. From an infant new market category to scaling it to $50M+ ARR, I own the full arc.

02

Organization Design & Team Building

I've built PM, Design, and Data Science teams from scratch and led alignment across cross functional teams of 100s. I design the org to match the strategy, not the other way around.

03

Multi-Product Portfolio Leadership

Experience leading across B2C, B2B2C, and B2B simultaneously. Balancing competing priorities, device and service ecosystems, and global stakeholder.

04

Cross-Functional Scale & Enablement

I build the systems, rituals, and operational foundations that let product organizations scale: outcome-driven roadmaps, strategic planning cadences, and shared accountability frameworks.

05

Market Creation & Category Strategy

Proven ability to identify whitespace, define new categories, and position products against established incumbents.

06

AI Product Strategy & Governance

Deep experience building AI-driven products with responsible governance, from ML risk detection models to intelligent agents, with focus on accuracy, explainability, and customer trust.

AI Leadership

Building AI-native product orgs.
Not AI-decorated ones.

Two sides of the work: AI features customers use, and AI in how product teams build.

In Products

AI features customers rely on.

  • Code42 Incydr

    ML risk detection with a focus on accuracy, false-positive reduction, and explainability. The signal security teams could trust and act on.

  • Samsung SmartThings

    AI capabilities integrated across the device ecosystem, from automation intelligence to user-facing recommendations across B2C and B2B lines.

In Product Operations

AI in how product teams work. A four-phase operating model, from workflow assessment through fully-augmented product ops.

See the four phases below.

The Four Phases (Product Operations)

01

Assess & Align

  • Audit workflows for AI automation opportunities
  • Establish health metrics & baselines
  • Build shared team Context library to ensure scale and consistency (brand, personas, OKRs, market research, etc)
  • Deploy AI-assisted Discovery, PRD, and stakeholder communication practices
02

Automate & Integrate

  • Incorporate existing tool stacks to support AI-powered capacity planning & forecasting
  • Automated stakeholder reporting & summaries
  • Agent-based feedback loop from beta programs
  • Incorporate team rollout feedback and adoption into existing syncs
03

Scale & Accelerate

  • AI agents for GTM planning & launch readiness
  • Predictive release analytics & quality gates
  • Cross-product pitch standardization via AI scoring
  • Self-serve data insights for PMs & leadership
04

Optimize & Compound

  • Full AI-augmented product operations stack
  • Continuous improvement loops with AI retrospectives
  • Org-wide outcome alignment & AI governance
  • Measure ROI: speed, accuracy, team satisfaction

Impact

What the work looks like.

Four case studies across three companies.

Featured Case Study

Code42

Creating the Insider Risk Category

Code42 was a mature endpoint backup company facing market commoditization. Next step was the strategic pivot that redefined the company with a new product vision around Insider Risk Detection & Response, an entirely new category. From principal PM through Senior Director, I scaled the full arc: identifying the whitespace between CASB, DLP, and UEBA; launching the Incydr platform from zero; building the cross-functional teams (PM, Design, Data Science, Engineering) to scale it; and proving product-market fit that grew to $50M+ ARR with FedRAMP authorization.

$0 → $50M+

ARR built in a category we defined

More Work

Three more product journeys.

Samsung SmartThings

Launching SmartThings Pro & Scaling Across Ecosystems

At Samsung SmartThings, I led product across a rare breadth of B2C, B2B2C, and B2B product lines, spanning device ecosystems, cloud services, and AI capabilities with global engineering teams. A highlight was launching SmartThings Pro, Samsung’s first dedicated B2B IoT platform, expanding the division beyond its consumer roots into enterprise and commercial markets (HVAC, property management, commercial facilities).

  • Launched SmartThings Pro, Samsung's first B2B IoT platform
  • Balancing strategy across B2C, B2B2C, and B2B product lines simultaneously
  • Coordinating delivery across global teams spanning hardware, cloud, and AI

U.S. Bank

Launching the Division's First API-First Payments Product

At U.S. Bank, I led the launch of the B2B division’s first API-first payments product, bringing a modern, developer-centric approach to enterprise payment processing in a highly regulated environment. This meant navigating compliance requirements, aligning legacy infrastructure with modern API architecture, and proving that a traditional financial institution could ship products with the speed and usability of a fintech. The product drove 40% YoY transaction volume growth across 100k+ enterprise clients.

  • Launched division's first API-first payments product from concept to market
  • 40% YoY transaction volume growth across 100k+ enterprise clients
  • Modernized enterprise payment processing under strict regulatory requirements

U.S. Bank

Building Product Design & Expanding into Government Markets

I built the division’s first product design and UX team from scratch, creating an organizational capability that didn’t previously exist. This team became the foundation for improving user experience across the B2B product portfolio while simultaneously driving product strategy for government contract expansion. By aligning design-led thinking with compliance-driven requirements, we secured federal and defense contracts (DoD, VA, GSA) and opened entirely new revenue streams for the division.

  • Built the division's first product design/UX team from scratch
  • Secured federal and defense contracts: DoD, VA, GSA
  • Unified strategic roadmaps across product and government compliance tracks

Product Ops

Building the operating systems.

Operational foundations built at three companies.

Samsung SmartThings

  • Drove adoption of AI tooling across PM workflows, from PRD generation to stakeholder alignment and review processes
  • Implemented capacity planning frameworks that increased delivery predictability and accelerated speed to launch
  • Led cross-functional scrum-of-scrums bringing BD, Eng, Product & Marketing together for fast risk identification

Code42

  • Launched Aha! Ideas Portal for direct market inputs, foundational for trend detection
  • Standardized cross-product pitch process, no more silos or hidden projects
  • Built data-driven activation & adoption process leading to lower churn and increased revenue
  • Created first beta program: ongoing route to market for testing and risk review

U.S. Bank

  • Built division's first UX team, establishing usability standards and user testing programs
  • Formed cross-functional teams with shared strategic roadmaps and cost practices
  • Shifted org from waterfall to agile across secure government-grade platforms

Leadership DNA

How I show up.

Traits

Systems-Minded

See the whole board: teams, gaps, dependencies, risks.

Team-First, Low Ego

Foster culture where the collective wins.

Navigate Change with Calm

When things go sideways, I bring clarity and focus.

Coach & Catalyst

Bring out the best in people regardless of reporting structure.

Transparent & Direct

Clear communication. Sometimes blunt, always honest.

Mantras

  • Strong convictions, loosely held.
  • Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.
  • Be a sponge, not a brick.
  • Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.

Voices

What people say.

Ten voices from people I've worked with over the years.

Came back to Code42 specifically to work with Jen

"

A few years ago, I had left Code42 for another opportunity, and decided to come back when she started to lead the design team. I'm not sure I would have come in any other circumstance. She excels at both people management and strategic vision. She effortlessly juggles numerous responsibilities without ever making it seem overwhelming.
Ben Miller Seasoned Product & User Experience Designer Reported directly to Jen

Mission-focused & strategically driven

"

Jen is very mission-focused. She is driven by goals and outcomes, and is always first to take a step back to approach something strategically. She is gifted at driving a long-term vision while breaking it into manageable milestones to deliver value quickly. She is a rare find for anyone looking for a product management leader.
Aimee Simpson Director, Product Marketing at Huntress Cross-functional partner

Master of negotiation & alignment

"

Jen is a masterful product leader who is skilled at both the art of negotiation and teamwork. I was continually impressed with the way she was able to find that perfect balance of serving both our customers and our co-workers in a way that everyone felt supported. Thanks to Jen's ability to collaborate, we were able to prioritize the right work and get the right buy-in on key initiatives.
Michelle Killian Cybersecurity Leader Cross-functional partner

Excels at both management & leadership

"

There is a difference between management skills and leadership skills; she excels at them both! Jen consistently takes initiative in managing and motivating cross-functional teams to solve complex problems. She builds strong relationships across product, design, engineering, marketing and data teams to successfully align a clear product vision to meet business goals.
Kelly MacFarlane Senior Product Manager at SmartThings Reported directly to Jen

A masterclass in product leadership

"

Jen is a master in product thinking, management, and leadership blending all three incredibly difficult skills into one masterclass example of what a product leader should be. She was always able to connect the dots between ambiguous product asks and step in when clear guidance was needed to get projects delivered effectively.
Mike Lewallen Product Design @ CrowdStrike Reported directly to Jen

The high bar for Product Leaders

"

Jen is one of the rare product leaders who really understands product, user experience, and market need. Communicating and working with cross-functional teams is something Jen excels at. Jen has set the high bar by which I measure other Product Leaders against.
Kyle Hatlestad Advisory Sales Engineer, Customer Success Cross-functional partner

Infectious can-do attitude

"

Her can-do attitude is not only infectious but also a driving force behind her success. What truly sets Jen apart is her exceptional leadership skills. She has an innate ability to motivate and inspire her team members. Under her guidance, I have witnessed firsthand how her employees flourish and thrive.
Mason Swenson General Manager - Small Business @ CrashPlan Worked on same team for 5+ years

Makes the impossible look easy

"

Jen has the ability to help people find common goals. Anyone who has managed Designers, Security Engineers, Product Managers and Board expectations while simultaneously shipping hundreds of changes a month would probably disagree that this sounds simple. Jen made the above look easy.
Seamus Hartmann Sr. Systems Engineer | Cybersecurity & Cloud Cross-functional colleague

Forward-thinking product visionary

"

Jen's expertise in product vision sets her apart as a true leader. Her forward-thinking, strategic mindset has led to the creation of products that not only meet current market needs but also anticipate future trends. Her collaborative nature and exceptional communication skills foster a seamless flow of ideas across departments.
Abnita Munankarmy Engineering Leader Cross-functional partner

Grows leaders around her

"

Jen is a leader who helps others around her grow. She mentored me during our time together at Code42, helping me navigate becoming a people leader for the first time. As a product leader with extensive experience, Jen drove impact by quickly establishing deep rapport across a variety of stakeholders.
Natalie McGuire Director, Global Growth Marketing at Mimecast Cross-functional partner & mentee

Contact

Let's build something
that scales.

I’m drawn to companies at critical scaling points where the ‘Gold Standard’ for product needs to take hold effectively, not in a silo. If that sounds like where you are, let’s talk.

Get in Touch LinkedIn