What is a Product Manager at Applied Systems?

At Applied Systems, a Product Manager does not simply manage a backlog; you are the architect of digital connectivity for the entire insurance ecosystem. Whether you are joining the Ivans division to revolutionize data exchange between carriers and agencies, or working on the Epic management system to streamline agency workflows, your work directly impacts how the insurance industry operates. You sit at the intersection of business strategy, technical execution, and user experience, tasked with solving multi-party industry challenges.

In this role, you are responsible for defining and delivering capabilities that allow our platform to integrate, transmit data, and support complex workflows. You will move beyond simple feature requests to own ambiguous initiatives—from problem discovery to launch. For roles within Ivans, this often means a heavy focus on API strategies and connectivity. For Epic or Product Operations roles, the focus shifts toward workflow optimization, go-to-market execution, and scaling internal processes. You are expected to be a leader who understands that "winning is a team sport," driving cross-functional alignment across engineering, architecture, and customer-facing teams.

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparing for an interview at Applied Systems requires a shift in mindset. You are not just being evaluated on your ability to write user stories; you are being tested on your ability to navigate a complex B2B landscape. The interviewers want to see that you can balance long-term platform value with near-term business outcomes.

You will be evaluated on the following key criteria:

Domain and Technical Fluency Applied Systems operates in a highly technical and regulated industry. Interviewers will assess your ability to understand complex workflows (underwriting, distribution) and your comfort with technical concepts, particularly RESTful APIs, JSON, and data integrations. You do not need to be a developer, but you must be able to converse fluently with engineering partners.

Strategic Problem Solving You will face ambiguous scenarios where the path forward is not clear. Evaluation focuses on your ability to frame problems, validate hypotheses with data, and make informed decisions with minimal oversight. You must demonstrate how you prioritize work to maximize customer value.

Cross-Functional Leadership A core value at Applied is that we are indispensable to each other. You will be assessed on your ability to lead without authority, influence stakeholders, and manage dependencies across different product lines and teams (such as the partnership between Applied product teams and the Cytora organization).

Customer Centricity Whether the customer is an insurance carrier, an agency, or an internal stakeholder, you must demonstrate a deep empathy for their pain points. You will be asked how you gather requirements, conduct market research, and translate those insights into a connected customer journey.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process at Applied Systems is thorough and designed to assess both your product acumen and your cultural alignment. It typically begins with a recruiter screen to verify your background and interest. This is followed by a hiring manager interview, which dives deeper into your specific product experience, particularly regarding B2B SaaS or technical product management.

If you pass the initial screens, you will move to a panel stage. This "loop" generally consists of separate sessions with key cross-functional partners, including Engineering Leads, Design/UX counterparts, and other Product Managers. Expect a mix of behavioral questions and scenario-based discussions. For technical roles (like the Technical Product Manager for Epic), expect specific inquiries into your experience with APIs and developer tools. For leadership roles, the focus will be on strategy and people management.

Throughout the process, the team is looking for consistency in your communication and a genuine passion for solving "unsexy" but critical industry problems. They value candidates who are prepared, inquisitive, and ready to engage in a two-way dialogue about the future of Insurtech.

The timeline above represents the standard flow for Product Management candidates. Use the gaps between stages to research the specific product line you are interviewing for (e.g., Ivans vs. Epic) and prepare examples that highlight your ability to manage complex stakeholder relationships.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

Your interviews will focus on specific competencies derived from the day-to-day realities of the role. Based on the job descriptions and team needs, here is what you must be ready to discuss.

Technical Product Strategy & API Knowledge

For roles within Ivans and Epic, the product is often the connectivity. You will be evaluated on your ability to treat APIs as products. This means understanding not just how they work technically, but how they drive business value.

Be ready to go over:

• API Lifecycle Management – How you define vision, roadmap, and documentation for API features.
• Integration Workflows – Understanding how data flows between disparate systems (e.g., Agency Management Systems and Carrier systems).
• Technical Trade-offs – How you work with engineering to decide between building scalable, resilient solutions versus quick fixes.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Describe a time you managed a product that was primarily an API or backend service. How did you measure its success?"
• "How do you prioritize technical debt against new feature development when resources are limited?"

Stakeholder Management & Collaboration

Applied Systems serves a two-sided market (Agencies and Carriers), and internal coordination is massive. You will be tested on your ability to align conflicting priorities.

Be ready to go over:

• Internal Alignment – Collaborating with Sales, Support, and Engineering to ensure a smooth Go-To-Market (GTM) process.
• External Partnerships – Working with partners and customers to validate roadmaps.
• Conflict Resolution – How you handle situations where a stakeholder disagrees with your prioritization.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Tell me about a time you had to say 'no' to a major stakeholder. How did you handle the conversation?"
• "How do you keep cross-functional teams aligned during a complex release with dependencies across multiple product lines?"

Product Execution & Discovery

This area assesses your "ground game." How do you go from a high-level idea to a shipped feature?

Be ready to go over:

• Discovery Techniques – How you use qualitative and quantitative data to validate problems.
• Agile Ceremonies – Your experience leading stand-ups, retrospectives, and sprint planning.
• Ambiguity – Your process for taking a vague objective (e.g., "improve carrier collaboration") and breaking it down into executable user stories.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through your process for defining a MVP for a new feature. How did you decide what to cut?"
• "Describe a complex initiative you owned end-to-end. What was the outcome?"

Key Responsibilities

As a Product Manager at Applied Systems, your daily work revolves around bridging the gap between technical possibility and market need. You are expected to define and own the product strategy within your specific domain—whether that is carrier-agency collaboration, API features, or internal product operations.

You will spend a significant portion of your time developing a deep understanding of insurance workflows. This involves identifying problem statements and conducting research to validate decisions. You will translate these findings into detailed requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria. For the Technical Product Manager role, this specifically involves defining specifications for RESTful APIs and ensuring documentation is developer-friendly.

Collaboration is central to the role. You will spearhead planning and execution ceremonies, acting as the glue between Software Development, User Experience, and Go-To-Market teams. You are responsible for ensuring that feature delivery creates a connected customer journey, not just isolated functions. Additionally, you will frequently present business cases to Product Leadership to gather buy-in and demonstrate how your initiatives align with corporate priorities.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

Successful candidates at Applied Systems generally possess a blend of B2B SaaS experience and specific technical or operational skills depending on the track.

Must-Have Skills

• Experience: Generally 3–5 years for standard PM roles and 8–10+ years for Lead roles.
• Technical Aptitude: Familiarity with Agile development environments is non-negotiable. For technical roles, proficiency with RESTful APIs, JSON, and developer tools is required.
• Strategic Communication: The ability to articulate complex value propositions to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Autonomy: A proven ability to work with minimal supervision, removing blockers and driving results in a remote or hybrid setting.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Industry Knowledge: Prior experience in Insurance (Insurtech) or Financial Services is a significant advantage.
• Tooling: Experience with Jira, Confluence, Pendo (especially for Ops roles), and API documentation tools like Swagger or ReadMe.
• Enterprise Background: A background working for enterprise SaaS organizations, understanding the nuance of long sales cycles and complex implementations.

Common Interview Questions

These questions are representative of what you might encounter at Applied Systems. They are designed to test your technical competence, strategic thinking, and cultural fit.

Product Sense & Strategy

• "How do you determine if a new feature is worth building? Walk us through your validation process."
• "Describe a time you identified a new industry trend. How did you act on it to drive product strategy?"
• "How do you balance near-term business outcomes (like revenue) with long-term platform health?"
• "If you were handed a product roadmap that you disagreed with, how would you handle it?"

Technical & Execution

• "Explain a complex technical concept to someone without a technical background."
• "How have you managed dependencies when your product relies on another team's API or data service?"
• "Tell me about a time a release went wrong. How did you handle the communication and the fix?"
• "What metrics do you use to track the success of an API or backend feature?"

Behavioral & Leadership

• "Applied values 'winning as a team.' Give an example of how you fostered collaboration in a fractured team."
• "Tell me about a time you had to lead a project without formal authority. How did you motivate the team?"
• "Describe a situation where you had to make a decision with incomplete information."
• "How do you handle feedback from customers that contradicts your data?"

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need insurance industry experience to be hired? While insurance domain knowledge is listed as a "nice-to-have" and is highly valued, it is not always a strict requirement for every PM role. Strong B2B SaaS experience, technical fluency (especially with APIs), and a quick learning curve can often substitute for direct industry experience. However, showing a willingness to learn the "Agency-Carrier" dynamic is crucial.

Q: What is the remote work culture like? Applied Systems embraces a "flex" culture. Many Product Management roles are advertised as Remote or Hybrid. The company empowers teams to collaborate in ways that work best for them, but you should be prepared to demonstrate how you effectively manage stakeholders and lead teams in a distributed environment.

Q: How technical does the interview process get? For the Technical Product Manager roles, it gets quite specific. You should be comfortable discussing API structures, data payloads (JSON), and integration challenges. For general PM roles, you don't need to code, but you must demonstrate you can earn the respect of engineering leads.

Q: What is the typical timeline for the process? The process usually moves from a recruiter screen to a hiring manager screen within a week or two. The panel stage follows shortly after. Applied Systems is an established company with structured HR processes, so expect a professional and predictable timeline, though scheduling cross-functional panels can sometimes take time.

Other General Tips

Understand the Ecosystem Before your interview, research the relationship between Insurance Agencies and Carriers. Applied Systems (and its Ivans division) sits in the middle. Understanding this "connectivity" value proposition will set you apart from candidates who treat it like a generic SaaS product.

Highlight "Team Sport" Mentality The job descriptions repeatedly mention that "winning is a team sport." Avoid using "I" exclusively. When discussing wins, highlight how you enabled engineering, sales, or support to succeed. When discussing failures, take personal ownership.

Prepare for Ambiguity Applied is transforming a legacy industry. You will likely face questions about how you handle unclear requirements or shifting market dynamics. Frame your answers around "bringing clarity to chaos" and "driving decisions with data."

Know the Products Be aware of the difference between Epic (Agency Management System) and Ivans (Connectivity/Data Exchange). tailor your answers depending on which team you are speaking with.

Summary & Next Steps

A Product Manager role at Applied Systems offers a unique opportunity to work at the heart of the Insurtech industry. You are not just building software; you are building the digital infrastructure that allows agencies and carriers to collaborate efficiently. The role demands a high level of strategic thinking, technical competence, and a collaborative spirit. It is a place where you can own complex initiatives and see tangible impacts on a massive scale.

To succeed, focus your preparation on understanding the B2B integration landscape, refining your stories around cross-functional leadership, and brushing up on your API product management skills. Approach the interviews with confidence, curiosity, and a clear demonstration of how you can deliver value to both the business and the customer.

The salary data above provides a baseline for expectations. Compensation at Applied Systems is determined by the depth and breadth of your experience, as well as your location. In addition to base salary, total compensation packages typically include bonus structures, comprehensive benefits, and wellness perks. Be prepared to discuss your expectations transparently with the recruiter early in the process.

You have the skills to excel in this process. Review your technical concepts, practice your behavioral stories, and go into the interview ready to show them why you are the right person to lead their product vision. Good luck!