The pandemic permanently changed how PM teams work. But here's what I've noticed: there's a growing gap between what companies say about remote work and what they actually expect.
Let me decode the remote PM job market and give you practical advice for landing and succeeding in these roles.
The Remote Work Reality Check
When companies say "remote-friendly," they could mean any of the following:
- •Fully remote, async-first: Work from anywhere, minimal meetings, heavy documentation culture. True flexibility.
- •Remote with core hours: Work from home, but be online 10am-3pm Pacific (or whatever timezone the HQ is in).
- •Remote with regular travel: Work from home most days, but fly to HQ once a month or once a quarter.
- •Remote but we'll make you feel guilty about it: Technically allowed, but career advancement happens to people who show up in person.
The job posting won't tell you which one. You have to ask.
Questions to Ask About Remote Culture
In every interview for a remote role, I'd ask:
- •"How many people on this team work remotely full-time? What about the broader PM org?"
- •"How often does the team meet in person?"
- •"What timezone is the majority of the team in? What overlap hours do you expect?"
- •"Where does the most senior person on this team work from?"
- •"How do you handle promotions and visibility for remote team members?"
The answers tell you everything. If the most senior PM works in the office, remote folks will always be at a disadvantage. If "in-person collaboration" keeps coming up, they're not truly remote-first.
What Remote-First Companies Actually Value
When a company is genuinely built for remote work, they select for different skills:
Written communication: You'll write more than you talk. Product specs, async updates, Slack messages—your writing is your presence. If you can't write clearly and concisely, remote work will be hard.
Documentation habits: Everything needs to be written down because you can't just tap someone's shoulder. Meeting notes, decision logs, PRDs, project updates—documentation isn't overhead, it's how work happens.
Self-direction: Nobody is watching you work. You need to be able to structure your own day, prioritize without constant input, and stay productive without supervision.
Proactive communication: In an office, people can see you're swamped. Remotely, if you don't tell people, they don't know. You need to over-communicate status, blockers, and progress.
Async-first thinking: Can this meeting be a Loom video? Can this discussion happen in a doc? Remote-first PMs default to async and use synchronous time sparingly.
How to Demonstrate Remote-Readiness
Your resume and interviews should signal that you can thrive in a distributed environment:
On your resume:
- •Mention if you've worked remotely before (and for how long)
- •Highlight experience with distributed or global teams
- •Call out specific async collaboration tools you've used
- •Include any remote-specific accomplishments ("launched feature across 3 timezones without a single synchronous meeting")
In interviews:
- •Have examples ready of how you've communicated across timezones
- •Talk about your personal productivity systems
- •Demonstrate strong written communication by following up interviews with thoughtful emails
- •Ask smart questions about their remote culture (see above)
Your portfolio/online presence:
- •A well-written blog or portfolio site shows you can communicate in writing
- •Active, thoughtful LinkedIn presence demonstrates async engagement
- •Side projects show self-direction
The Timezone Reality
Let's talk about something people don't discuss enough: timezones are a real factor.
If a company's team is mostly in California and you're in London, you will have 6 hours of overlap at best—and that's if you shift your schedule. You'll miss spontaneous conversations, be excluded from some meetings, and always be slightly out of sync.
Some companies handle this well. Many don't.
Before accepting a remote role:
- •Figure out where most of the team is
- •Calculate your actual overlap hours
- •Consider whether you're willing to shift your schedule
- •Ask how async the culture actually is in practice
The best remote roles either have truly async cultures or have team members in similar timezones. The worst are synchronous cultures with global teams—you'll be in meetings at midnight.
Red Flags in Remote Job Postings
Watch out for:
- •"Remote" in the title but "occasional travel required" buried in the description
- •Remote roles that pay significantly less than local market rates
- •"We'll consider remote for the right candidate" (translation: we prefer in-office)
- •Companies that went remote during COVID but are now slowly pushing people back
- •Lots of emphasis on "collaboration" and "teamwork" without specifics about how that works remotely
Industries and Companies That Do Remote Well
Some categories of companies are structurally better at remote work:
Good bets:
- •Companies that were remote-first before 2020 (GitLab, Automattic, Zapier)
- •Developer tools and infrastructure companies (engineers are used to async)
- •B2B SaaS companies that sell to remote teams
- •Companies with globally distributed customer bases
Harder:
- •Consumer companies that value design critiques and rapid iteration
- •Early-stage startups that are still figuring out product-market fit
- •Companies with strong HQ cultures in specific cities
- •Roles that require heavy cross-functional coordination with non-PM teams in office
Making Remote Work Work
Once you land the role, here's how to succeed:
Overcommunicate, especially at first: Your manager can't see you working. Send weekly updates even if not asked. Share progress, blockers, and plans proactively.
Be responsive during overlap hours: If you have a 4-hour window where everyone's online, be present and responsive during that time.
Build relationships intentionally: In an office, relationships happen by accident. Remotely, you need to schedule coffee chats, ask about people's lives, and find ways to connect beyond work tasks.
Document everything: Write down decisions, meeting notes, and context. Your future self and teammates will thank you.
Create boundaries: Remote work can easily become always-on. Set working hours and stick to them. Log off Slack at night. Take actual lunch breaks.
Invest in your setup: Good internet, webcam, microphone, and desk setup matter. If you're grainy on video calls or have constant audio issues, it affects how you're perceived.
Remote PM work can be fantastic—more flexibility, no commute, deeper focus time. But it's not for everyone, and not all "remote" jobs are created equal. Do your diligence, ask the hard questions, and make sure the role matches what you actually want.
Looking for remote opportunities? Browse remote PM jobs on our job board, or set up job alerts filtered to remote-only roles.