Open to Senior PM & Product Leadership roles · Leander, TX

Senior Product
Manager & Author

I turn messy, policy-heavy workflows into calm, reliable software. After 10+ years building SaaS for healthcare, state governments, and General Motors — I wrote the book on it. Literally. U.S. Army veteran. Builder of things that actually work.

See My Work → Download Resume
Firas Issa
Firas Issa
Sr. PM · Author · Army Veteran
20+
Yrs Exp
15+
Products
3
Certs
CSPO Microsoft AI PM CQA · ASQ Strategy 0→1 Agile
10+
Years of Experience
15+
SaaS Platforms
1
Published Book
8yr
Army Veteran
Firas Issa
Firas Issa
Senior PM & Author
Healthcare SaaS Gov Tech Automotive 🎖️ US Army Vet

About Me

Building calm software
for complex problems

I am a senior product manager and author who likes turning messy, policy-heavy workflows into calm, reliable software. After ten-plus years building SaaS platforms for healthcare, state governments, and a very large car company, I wrote "The Simple SaaS Playbook, without the Jargon" to explain what I do without the buzzword circus.

I am happiest when I am working with clients, then collaborating with designers and engineers to ship useful things, asking too many questions, and drawing boxes and arrows until the problem makes sense.

When I am not thinking about roadmaps, you can usually find me reading, tinkering with new AI tools, or trying to keep the trees in my yard from taking over the neighborhood.

Industries I've built for
🏥 Healthcare
🏛️ State Government
🚗 Automotive (GM)
☁️ B2B SaaS
🎖️ U.S. Army Veteran

Core Competencies

What I bring to the table

Built over 20 years across healthcare, government, and enterprise SaaS — from quality auditor roots to leading global platform roadmaps.

📐
Product Strategy
10+ years setting direction for B2B SaaS, GovTech, and enterprise platforms in regulated, mission-critical environments.
🔬
User Research
Deep experience with government agencies, healthcare orgs, and enterprise clients — translating complex needs into clear product decisions.
📊
Data & Analytics
Outcome-driven roadmapping grounded in performance data, compliance metrics, and cost-efficiency targets across global platforms.
🚀
Go-to-Market
Led statewide platform rollouts and enterprise migrations — aligning stakeholders, timing releases, and driving adoption across complex organizations.
🤝
Stakeholder Management
Veteran of high-stakes executive alignment — from state agency briefings to GM global engineering leadership, keeping everyone pointed at the same goal.
⚡
Agile Leadership
CSPO-certified. Led cross-functional teams of PMs, BAs, UX, and engineers — keeping delivery on schedule in regulated, policy-heavy environments.

Selected Work

Featured Projects

From state government platforms processing millions of transactions, to enterprise infrastructure at global scale — a decade of shipping software that actually works.

Tyler Technologies · GovTech
Texas Online Private Security (TOPS)
Built a statewide licensing and compliance platform from 0→1 as Lead PM, overseeing 2 PMs across the full lifecycle. Delivered a mission-critical system adopted by law enforcement, private security firms, and state regulatory agencies — cutting operational overhead by over 45% and setting the standard for how the state manages security licensing.
0→1 BuildGovTechComplianceTeam Leadership
Texas DPS Platform
Tyler Technologies · GovTech
Regulatory Licensing & Permitting (RLP)
Took a blank slate and turned it into a multitenant SaaS platform used by government agencies across multiple states. Coordinated delivery across 3 cross-functional teams while personally leading product sales introductions with government agency clients — walking decision-makers through the platform, earning trust, and converting conversations into long-term partnerships.
0→1 BuildMultitenant SaaSGovTechSales & GTM
Multi-State Platform
General Motors · Enterprise
Enterprise Infrastructure Platform
Coordinated product work across 4 infrastructure teams, managing a roadmap that included 1,200+ server updates across global environments. Drove the build-out of a single source of truth for platform documentation — bringing clarity to a complex, multi-team landscape. Mentored incoming product owners and managed the external project backlog for a large strategic collaboration involving major enterprise partners.
4 TeamsInfrastructureDocumentationPM Mentoring
GM Internal · NDA
Tyler Technologies · GovTech
Illinois Statewide Hunt, Fish & Boating Platform
Led product definition and launch of Illinois' statewide licensure platform — a multimillion-dollar SaaS initiative unifying permits, reservations, and compliance across all state parks and natural resources agencies. Delivered on time, on budget, and became the model for subsequent statewide rollouts.
GovTechMulti-State SaaSGTM
Illinois DNR Platform
QualTex Laboratories · Healthcare
STARLIMS SaaS LIMS Implementation
Led the implementation of a SaaS laboratory information management platform across multi-site healthcare operations, improving automation, traceability, and audit readiness under FDA, AABB, and ISO oversight. Applied Lean and Six Sigma principles to reduce process deviations by double-digit percentages.
HealthcareRegulated Env.SaaS
BioBridge Global
Published August 18, 2025 · Hardcover & Kindle · ★ 5.0 on Amazon

The Simple SaaS Playbook,
Without the Jargon

In the second half of 2025, I stepped back from client work and finally wrote the book I had been putting off for years. The one I wished had existed at the start of my career.

SaaS can feel overwhelming — the acronyms, the buzzwords, the endless advice that sounds smart but doesn't actually help. Every founder and every team hits roadblocks. What matters isn't perfection. It's learning, adapting, and trying again with a clearer playbook. That's why I wrote this book.

The Simple SaaS Playbook is a down-to-earth guide for anyone building or working in SaaS — founders, product managers, UX managers, or teams just trying to make sense of it all. No overcomplicated models. No "thought leader" fluff. Think of it less like a manual and more like grabbing coffee with someone who's been through the ups and downs and wants to share what they learned along the way.

✓ Real stories of what worked — and what didn't
✓ Simple plays you can try with your own team
✓ A reminder that SaaS is a journey, and nobody has it all figured out
Published Aug 2025 ★ 5.0 Rating Hardcover & Kindle B2B SaaS Governance & Renewal Illustrated by Dan Peacock
Buy on Amazon → See More ↓
What's inside
Platform Adoption & Governance
Workflow Automation Without the Mess
Renewal Strategy & Customer Retention
Compliance in Regulated Environments
Rituals That Keep Teams Aligned
Product–Engineering Collaboration
How to Scale Without Losing Control
"
If you've ever felt like SaaS is full of noise, this playbook is here to clear the chalkboard so you can start fresh — and keep building, learning, and improving your own way. Because exits aren't setbacks. They're steppingstones.
— Firas Issa, from the book
The Simple SaaS Playbook without the Jargon by Firas Issa

Published Work

The Simple SaaS Playbook,
without the Jargon

A practical guide for B2B SaaS teams, state and enterprise organizations, and anyone tired of buzzword-heavy product advice. Covers governance, renewal, and the rituals that actually work — written from 10+ years of doing it in healthcare, government, and enterprise.

2025
Published
Hardcover
& Kindle
Amazon
Available Now
Buy on Amazon → View on Amazon

Career History

Experience & Education

Work Experience
Jun 2025 — Present
Product Strategy Consultant & Author
Self-Employed · Remote
Advising early-stage SaaS teams on product strategy and roadmap prioritization. Completed Microsoft AI PM Certification. Published The Simple SaaS Playbook on Amazon.
Aug 2021 — Jun 2025
Sr. Product Manager · Staff Systems Engineer
General Motors · Austin, TX
Owned the infrastructure roadmap for 1,200 global application nodes, delivering double-digit gains in performance, resiliency, and cost efficiency. Led EOL migration from legacy platform to modern SaaS toolchain, freeing a 6-engineer team to focus on core product delivery.
Jul 2014 — Jul 2021
Sr. Product Manager
Tyler Technologies (NIC Services) · Austin, TX
Owned end-to-end delivery for statewide SaaS platforms processing millions of public-facing transactions. Led Illinois’ Hunt, Fish & Boating Licensure platform launch and built Texas Online Private Security (TOPS) from the ground up, improving operational efficiency by 45%+.
Aug 2004 — Jul 2014
Product Manager & Quality Leader
QualTex Laboratories (BioBridge Global) · San Antonio, TX
Advanced from Quality Auditor to Product Manager over 10 years. Led STARLIMS SaaS LIMS implementation across multi-site operations. Applied Lean/Six Sigma to reduce process deviations and audit findings by double-digit percentages under FDA, AABB, and ISO oversight.
Education & Credentials
MBA
MBA, Management
Florida Institute of Technology
Graduate degree in Management with focus on business strategy and leadership.
BS
Bachelor of Science
Iowa State University
Undergraduate degree providing the technical and analytical foundation for a career in product and quality management.
Veteran
U.S. Army
United States Army
8 years of service. Military discipline and leadership principles continue to inform how I lead cross-functional teams and navigate complex, high-stakes environments.
Certified
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
Scrum Alliance
Certified in agile product ownership — backlog prioritization, sprint planning, and delivering continuous value to stakeholders.
Former Certified
Certified Quality Auditor (CQA)
ASQ — American Society for Quality
Former ASQ-certified quality auditor with deep expertise in quality systems, process improvement, and organizational compliance.
2025 — Completed
Microsoft AI Product Manager
Microsoft
Completed Microsoft's AI Product Manager certification — covering AI/ML product strategy, responsible AI, and integrating intelligent features into modern products.
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Download my complete resume as a PDF.
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Credentials

Certifications & Expertise

A multi-disciplinary credential stack spanning agile product ownership, AI strategy, and quality assurance.

Scrum Alliance
Certified Scrum Product Owner
CSPO

Expert-level agile product ownership — from backlog management and sprint planning to stakeholder communication and delivering continuous product value.

Active
ASQ — American Society for Quality
Certified Quality Auditor
CQA

Former ASQ-certified auditor with hands-on expertise in quality systems, process improvement frameworks, audit methodology, and organizational compliance standards.

Former
Microsoft
AI Product Manager
Microsoft AI PM

Just completed — covering AI/ML product strategy, responsible AI principles, prompt engineering for PMs, and building intelligent features into modern products.

New ✦

What Colleagues Say

Trusted by the people
who've seen the work

★★★★★

"Firas is a tenacious, customer-centric product manager who loves to dive deep into understanding customer needs and aspirations. He has a strong ability to drive product vision into successful features and was instrumental in expanding NIC's enterprise SaaS licensing platform across multiple states. He excels at leading cross-functional teams and brings a positive attitude that creates a collaborative environment where open communication and innovation thrive. I recommend Firas for any product leadership role."

MS
Michael Smith
Lead Product Manager · 20+ yrs B2B SaaS
Worked together at NIC / Tyler Technologies
★★★★★

"Firas is an extremely dedicated professional with a focus on details. He is a natural problem solver. His passion for doing things correctly shines through on a daily basis with his consistent drive towards improving systems and the organization. Firas is the 'Go To' individual in his department and takes pride in understanding in-depth the inner workings of the processes that are touched by his span of influence. He is a priceless asset."

NL
Nathan Lawrence, DBA
Transformation & Optimization Leader · LSSMBB
Senior to Firas · Former colleague
See all recommendations on LinkedIn Profile
✦ Let's Connect

Open to new roles &
collaborations

Based in Leander, TX. Whether you're hiring, want to collaborate on a project, or just want to talk product, SaaS, or AI — my inbox is open.

✉ firashissa@gmail.com