UX Designers and Product Managers are usually working side by side throughout the life cycle of a project. They have distinct roles and responsibilities and their skills are applicable to different parts of the product development. There is, however, a small overlap between the two professions as well as areas of mutual alignment. In broad terms, UX Designers deal with all the areas regarding users while product managers are more focused on the business side of things.
The overlapping areas between UX designers and Product Managers can be found when establishing KPIs, defining use case scenarios for new products and conducting research in the various domains affecting the product. Both disciplines can have a deep understanding of the problem area the product is trying to solve, the user needs and business objectives. UX Designers can also get absorbed into tasks formally associated with product managers as they progress into senior roles. As they gather experience on the inner working of the company UX Designers can inform business decisions, take a more active role in defining the vision of products and collaborate more with the developers for a better implementation of the product. In the long run, it is very likely that a senior UX Designer will turn into a full-fledged Product manager bridging the two roles within a company.
