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Product Owner

  • Location Not Submitted
  • Salary $115k/year - 180k/year
  • Job Type Full Time
  • Posted October 21, 2025

The Opportunity in One Line

Join a talent-dense technology company building category-defining community banking products, where this role ships product directly with engineers while operating at a strategic level that shapes the future of financial products.

Why This Role Matters

Our client is at an inflection point in community banking. More than 350 financial institutions already rely on the organization’s products, and two entirely new product lines are launching alongside an established flagship offering. This role provides a rare opportunity to build products from zero-to-one while immediately impacting hundreds of banks and millions of end customers.

This position reports directly to the Chief Product & Technology Officer, offering close exposure to strategic decision-making, technical architecture discussions, and executive-level mentorship. The structure is intentionally non-hierarchical, emphasizing a tight-knit builder relationship and shared ownership of product direction.

This is not a traditional Product Manager role. Our client operates AI-first: Product Managers function as Product Builders who prototype using modern AI tools and remove friction between strategy and execution. The environment is designed for individuals who thrive in fast-moving, high-velocity product development settings.

What Sets Our Client Apart

  • Small team, high leverage. A lean product organization supported by a strong engineering team serving hundreds of financial institutions. Individual decisions meaningfully influence company direction.
  • Ship-to-learn culture. A strong bias toward execution, rapid iteration, and scope discipline. Emphasis is placed on learning through shipping rather than extended planning cycles.
  • Elite product practices. Progressive documentation standards, tight alignment across Product, Engineering, and Design, and disciplined use of modern delivery tools to support continuous delivery.
  • AI-augmented workflows. AI is embedded throughout the product lifecycle—from discovery and analysis to prototyping and delivery—compressing cycle times and improving output quality.

The Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is early in their career (approximately 2–4 years of experience) and comes from elite consulting, high-growth technology environments, or top-tier product development programs. This individual combines analytical rigor with strong builder instincts and has direct experience writing code, shipping products, or prototyping solutions.

Core Competencies

  • Systems thinking at speed: Ability to quickly deconstruct complex problems, identify root causes, and understand cross-functional dependencies
  • AI-native product building: Proficiency with modern AI-enabled tools to translate strategy into working prototypes rapidly
  • Product judgment under uncertainty: Sound decision-making around tradeoffs between speed, quality, and long-term foundations
  • Technical fluency: Credible engagement with engineering teams on APIs, data models, and system architecture
  • Clarity and velocity: Clear communication, decisive execution, and consistent elimination of ambiguity

Mindset Attributes

  • Strong interest in AI and its implications for product development
  • Deep customer empathy grounded in data and user insights
  • High intellectual curiosity and comfort challenging assumptions
  • Low-ego, highly collaborative working style
  • Strong product and design intuition with an appreciation for elegant solutions

Key Responsibilities

The primary responsibility of this role is to build durable, high-impact products that customers value and competitors benchmark.

Strategic Product Ownership

  • Own end-to-end product responsibility for a core product line from concept through scale
  • Define product vision, roadmap, and success metrics in partnership with leadership
  • Make high-impact prioritization decisions, including what to build, defer, partner on, or discontinue
  • Act as the internal advocate for the end user using data-driven insights

Hands-On Product Development & Discovery

  • Develop PRDs, MVPs, and early prototypes using AI-enabled tools
  • Lead discovery efforts including user interviews, competitive analysis, and jobs-to-be-done research
  • Run rapid experimentation cycles to test, learn, and iterate
  • Ruthlessly scope features to minimum viable detail and validate through user feedback and metrics

Cross-Functional Enablement

  • Enable Sales, Marketing, and Support teams with product knowledge and positioning
  • Develop clear, compelling messaging tailored to community and mid-sized financial institutions
  • Drive delivery efficiency by removing blockers and supporting continuous improvement

Market & Competitive Insight

  • Monitor regulatory changes, fintech trends, and competitive movements
  • Translate industry complexity into defensible product opportunities
  • Build subject-matter expertise in banking products, analytics, and relationship-driven financial services

Success Milestones

  • By Month 3: Initial product capabilities shipped; strong alignment with engineering; clear perspective on product direction
  • By Month 6: Recognized internally as a product expert; trusted by Sales and Engineering partners
  • By Month 12: Leadership of multiple zero-to-one initiatives with measurable impact on key product metrics and expanded scope

Hiring Process

Stage 1: Application & Introductory Call (30 minutes)

Initial conversation focused on background, experience, and mutual alignment.

Stage 2: Project Deep Dive (60 minutes)

In-depth discussion of a significant project to understand problem-solving approach, prioritization, and execution.

Stage 3: Live Case Study (90 minutes)

Real-world product scenario evaluating analytical thinking, technical fluency, and product judgment.

Stage 4: Culture & Leadership Conversations

Multiple conversations with team members and leadership to assess collaboration style and values alignment.

Timeline: The process moves quickly, with offers typically extended within 1–2 weeks for strong candidates.

Compensation & Benefits

Our client offers competitive compensation packages, including base salary and equity, aligned with top-tier fintech organizations. Comprehensive benefits and remote flexibility are provided. Compensation details are discussed during the interview process and calibrated based on experience and location.

Next Steps

Candidates seeking meaningful ownership, high execution velocity, and the opportunity to build AI-enabled products at scale are encouraged to apply.

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