Principal Project Manager

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Principal Project Manager to lead the strategy, development, launch, and growth of complex, data-intensive products within the payments, financial technology, risk, or identity space. This is a highly strategic, hands-on role responsible for owning a multi-year product vision and translating that vision into an actionable roadmap with measurable business outcomes.

The ideal candidate brings deep domain expertise in payments, bank account verification, fraud, identity, risk, fintech, or financial services, combined with a strong track record of delivering complex products from early customer discovery through launch, adoption, and scale.

This role requires close collaboration with Engineering and Data Science teams and offers significant ownership across product strategy, customer discovery, roadmap execution, adoption, pricing, cost management, revenue, and profitability.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Vision

• Own and develop the multi-year vision and strategic roadmap for complex data-driven products and product portfolios.
• Identify opportunities to expand products into additional payment instruments, data services, and related financial solutions.
• Translate market trends, customer needs, competitive intelligence, and business objectives into clear product strategies.
• Balance near-term customer and business priorities with long-term platform and product investments.
• Establish measurable goals and success metrics aligned with adoption, revenue, profitability, and customer value.

Product Development & Execution

• Lead products through the full lifecycle, from early customer discovery and validation through development, launch, adoption, and scale.
• Develop and prioritize product roadmaps based on customer needs, market opportunities, technical feasibility, and business impact.
• Partner closely with Engineering and Data Science to define requirements and deliver scalable API, platform, data, and AI/ML-enabled products.
• Translate complex technical and business requirements into clear product objectives and actionable development plans.
• Drive cross-functional alignment and accountability to ensure products are delivered on time and achieve intended outcomes.
• Continuously evaluate product performance and identify opportunities for improvement and expansion.

Customer Discovery & Market Development

• Conduct customer discovery to understand workflows, pain points, business requirements, and emerging needs.
• Work directly with customers and stakeholders to validate product concepts and refine product direction.
• Develop strategies that drive customer adoption, engagement, retention, and long-term product value.
• Translate customer feedback and market insights into product improvements and new opportunities.
• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders across technical, operational, and executive functions.

Business & Financial Ownership

• Take ownership of key business outcomes, including product adoption, pricing, cost, revenue, and profitability.
• Develop business cases and financial models to evaluate product opportunities and investments.
• Monitor product economics and identify opportunities to improve margins and operational efficiency.
• Partner with Finance, Sales, Marketing, and executive leadership to align product strategy with broader business objectives.
• Use data and performance metrics to guide prioritization and investment decisions.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as a senior product leader and strategic partner to Engineering, Data Science, Design, Sales, Marketing, Operations, and executive leadership.
• Lead complex initiatives across multiple teams and organizational functions.
• Communicate product strategy, priorities, tradeoffs, progress, and business outcomes clearly to senior stakeholders.
• Build alignment among stakeholders with competing priorities and drive decisions toward measurable outcomes.
• Provide leadership and mentorship to product management teams and contribute to product management best practices.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of product management experience with demonstrated ownership of complex products, platforms, or product portfolios.
• Significant experience in payments, bank account verification, fraud, identity, risk, fintech, financial services, or a closely related domain.
• Proven experience developing and managing data-intensive products.
• Strong experience working closely with Engineering and Data Science teams on API, platform, data, or AI/ML products.
• Demonstrated ability to develop multi-year product strategies and translate them into roadmaps that result in shipped products and measurable outcomes.
• Strong understanding of customer discovery, product development, commercialization, and product lifecycle management.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex cross-functional initiatives and influence senior stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to use data to drive product decisions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment with a high degree of ownership and accountability.

Key Competencies

• Strategic product leadership
• Payments and financial services domain expertise
• Data-intensive product development
• Customer discovery and product validation
• API and platform product management
• AI/ML and data product collaboration
• Roadmap development and execution
• Business and financial acumen
• Cross-functional leadership
• Executive communication
• Analytical and data-driven decision-making
• Commercialization, adoption, and growth
• Strong ownership and accountability