Product Lead - Engine by Starling

Starling Bank; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial technology company in London seeks a visionary Product Lead to shape its platform and drive product strategy. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in product management within financial services and a proven track record in leadership roles. This position involves collaboration across teams and mentoring high-caliber Product Owners. Salary package and remote work options are competitive, with substantial employee benefits.

Benefits

33 days holiday

Private Medical Insurance

Company enhanced pension scheme

Access to wellness platform

Volunteering time

Qualifications

• 7+ years in product management, with 3+ years leading teams.
• Experience in financial services, ideally within SaaS.
• Experience in developing products in client facing settings.
• Ability to manage ambiguity and lead complex projects.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and vision for the Engine platform.
• Lead and mentor Product Owners to design market-leading products.
• Collaborate with engineering and design teams to ensure alignment.
• Manage client interactions and represent product effectively.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Product management

Stakeholder management

User-centric design

Communication skills

Job description

At Engine by Starling, we are on a mission to find and work with leading banks all around the world who have the ambition to build rapid growth businesses, on our technology.

Engine is Starling's software-as-a-service (SaaS) business, the technology that was built to power Starling Bank, and two years ago we split out as a separate business.

Starling has seen exceptional growth and success, and a large part of that is down to the fact that we have built our own modern technology from the ground up. This SaaS technology platform is now available to banks and financial institutions all around the world, enabling them to benefit from the innovative digital features, and efficient back-office processes that has helped achieve Starling's success.

We draw upon our experience as knowledgeable bankers, and best in class technologists to become the chosen option for these banks, and preferred partners for leading consultancies.

Hybrid Working

We have a Hybrid approach to working here at Engine - our preference is that you're located within a commutable distance of one of our offices so that we're able to interact and collaborate in person.

About the role

We're looking for a visionary and experienced Product Lead to join our growing product team at Engine, reporting to our Chief Product Officer. This is a critical leadership role where you'll be instrumental in shaping the future of our platform, driving our product strategy, and evolving our product management practices. You'll lead and mentor talented Product Owners, guiding them through the exciting journey of scaling our platform and solidifying our product-led approach.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, is passionate about building world-class products, and has a proven track record of leadership and product development in a client facing organisation. You'll leverage your deep expertise in product management and leadership to ensure we build the right products, for the right reasons, at the right time, as we navigate the complexities of a rapidly scaling business.

What you’ll get to do

• Provide strategic leadership, product vision and strategy for key areas of the Engine platform, aligning it with the needs of our customers, and market opportunities.
• Lead and mentor a group of high caliber Product Owners to design and develop market leading products that have the ability to revolutionise the global banking landscape
• Drive Product best practices within the team and work as part of the Product Leadership Team to improve ways of working both within the product team, and how we interact with other teams, taking into account global scaling ambitions.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, design, business development and client facing delivery teams to ensure our roadmap reflects the needs of our clients and our strategy
• Ensure delivery rigour and accountability: Hold Product Owners accountable for delivery against product roadmaps, providing challenge and mentoring to proactively identify, investigate, and mitigate key risks
• Comfortable managing client interactions, representing product, skillfully running workshops to understand client needs, and managing difficult conversations with the objective of maintaining trust and relationships

Read more about our Product Consultant, Cam Jarvis's, time here: https://enginebystarling.com/careers/product-consultant/

• Have 7+ years in product management, with 3+ years of leading teams,
• Have experience in financial services, ideally with a specialism in one or more of our product areas (lending, savings, daily banking, fincrime, onboarding, payments, cards - this role will take on a group of POs who run these functions, and we will design the right split around the right candidate)
• Have experience in developing product in a client facing organisation, ideally a software-as-a-service business
• Bring hands‑on experience working in ambiguity and leading multiple squads or complex domains.
• Demonstrate experience shipping successful, user‑centric digital products in fast‑paced and evolving markets.
• Understand the value of written and verbal communication—articulating complex ideas clearly and concisely.
• Have strong stakeholder management and alignment skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Thrive in a collaborative environment where diverse opinions are welcomed and respected.

Interview process

Interviewing is a two way process and we want you to have the time and opportunity to get to know us, as much as we are getting to know you! Our interviews are conversational and we want to get the best from you, so come with questions and be curious. In general you can expect the below, following a chat with one of our Talent Team:

• First interview: ~45 minutes with Chief Product Officer
• Second Interview: ~1 hour with some members of the Product team, including a pre-prepared case study
• Final Interview: ~45 minutes with our CPO again and someone else from the Senior team

• 33 days holiday (including public holidays, which you can take when it works best for you)
• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4x your salary & group income protection
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
• Generous family‑friendly policies
• Incentives refer a friend scheme
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work, Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships and Electric Vehicle (EV) leasing

About us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway. We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking – and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Engine by Starling is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Engine by Starling are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

When you provide us with this information, you are doing so at your own consent, with full knowledge that we will process this personal data in accordance with our Privacy Notice. By submitting your application, you agree that Engine by Starling and Starling will collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we will process, where we will process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.