Lead, Business Operations - Payward Services

Kraken; Portugal; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Kraken is seeking a Lead, Business Operations at Payward Services to act as the operating generalist for PWS. You will drive launch readiness, cadence, reporting, and strategic projects across Sales, Finance, Product, Engineering and Compliance.

You will automate manual workflows using AI, build repeatable launch processes, and partner with cross‑functional teams to bring new products and acquired businesses onto the PWS operating rhythm. This role reports to the head of PWS Business Operations.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in BizOps, RevOps, Strategy, or similar roles.
• Experience at payments, fintech, financial services, or crypto company.
• Owns a process end-to-end and drives it to done.
• Builds launch plans and automates workflows.
• Uses AI tools or no-code automation to reduce manual work.
• Clear communication across audiences (Sales, leadership, Engineering).
• Data-driven with rigorous attention to detail.
• Self-starter who creates roadmaps where none exist.

Responsibilities

• Act as operating partner to PWS leadership: run cadence, planning, reviews, and leadership updates.
• Automate manual work across the business with AI and integrations.
• Improve how partners launch with Solutions, Product, and Compliance to shorten go-live time.
• Bring new products and acquired businesses onto the PWS operating rhythm.
• Lead strategic and cross-functional projects critical to PWS success.

Skills

BizOps

RevOps

Strategy

Process ownership

Automation/AI tools

Cross-functional communication

Data-driven

Self-starter

Job description

Building the Future of Open Finance

Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.

Building the Future of Open Finance

Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.

The team

Payward Services is an enterprise infrastructure platform that enables companies to seamlessly integrate trading, payments, funding, and digital asset services through a single unified system. It provides coordinated liquidity, custody, compliance, risk management, and settlement capabilities, reducing operational complexity for fintechs, banks, brokerages, and payment providers.

As a Lead, Business Operations, you’ll be the operating generalist for PWS. Your core is partner launch and the operating rhythm behind the business, and from there you’ll take on whatever PWS needs to scale: launch readiness, operating cadence, reporting, and strategic projects with leadership. You’ll report to the head of PWS Business Operations and work with Sales, Finance, Product, Engineering, Legal, and Compliance, and the outcomes are yours. This is a builder role for someone who sees a broken process, fixes it, and keeps it running without being asked.

The opportunity

• Act as the operating partner to PWS leadership: run the business cadence, including planning, goal-setting, business reviews, and leadership updates, and track the metrics that show how PWS is performing
• Automate manual work across the business with AI and integrations, from partner launch checklists to reporting
• Improve how partners launch, working with Solutions, Product, and Compliance to build a repeatable launch process and shorten time to go-live
• Bring new products and acquired businesses onto the PWS operating rhythm
• Lead strategic and cross-functional projects that don’t fit neatly into a single team but are critical to PWS’s success

What You Bring

• 4+ years in BizOps, RevOps, Strategy, or similar roles, including in-house experience at a payments, fintech, financial services, or crypto company. Consulting experience is welcome alongside in-house work, not instead of it
• A track record of owning a process end to end and driving it to done: you’ve taken something messy, built the system, and kept it running without anyone chasing you
• Range: you’re as comfortable building a launch plan as you are automating a workflow, and you enjoy switching between them
• A builder’s instinct: you’ve used AI tools, scripts, or no-code automation to remove manual work instead of waiting for someone else to
• Clear communication across audiences: you can walk Sales through a new process, brief leadership on a decision, and write requirements Engineering can build from
• Comfort with data and rigorous attention to detail
• Self-starter who creates the roadmap when one doesn’t exist

Nice to haves

• Background in payments, card programs, or crypto infrastructure

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

Our commitment

Payward is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives that everyone brings to the table. We hire based on merit, seeking out people with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgeable about crypto.

We may ask candidates to complete job‑related skills or work‑style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Results are considered alongside experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.

As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

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