Program Launch Manager

Cardless

San Francisco (CA)

On-site

USD 145,000 - 180,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Start-up equity

Health, vision & dental coverage

Dependent coverage

Catered lunches

Commuter benefit

Parental leave

Team events & happy hours

Flexible PTO

Apple equipment

401k plan

Job summary

Cardless is seeking a Launch Operations Manager to own end-to-end brand program launches in our San Francisco office. You will manage the launch plan, coordinate across banks, networks, and vendors, and keep all stakeholders aligned on timelines, risks, and blockers.

We value 2–6 years of cross-functional delivery experience, fintech familiarity, and a calm, detail-oriented operating style. The role offers a starting salary range of $145,000–$180,000 plus equity and benefits, with an in-office

Qualifications

2–6 years in roles where you shipped complex cross-functional work.
Led at least one project with five+ parties delivering on the same date and you were accountable.
Fintech, payments, or financial services exposure; comfortable learning underwriting/compliance concepts.

Responsibilities

Own the launch plan for new brand programs from signed deals to cards in wallets.
Manage and execute the launch process and trackers with daily standups, partner syncs, and executive updates.
Identify blockers early and escalate with a proposed solution.
Learn and track how each function contributes to a launch (policy, configuration, rewards, funding, compliance, etc).
Coordinate deliverables across issuing banks, card networks, processors, and vendors.

Skills

Detail oriented

Cross-functional communication

Launch management

Job description

Cardless is a Series C consumer fintech that makes it easy for the world's largest brands to build credit cards into their ecosystems. Brands use Cardless to configure, launch, and grow credit card programs that delight their customers and strengthen their core business.

Customers include Coinbase, Bilt Rewards, Alibaba, Qatar Airways, and LATAM Airlines. Cardless powers cards on all three major networks (Visa, Mastercard, and American Express) and uses AI-powered servicing to operate at a fraction of the headcount traditional card issuers require.

The company has scaled from $10 million to $150 million in run rate revenue in the past 12 months. Cardless raised a $60 million Series C led by Spark Capital in September 2025, bringing total funding past $170 million. The team is past 50 people and scaling toward profitability by year-end 2026.

What you will do

RUN LAUNCHES END TO END

Own the launch plan for new brand programs from signed deals to cards in wallets - the timeline, the dependencies, the DRIs, and the single source of truth everyone works from.
Manage and execute the launch process and associated trackers on a daily basis: daily standups, partner syncs, and executive updates. Everyone should always know what's on track, what's at risk, and what you need from them.
Find blockers early and clear them yourself where you can - and when you do need to escalation, come with a proposed answer.

GO DEEP ON EVERY WORKFLOW

Learn (and track) how each function does its part of a launch: credit policy and underwriting setup, program configuration, rewards design, funding and settlement, compliance and bank approvals, fraud controls, servicing readiness, and card fulfillment.
Get into the details other people skip - the disclosure that hasn't been reviewed, the test case nobody ran, the vendor deliverable with no owner. Launches fail on small details, and it's your job to catch them.

COORDINATE PARTNERS AND VENDORS

Act as the launch-facing point of contact for the brand partner's team, and manage the shared plan across both companies.
Coordinate deliverables across the issuing bank, card networks, processors, and vendors - each with their own timelines, requirements, and quirks.
Keep external parties honest on dates the same way you do internal teams.

What we are looking for

EXPERIENCE

2–6 years in roles where you shipped complex cross-functional work: launch or program management, operations, consulting, banking, or early-stage startup operating roles.
You have run at least one project where five or more parties had to deliver on the same date, and you were the person accountable for the whole thing.
Enough fintech, payments, or financial services exposure to know the terminology and what's what. You don't need to be an expert in underwriting or compliance or card fulfillment on day one - but you do need the curiosity to become one.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

Detail oriented to an extreme: You read everything, and you notice when something doesn't add up - a date that quietly moved, a number that doesn't match the tracker, a requirement nobody actually closed out.
Comfortable across functions: You can follow an engineering conversation about an integration cutover and a compliance conversation about disclosures, and explain each side to the other. You won't be the expert in most of these rooms, but you can never be lost in them.
Calm when things break: Something always breaks close to launch. You re-plan, tell everyone what changed, and keep the room steady.

Why this role

Cardless is at an inflection point: the company has found product-market fit, raised the capital to scale, and is now executing against a clear roadmap to profitability. The work is consequential and the pace is fast. Launches are the moments the whole company organizes around, and this role sits at the center of every one.

And nobody runs launches forever. After a few of them you will understand how this entire business works better than almost anyone, and success looks like graduating into another part of the company - maybe a functional area you connected with along the way, maybe full oversight of one of our brand programs. People who have sat in this seat have gone on to senior operating and product roles here, and we expect the same for you.

Compensation

This role has an annual starting salary range of $145,000–$180,000 + equity + benefits. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skills, experience, and specific work location.

Benefits