Product Owner

Who are we?

At Finastra, we’re a global leader in financial services software, dedicated to expanding access to financial services and shaping what’s next for the industry. Our technology powers mission-critical solutions across Lending, Payments and Universal Banking, supporting over 7,000 customers, including 80% of the world’s top 50 banks, in more than 110 countries.

Disclaimer:

Finastra has signed an agreement to sell its Universal Banking business to Pollen Street Capital, with completion expected end 2026 / early 2027, subject to consultation and customary closing conditions. Upon completion, this role is expected to transition to the standalone Universal Banking business, creating opportunities to support its future growth and success.

Role Overview

As a Product Owner for Core Banking (Techno-Functional), you will support Product Director by focusing on Core Banking, Data & AI and translating cross-product solution objectives into actionable product backlogs, solution blueprints, epics, user stories, acceptance criteria, and delivery-ready increments. The role operates across core banking domains, including legacy and modern cores, lending, payments, data, reporting, AI/ML, APIs, events, migration and extensibility frameworks.

This role bridges product strategy, execution, and customer outcomes, requiring deep collaboration across Payments, Lending, digital channels, Data, Analytics and integration ecosystems. You will play a critical role in executing the product direction, ensuring readiness across the product lifecycle-from requirement intake through delivery and adoption.

Key Responsibilities

1. Techno-Functional Requirements & Product Development

• Lead end-to-end requirement lifecycle, translating business needs into integrated functional and technical specifications, including system interactions, APIs, and data models.
• Collaborate with engineering team squads to deliver scalable features.
• Perform detailed impact and dependency analysis across core modules, upstream/downstream systems, integrations, and data flows, ensuring end-to-end solution integrity.
• Decompose complex capabilities into epics, user stories, and technical tasks with clear acceptance criteria.

2. Stakeholder & Customer Engagement

• Act as a key liaison across product, engineering, implementation teams, and customers.
• Engage with product owners, functional consultants, and client stakeholders to validate requirements and refine solutions.
• Gather, analyze, and reconcile inputs from multiple sources to drive aligned decisions.
• Conduct product demos and walkthroughs for internal and external stakeholders.

3. Product Quality & Delivery Excellence

• Own business acceptance testing and validation of delivered features to ensure alignment with requirements.
• Distinguish between defects and enhancements and ensure proper prioritization.
• Drive delivery accountability by working closely with cross-functional teams during release cycles.
• Drive clarity on functional vs. technical dependencies and constraints.

4. Cross-Product Solution Pattern Execution

• Convert cross-product solution themes into practical artefacts, including solution blueprints, capability maps, journey maps, dependency views and implementation-ready product requirements.
• Support solution patterns spanning Midas, Equation, Essence, Lending, Payments, Data, Analytics, Reporting and AI/ML capabilities.
• Identify cross-product dependencies and ensure they are visible, prioritized and managed through the relevant product backlogs.

5. Migration and Modernization Support

• Support the productization of migration and coexistence frameworks, including legacy-to-modern core transition, progressive migration and multi-core operating models.
• Define backlog items for migration accelerators, reconciliation controls, transformation playbooks and cutover-supporting product capabilities.
• Partner with Professional Services and Architecture to capture migration lessons learned and convert them into reusable product assets.

6. Core Banking Product Technology Stack Alignment - Product Perspective

• Translate product-side technology needs into clear business and product requirements for APIs, events, data architecture, integration patterns, cloud readiness, SaaS readiness, AI readiness and interoperability.
• Provide product ownership support for technology governance items without taking over CTO, Architecture or Engineering decision rights.
• Ensure technology evolution supports customer value, implementation efficiency, upgradeability and product differentiation

7. Integration & Ecosystem Alignment

• Collaborate with adjacent product domains such as:
  • Payments systems
  • Lending interactions
  • Digital banking channels
  • ATM/Switch integrations
• Ensure seamless interoperability across APIs, services, and partner systems.

8. Data, Analytics & Regulatory Alignment

• Define data ownership, lineage, and processing considerations across systems
• Ensure product supports auditability, traceability, GDPR, data protection and data for the regulatory reporting
• Collaborate with analytics teams to support:
  • Operational dashboards
  • Customer analytics and ML use cases
• Ability to define and validate data flow across transaction data → reporting → Analytics layers.

9. Extensibility and Customization Design

• Ability to define and govern customization approaches including:
  • Extensions over core product modifications
  • Plug-in v/s microservice-based enhancements
• Ensure customizations are loosely coupled, upgrade-safe and scalable
• Define, evolve, and govern a product-aligned customization framework (SDK) that enables extensibility of core banking capabilities while preserving product integrity, scalability, and upgradeability including:
  • Define Extensibility patterns (configuration, APIs, events, plug-ins, microservices)
  • Collaborate with engineering and architecture teams to design and deliver a robust, secure, and scalable SDK/tooling ecosystem Developer tooling, documentation, and sample implementations
  • Alignment with architecture standards (API-first, event-driven, cloud-native)

10. Documentation & Knowledge Enablement

• Partner with technical writers to produce clear, comprehensive product documentation.
• Ensure documentation supports both internal teams and client implementations.
• Enable consistent product knowledge across teams.

11. Adoption, Training & Enablement

• Identify training needs across internal teams and customers.
• Design and deliver product training programs and feature enablement sessions.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) across both domain and technical capabilities.

Required Experience & Skills

Domain Expertise

• 5+ years of experience in core banking product management or solution architecture.
• Strong understanding of:
  • Core banking systems (CASA, lending, deposits)
  • Payments ecosystems (clearing, real-time, cards)
  • Digital and channel integrations
  • ATM/Switch/Gateway integrations
• Experience with legacy and modern core banking platforms, preferably including coexistence, migration or transformation contexts.

Technical & Analytical Skills

• Solid understanding of:
  • REST APIs and service-based architectures
  • Microservices fundamentals
  • SQL and data analysis basics
  • Cloud-native environments like Azure
  • Integration patterns (middleware, ESB, event streaming)
• Ability to interpret and influence high-level and detailed architecture designs.
• The role requires strong expertise in designing and governing core banking customization frameworks that enable client-specific flexibility while preserving product integrity, scalability, and upgradeability

Product & Delivery Skills

• Hands-on experience with:
  • Agile/Scrum methodologies
  • SDLC processes and release management
  • Requirement lifecycle management (intake → refinement → delivery → validation)
  • Ability to handle multiple parallel initiatives in a fast-paced environment.

Stakeholder Management

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to work across technical and business teams.
• Proven ability to influence without authority and drive alignment across diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to translate between business language and technical constructs.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Experience mentoring junior team members and driving quality outcomes.
• Strong collaboration skills across engineering, consulting, and customer teams.

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Computer Science, or related field.
• MBA or equivalent advanced degree is a plus
• Product management certifications (e.g., Pragmatic, Scrum Product Owner) are highly desirable.

Preferred Attributes (Differentiators)

• Experience in product-led organizations or platform-based banking systems wherereusability, upgradeability and implementation scalability are strategic objectives.
• Exposure to cloud-native core banking architectures.
• Experience in core banking transformation, migration, coexistence or multi-core banking programmes.
• Strong understanding of regulatory and compliance considerations in banking.
• Track record of driving customer-centric enhancements and adoption outcomes.
• Exposure to Open Banking & API ecosystems, Advanced Analytics and ML-driven products
• Strong understanding of regulatory frameworks (FCA, PRA, PSD2, GDPR), data governance and auditability in banking systems

We are proud to offer a range of incentives to our employees worldwide. These benefits are available to everyone, regardless of grade, and reflect the values we stand for:

Flexibility: Enjoy unlimited vacation, subject to local regulations and business priorities. Benefit from hybrid working arrangements and inclusive policies such as paid time off for voting, bereavement, and sick leave.

Well-being: Access confidential one-to-one support through our Employee Assistance Program, connect with our network of Wellbeing Champions and Gather Groups, and take part in monthly events and initiatives designed to help you thrive-inside and outside of work.

Health & Financial Security: Medical, life and disability insurance, retirement plans, lifestyle, and other benefits.*

Sustainability: Paid time off for volunteering and donation-matching opportunities to support causes that matter to you.

Inclusion: Get involved in our inclusion communities, such as Count Me In, Culture@Finastra, Proud@Finastra, Disabilities@Finastra, and Women@Finastra-open to everyone who wants to participate and contribute.

Career Development: Access online learning and accredited courses through our Skills & Career Navigator tool.

Recognition: Take part in our global recognition program, Finastra Celebrates, and share your voice through regular employee surveys that help shape our culture and ways of working.

*Specific benefits may vary by location.

At Finastra, each individual is unique-bringing their own ideas, perspectives, cultural backgrounds, and experiences. We learn from one another, value what makes us different, and create an environment where everyone feels included, supported, and able to be their authentic selves.

Be unique. Be exceptional. Help us make a difference at Finastra.