Founding Product Lead

52 Limited is partnering with an innovative, venture-backed technology company building an AI-native operating system for independent hotels. The platform is designed to replace fragmented legacy software, manual workflows, and disconnected tools with intelligent automation that helps hotel operators run their businesses more efficiently.

Following a record-setting seed funding round in hospitality technology, our client is building a small, highly talented team to redefine how independent hotels operate.

We're seeking a Founding Product Lead to become the company's first dedicated product hire. Working directly with the Founder & CEO, you'll have significant ownership over product strategy, discovery, design, prototyping, and execution.

This is an opportunity for a creative, hands-on product builder who thrives in ambiguity, has exceptional product judgment, and loves turning complex problems into simple, intuitive experiences.

What You'll Do

• Lead product discovery by working directly with customers to understand their workflows, challenges, and unmet needs.
• Translate customer insights, market research, and competitive analysis into meaningful product opportunities.
• Partner closely with the Founder & CEO to establish product priorities, define strategy, and identify opportunities for innovation.
• Own the product development process from initial concept and prototyping through launch, adoption, and iteration.
• Design intuitive user experiences, map workflows, and create prototypes that bring complex ideas to life.
• Rapidly build and test MVPs using AI tools, prototyping platforms, and custom engineering solutions.
• Collaborate closely with design and engineering teams to deliver high-quality products while balancing speed, simplicity, and technical feasibility.
• Develop AI-powered experiences that make automation accessible, transparent, and trustworthy.
• Use customer feedback, behavioral data, and product performance to continuously improve the user experience.
• Partner across Sales, Customer Success, Engineering, and other teams to ensure product decisions align with customer needs and business objectives.

What We're Looking For

• Demonstrated experience building and launching products or significant new features from zero to one, ideally within an early-stage startup or high-growth technology company.
• Exceptional product judgment, creativity, and a strong understanding of user experience and design principles.
• Hands-on experience with product discovery, prototyping, MVP development, and iterative product delivery.
• Ability to translate ambiguous business challenges into clear product strategies and actionable solutions.
• Technical fluency and the ability to collaborate effectively with software engineers on implementation decisions and tradeoffs.
• Experience leveraging AI-powered tools to accelerate product development, experimentation, or prototyping.
• Strong customer empathy paired with analytical thinking and a focus on measurable outcomes.
• A proactive, resourceful approach to problem-solving and the ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the confidence to make decisions and openness to feedback.
• Your background may be in product management, product design, software engineering, or entrepreneurship. We're most interested in what you've built, the decisions you've made, and the impact of your work rather than a specific job title.
• Experience in hospitality technology is a plus, but not required.

What Success Looks Like

• You consistently turn ambiguous opportunities into focused product decisions and successful launches.
• You create intuitive products that solve meaningful customer problems and drive adoption.
• You establish effective feedback loops that inform product improvements and future development.
• You help shape the company's product direction while building a strong foundation for continued growth.

Why This Opportunity?

• Founding Product Ownership: Become the first dedicated product hire with significant influence over product direction and execution.
• Direct Founder Collaboration: Work closely with the Founder & CEO to shape strategy and bring new ideas to market.
• AI Innovation: Help build an AI-native platform transforming an industry traditionally dependent on fragmented technology.
• High-Impact Environment: Join a well-funded, early-stage company where your decisions and contributions will directly influence its success.
• Collaborative Team: Work alongside a small, ambitious team of engineers and builders who value creativity, ownership, and execution.

Location

This is a full-time, onsite position based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY. Candidates must be able to work in person at the company's office.

About 52 Limited

52 Limited is a creative and technology staffing agency connecting exceptional talent with innovative companies nationwide. We specialize in helping organizations build teams that drive meaningful work across design, technology, and digital innovation.