Product Operations Lead

Interested in working on cutting‑edge blockchain technology and creating equitable access to the global financial system? Since 2014, the mission‑driven team at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has helped fuel the tremendous growth of the Stellar blockchain network, an open‑source platform that operates at high‑scale today. Developers and companies around the world build on it, and the SDF team is expanding to support the rapidly growing and changing Stellar ecosystem.

SDF is creating its first dedicated Product Operations role, and we are looking for an experienced operator to stand it up. As our founding Product Operations Lead, you will own the operational backbone of the Product organization — the systems, cadences, and standards that help our PMs, designers, and engineers plan, build, and ship consistently and at a high bar. You are a hands‑on builder who works from first principles, and you are excited to bring proven product‑ops practice to a fast‑moving, mission‑driven team — including identifying where AI and agentic workflows can change how product work gets done.

In this role, you will:

• In your first 30 days: learn how Product currently plans and ships, identify the highest‑leverage gaps, and propose a lightweight operating model.
• Within 90 days: stand up the core operating cadences (planning cycles, product reviews, roadmap and execution tracking) and define the PM tool stack.
• Own and evolve the operating system Product uses to plan, track, and communicate work — roadmaps, planning artifacts, and execution tracking — in close partnership with Engineering.
• Design and run lightweight operating cadences (planning cycles, product reviews, execution check‑ins) without adding unnecessary process.
• Improve visibility into priorities, progress, and decisions across the product organization.
• Identify where automation, AI, and agents can materially change how product work gets done, and turn those ideas into adopted capabilities.
• Build systems that capture and share high‑quality product work (e.g., great PRDs) and decisions to raise the bar and accelerate learning across teams.
• Be the internal voice of the customer and ecosystem: build structured feedback loops and synthesize signal into roadmap inputs.
• Over time, own PM onboarding and enablement, and partner with Product leadership to reinforce a high‑performing product culture (Product All Hands, summits / onsites).

You have:

• 6+ years in Product Operations, Technical Program Management, or a similar role in a fast‑moving, product‑led organization.
• A track record of standing up or significantly scaling a product operating model from a blank page.
• Strong systems thinking; you design operating models that scale without adding bureaucracy.
• A scrappy, high‑ownership executor who gets things done and is comfortable building in ambiguity.
• Strong analytical skills (quantitative and qualitative) and clear, concise written and verbal communication.
• Strong product instincts and genuine empathy for PMs and cross‑functional partners.
• Hands‑on familiarity with AI tools and a point of view on where agentic workflows can accelerate product work.

Bonus Points if:

• You have been a founding or first product‑ops hire.
• Prior technical experience, or deep curiosity to build technical fluency in our products.
• Experience in crypto / blockchain, fintech, or developer‑platform companies.
• Experience building agentic workflows or tooling to support product / engineering processes.

We offer competitive pay with a base salary range for this position of $170,000 - $245,000 depending on job‑related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, we offer lumen‑denominated grants along with the following perks and benefits:

Benefits:

• Competitive health, dental & vision coverage with most plans covered at 100% for the employee + any dependents
• Flexible time off + 15 company holidays including a company‑wide holiday break
• Generous paid parental leave for all parents, plus paid pregnancy disability leave for birthing parents
• Gym reimbursement ($80 per month)
• Life & ADD (up to $50K)
• Short & Long term disability
• 401K with 4% match
• Health & Dependent Care FSA Accounts
• Commuter benefits with $250/month employer contribution
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with monthly employer contribution
• Family building benefits through Kindbody
• Wellbeing benefits (One Medical, Rightway, Headspace)
• L&D budget of $1,500/year
• Daily lunch and snacks in office
• Company retreats

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SDF is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. SDF does not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state or federal law.