Market Product Leader - REITs

The Asset Owners product team builds and evolves Clearwater Analytics' solutions for asset owners — including pension funds, corporations, REITs, foundations, and other institutional investors managing their own portfolios.

Role Summary

We're looking for a Market Product Leader to own Clearwater's point of view, product direction, and growth plan for the REIT market. This role is accountable for defining and sizing the market, segmenting it by buying behavior, naming the job each segment is trying to get done and the gap between that job and what Clearwater does today, and converting that analysis into a funded roadmap and a go-to-market playbook. REITs span a wide range of balance sheets — from equity REITs running corporate treasury and debt programs to mortgage REITs running leveraged securities portfolios with derivatives and repo financing — and a central part of this role is deciding where Clearwater plays across that range. This role partners closely with R&D/Engineering, GTM/Sales, Marketing, Client Services, and Finance, and sits alongside the Market Product Leaders for Corporate Treasury, Pensions, and Endowments, Funds & Trusts. This role owns the commercial outcome for REITs and is measured on ACV growth, win rate, and retention in the market.

Key Responsibilities

Market Point of View

• Define the REIT market in plain terms and size it — total addressable market, serviceable addressable market, and the share Clearwater has already captured — with every number sourced and the basis for each estimate stated.

• Segment the market by buying behavior rather than by label, covering listed equity REITs, mortgage REITs, non-traded and private REITs, and real estate operating partnerships and fund structures.

• Be explicit about where the buying behavior diverges most — an equity REIT buying cash, debt, and short-term investment capability is a different buyer from a mortgage REIT buying securities accounting, hedge accounting, and financing support.

• Score each segment on attractiveness and on Clearwater's right to win, and make an explicit call to prioritize, hold, or deprioritize.

• Keep the point of view current as a living document, and be clear at all times about what is validated, what is estimated, and what is still open.

Product Strategy & Roadmap

• Translate the capability gaps identified in the point of view into a prioritized, sequenced product roadmap for the market.

• Partner with R&D/Engineering leads to size the work, confirm capacity, and agree sequencing before commitments are made externally.

• Make and defend build, buy, or partner recommendations, including the business case behind each.

• Identify capability bets that serve REITs and one or more other asset owner markets — debt servicing, hedge accounting, and financing workflows are the obvious candidates — and work with peer Market Product Leaders so those are built once.

• Represent client and market context in solutioning discussions so trade-offs are made with full information.

Domain Requirements

• Own the accounting and reporting requirements that shape buying in this market, including GAAP and tax-basis reporting, the REIT distribution and income tests, Nareit-aligned FFO and AFFO reporting, and SEC reporting for listed and non-traded filers.

• Own the requirements that come with leveraged and hedged balance sheets, including agency and non-agency securitized products, repo and warehouse financing, TBA positions, and interest rate hedging under ASC 815.

• Own the corporate-side requirements shared with treasury buyers, including operating cash and liquidity, short-term investment portfolios, credit facilities, and debt servicing.

• Work with Engineering on what has to be true in the data model and the accounting engine to serve these structures without one-off client-specific development.

Go-to-Market Leadership

• Define the ideal client profile and the whitespace target list, and work with Sales to turn it into named-account coverage.

• Own positioning, messaging, and the competitive narrative for the market, including displacement plays against incumbent systems, servicer and administrator reporting, and spreadsheet-based processes.

• Partner with Finance and Sales on pricing and packaging for the market, including how to price balance sheets whose size and composition move differently from a traditional asset owner portfolio.

• Build enablement for Sales and Client Services, and support strategic pursuits directly as the market expert.

• Run win/loss analysis and feed what it says back into the roadmap and the positioning.

Client & Market Engagement

• Build direct relationships with REIT chief financial officers, treasurers, controllers, and portfolio finance teams, and with the auditors, administrators, and advisors who influence their technology decisions.

• Represent Clearwater at industry events and in analyst conversations, and bring back a structured read on what the market is asking for.

• Maintain a working view of competitors, adjacent providers, and the systems Clearwater most often displaces or sits beside.

Customer Health & Retention

• Own the health of the installed REIT base — satisfaction, retention, and concession pressure — and treat an unhealthy base as a gate on further penetration until it is remediated.

• Partner with Client Services and the client delight function to get recurring pain points scoped and fixed rather than managed around.

• Report market performance to leadership on a regular cadence, including where the plan is off track and what is being done about it.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in product management, market strategy, or commercial leadership within real estate finance, institutional investment management, or investment technology.

• Direct, substantive exposure to REITs — listed equity, mortgage, or non-traded — and a working understanding of how these organizations are structured, financed, and governed.

• Working knowledge of the accounting and reporting these entities answer to, including GAAP and tax-basis reporting, REIT qualification requirements, FFO and AFFO, and hedge accounting.

• Demonstrated ownership of a market, segment, or product line, with accountability for revenue growth rather than for delivery alone.

• Strong quantitative instincts. Comfortable building and defending market sizing, segmentation, and penetration analysis from primary data, and rigorous about sourcing.

• Comfortable engaging directly with engineers on technical scope, architecture trade-offs, and sequencing.

• Excellent written and verbal communication, with a track record of getting senior stakeholders to a decision.

• Experience in fintech, SaaS, or investment management technology preferred.

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA, CPA, CFA, or relevant advanced degree a plus.

What Success Looks Like

• A published, internally pressure-tested point of view for REITs that leadership can allocate against, including a clear call on which REIT structures Clearwater serves and which it does not.

• A funded roadmap, sequenced with Engineering, that closes the gaps the point of view identified.

• ACV growth in the market against plan, with a visible shift from growth carried by asset appreciation toward growth that is actively sold.

• Improved win rate in competitive REIT pursuits.

• Retention and client satisfaction in the REIT base at or above the Asset Owner average.

• A measurable reduction in client-specific development required to onboard a new REIT, as recurring structures move into the core product.

• Effective, trusted partnership with GTM, Engineering, Client Services, and Finance.

Salary Range

$179,400.00 - $243,136.45

This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on relevant experience, other job-related qualifications/skills, and geographic location (to account for comparative cost of living). The Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. For this role, benefits include: health/vision/dental insurance, 401(k), PTO, parental leave, and medical leave, STD/LTD insurance benefits. Clearwater Analytics is An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age or any other federally protected class.