Vice President, Head of Product

Vice President, Head of Product

Koalafi is seeking a strategic and transformational Vice President of Product to lead our Product organization, which includes both Product Management and Product Design functions. Reporting to the CPTO, this executive will be responsible for the company-wide product strategy and roadmap, partnering closely with the CPTO and executive leadership team to shape the long-term direction of the business.

As our VP of Product, you will lead a team of 6 direct reports and oversee the broader Product organization. You will elevate product thinking across the company, strengthen discovery and execution capabilities, and ensure our roadmap drives measurable customer and business outcomes.

This role requires both visionary leadership and operational discipline, combining customer empathy, analytical rigor, and strategic judgment in a fintech environment where growth must be balanced with risk, compliance, and long-term portfolio performance.

Product Strategy & Business Impact

• Co-create and refine Koalafi's long-term product vision in partnership with the CPTO
• Define and own a multi-year product strategy aligned to company growth and profitability goals
• Translate strategic priorities into a clear, outcome-driven roadmap across product lines
• Identify new market opportunities, platform investments, and innovation bets
• Serve as the voice of Product in company-level strategic planning

Fintech Product Leadership: Growth with Risk Discipline

• Lead product strategy within a fintech environment, balancing customer growth, conversion, and revenue expansion with credit performance, compliance, and portfolio health
• Partner closely with Risk, Data Science, and Compliance to align product innovation with underwriting and regulatory guardrails
• Ensure product decisions consider unit economics, risk performance, underwriting impact, and long-term value creation
• Drive responsible experimentation within regulatory and credit constraints
• Build strong collaboration between Product, Risk, and Engineering to enable scalable, compliant growth

Data-Driven Product Leadership & Optimization

• Establish a culture of analytical rigor, experimentation, and continuous optimization
• Drive product decisions through customer insights, behavioral data, and financial performance metrics
• Partner with Data and Engineering to improve instrumentation, measurement, and reporting
• Champion structured experimentation practices, including:
• A/B and multivariate testing
• Funnel and approval rate optimization
• Cohort analysis and retention measurement
• Incrementality and impact evaluation
• Ensure every major product investment has clear KPIs tied to growth and/or profitability

Roadmap Ownership and Execution

• Be responsible for the company's product roadmap and assist in high level prioritization of company goals
• Make high-impact tradeoff decisions across competing initiatives and investments
• Establish measurable key results, outcomes, and performance indicators for product success
• Balance near-term execution with long-term platform scalability and strategic differentiation
• Drive disciplined execution while protecting space for discovery and innovation

Organizational Leadership & Team Development

• Directly manage a team of Product and Design leaders and Senior ICs
• Build, scale, and structure the Product and Design organization to support company growth
• Recruit, retain, and develop top-tier talent across Product Management and Product Design
• Establish clear career paths, leadership expectations, and performance standards
• Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, and customer obsession
• Elevate the team by evangelizing learning and adoption of emerging technologies, such as AI capabilities for Product, Engineering, and Design, and regularly experiment with these technologies yourself

Executive & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with leaders across Engineering, Risk, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Customer Experience
• Align product strategy with go-to-market, financial planning, and operational objectives
• Communicate strategy, roadmap, and performance clearly to executives and the broader organization
• Influence at the board and investor level as needed

About You

• 12+ years of Product Management experience, including executive-level leadership
• Experience leading both Product Management and Product Design organizations
• Significant experience in fintech, financial services, credit, lending, or payments is a plus
• Demonstrated ability to balance growth initiatives with risk management and regulatory considerations
• Strong analytical and financial acumen; comfort managing to KPIs tied to revenue, margins, and risk-adjusted returns
• Deep experience with experimentation and optimization methodologies (A/B testing, funnel optimization, cohort analysis)
• Track record of building and developing high-performing product leaders
• Insatiable curiosity about AI and other emerging technologies that will evolve the nature of the Product role
• Passion for leading a team through an exciting time in Technology where the skills needed to succeed are ever-changing
• Exceptional executive communication and cross-functional influence skills

Location: Richmond, VA; Arlington, VA; or Remote (U.S.). Associates near one of our office locations may work in-office, hybrid, or remotely. Remote opportunities are available to candidates throughout the United States.

Salary Range: $220,000-$330,000 per year (depending on experience and location) Additional Compensation: This position may be eligible to participate in company bonus plan.

The final salary offer will depend on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, and geographic location. The actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate's offer letter.

Applications will be accepted until position is filled.

Why choose Koalafi: A career at Koalafi means opportunities to tackle exciting challenges every single day. We take pride in a culture of innovation, trust, and ownership. You'll get outside your comfort zone, build meaningful relationships, and most of all, take charge of projects that ultimately help people get the things they need most.

Benefits: At Koalafi, you will have a direct impact on our products and help shape the company's success. We offer competitive compensation & benefits packages to keep you at your best:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 20 PTO days + 11 paid holidays
• 401(k) retirement with company matching
• Student Loan & Tuition Reimbursement
• Commuter assistance
• Parental leave (maternal + paternal)
• Inclusion and Associate Engagement Programs

Who we are & what we value:

• We focus on what's most important
• We set clear expectations and deliver
• We embrace challenges to reach our full potential
• We ask, "How can this be better?"
• We move fast together