AI Product Owner

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Greetings from Smart Work IT Services. We are hiring for the below role,

Role: Product Owner - AI-Enabled Operations \& Controls Platform (Back Office Operations \&

Global Business Finance)

Location: New York, New York

Owns product north star, prioritization, stakeholder alignment, and roadmap narrative.

Position Overview

We are looking for a Product Owner who can own outcomes, not just artifacts - and who brings a vision for how AI and intelligent automation can fundamentally improve how back-office operations and controls work. This role blends product thinking, deep financial services

operations knowledge, and hands-on experience driving AI-enabled transformation: shaping a

roadmap, aligning stakeholders, planning intelligently, and driving execution with transparency.

You'll partner closely with Back Office Operations and Global Business Finance, helping

modernize workflows and platforms in a way that is practical, controlled, and genuinely

improves how the business runs - with AI as a core enabler.

Our team has a track record of delivering 95% of projects on time and under budget. We do

that by treating ambiguity as work: we break complex initiatives into two phases - Discovery (to distill the real problem, align stakeholders, and establish a confident plan) and Delivery (to

execute with clear milestones, risks, and dependencies).

What You'll Do

Own discovery. Lead structured discovery efforts to clarify problem statements, current-state

workflows, constraints, and success metrics - then translate that into a plan stakeholders

can believe in.

Set direction. Build and maintain a product roadmap that balances transformation, near-term

outcomes, and operational stability.

Drive AI-enabled transformation. Identify opportunities to embed AI, ML, and intelligent

automation into operational workflows - from reconciliation matching and exception triage

to controls monitoring and evidence generation. Work with data science and engineering to

move beyond manual processes, designing workflows where AI augments human judgment

rather than replacing it.

Run delivery with discipline. Define milestones, manage dependencies, track progress, and

surface risks early - without drama or surprises.

Be the connective tissue. Coordinate across business users, engineering, architecture, data

science, and leadership; communicate status, tradeoffs, and decisions clearly.

Bring users along. We use agile practices, but not every user group is mature in agile. build trust through honest conversations, humility, and transparency - helping partners

adopt better ways of working over time.

Own the backlog. Translate needs into well-formed epics and stories with clear acceptance

criteria; prioritize based on business value, risk, and effort.

Handle conflict well. Navigate competing priorities, resolve disagreements constructively,

and keep teams focused on outcomes.

Champion quality and controls. Ensure solutions are operable and auditable where needed

• clear definitions, controlled rollouts, and attention to reliability.

Use AI responsibly. Leverage AI tools to move faster (analysis, writing, summarizing,

prototyping, documentation), while maintaining strong judgment, validation, and appropriate

guardrails. Model responsible AI usage for the team and the organization.

What We are Looking For;

7\+ years in a Product Owner, Product Manager, or Senior Business Analyst role within

financial services. Direct experience with back-office operations, fund accounting,

reconciliation, controller workflows, or treasury is required - not just financial services

broadly.

Demonstrated experience leading AI-driven or intelligent automation initiatives within finance

or investment operations - designing AI-enabled workflows, not just consuming AI tools.

fundamentally changed how an operational process works through the application of

ML, NLP, LLMs, or advanced analytics.

Hands-on experience with fund accounting, reconciliation platforms, NAV processes, GL

controls, or operational control frameworks at an asset manager, hedge fund, or fund

administrator.

Demonstrated strength in planning, budgeting, tracking, and delivery execution - you can run a tight ship without turning it into bureaucracy.

Strong stakeholder management skills: you build rapport, create clarity, and keep diverse

groups aligned across operations, finance, technology, and leadership.

Excellent written and verbal communication; you can make complex work understandable and actionable.

Proven ability to break down complex problems and drive decisions with incomplete

information.

Comfort working closely with engineering and data science teams; you don't need to code, but you should understand how software gets built, how models work, and how AI capabilities get embedded into real workflows.

High integrity and maturity: you're transparent, consistent, and trusted - especially when things are hard.

Nice to Have

Experience with platforms such as Geneva, Arcesium, Investran, Kyriba, or similar fund

accounting, operations, and treasury systems.

Background in treasury, cash management, or investment operations transformation.

Experience working with external fund administrators and managing the validation of their

deliverables.

Experience working in modern delivery environments (CI/CD, cloud platforms, event-driven

systems, workflow orchestration, data platforms).

A track record of driving transformation - process, platform, or operating model - without

losing the business in the process.

Familiarity with AI/ML frameworks, LLM integration patterns, or intelligent automation

platforms in a financial services context.