Principal Program Manager, Product Operations, Circle Payments Network
About The Position
Circle (NYSE: CRCL) is one of the world’s leading internet financial platform companies, building the foundation of a more open, global economy through digital assets, payment applications, and programmable blockchain infrastructure. Circle’s platform includes the world’s largest regulated stablecoin network anchored by USDC, Circle Payments Network for global money movement, and Arc, an enterprise-grade blockchain designed to become the Economic OS for the internet. Enterprises, financial institutions, and developers use Circle to power trusted, internet-scale financial innovation. Circle is committed to visibility and stability in everything we do. As the organization grows, it's expanding into some of the world's strongest jurisdictions. Speed and efficiency are motivators for success and employees live by company values: High Integrity, Future Forward, Multistakeholder, Mindful, and Driven by Excellence. Circle has built a flexible work environment where new ideas are encouraged and everyone is a stakeholder. The Principal Program Manager will own end-to-end program execution across two critical components of the Circle Payments Network: the Payments Engine and the BFI Network. This includes driving cross-functional delivery from strategy through execution, ensuring operational excellence across live payment systems, and maintaining the reliability, scalability, and performance of a global payments network while continuously improving how teams operate at scale.
Requirements
- 8+ years of experience in technical program management, product operations, or hybrid PM/TPM roles within payments, fintech, or financial infrastructure
- Proven experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder programs across both product delivery and live operational systems
- Strong understanding of payments infrastructure, including lifecycle management, settlement processes, and failure modes
- Demonstrated ability to use AI tools (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, n8n) to automate workflows and improve operational efficiency
- Strong data fluency with experience analyzing system performance, building dashboards, and using SQL or similar tools to drive decisions
- Experience managing financial institution integrations, including APIs, compliance workflows, and partner SLAs
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills across technical, operational, and executive audiences
- Ability to operate across strategic and tactical contexts, from program design and governance to hands-on problem solving
- Experience driving cross-functional alignment across Product, Engineering, Compliance, and Operations teams
Nice To Haves
- Experience in cross-border payments, correspondent banking, stablecoins, or blockchain-based settlement systems
- Familiarity with two-sided network dynamics and marketplace-style systems
- Experience working with compliance-driven products, including KYC/AML, sanctions, and regulatory workflows
- Experience with developer-facing platforms, including API lifecycle management and documentation standards
- Background working with regulated financial institutions on technical integrations
- Familiarity with agile development practices and program management tools such as Jira
Responsibilities
- Lead cross-functional programs across payment creation, routing, and settlement, managing dependencies, risks, and delivery from scoping through stabilization
- Own execution and operational performance of the BFI Network, including partner onboarding, integrations, and ongoing SLA management
- Define and track key payment health metrics such as success rate, latency, and exception volumes to drive continuous improvement
- Build and scale observability systems, dashboards, and KPIs to reduce manual effort and improve operational visibility
- Design and implement AI-assisted workflows to streamline operations, automate high-volume tasks, and improve team efficiency
- Partner across Product, Engineering, Compliance, and Business teams to drive alignment, resolve blockers, and make informed trade-offs
- Deliver clear, data-driven program updates and recommendations to senior stakeholders, including risks, dependencies, and execution plans
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
Education Level
No Education Listed
