Product Lead, Compliance Systems

Ares Management Corporation•New York, NY

About The Position

Ares is seeking a Product Lead, Compliance Systems to join Corporate Technology, reporting to the Head of Legal Risk and Compliance Product (who reports to the Head of Corporate Technology). This role will shape and execute the product strategy and roadmap for enterprise risk capabilities, investment compliance enablement, and the integration and data layer that connects Legal, Risk, and Compliance (LRC) platforms with each other and with broader enterprise systems. The ideal candidate is a strong product leader with experience in regulated financial services (alternatives preferred) who can operate as a strategic partner to business stakeholders while driving hands-on execution with technology teams. This role requires a proactive mindset to identify control and process improvement opportunities, define scalable product capabilities, and ensure platforms and integrations are designed for reliability, auditability, and long-term maintainability. The Product Lead will own the product lifecycle—from discovery and design through implementation and post-launch support—while coordinating across product owners, engineering, enterprise architecture, security, data/integration teams, and external vendors. Experience with low-code platforms (ideally Pega) is strongly preferred.

Requirements

8+ years of technology experience in risk, investment compliance, control functions, or related domains within financial services (alternatives preferred).
Bachelor’s degree required; technology background preferred.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence across senior stakeholders and technical teams.
Adaptable and able to work effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
8+ years of experience as a product manager, business analyst, or delivery lead supporting enterprise risk, investment compliance, or governance/control functions.
Working knowledge of the investor, fund, and investment lifecycle, and how compliance and control processes intersect with these lifecycles.
Demonstrated experience supporting trade/transaction compliance processes and related control workflows; familiarity with information barriers and control room operations strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience delivering integration-heavy solutions, including coordination across application teams, middleware/integration platforms, and data/reporting environments.
Strong experience with process mapping, user journey mapping, and translating requirements into scalable, operational deliverables; proficiency with Lucidchart preferred.
Track record of successfully implementing platforms and taking end-to-end ownership of deliverables, including adoption and operationalization.
Proven ability to lead cross-functional working groups, manage timelines and budgets, and drive results in a matrixed environment.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to use data and insights to drive prioritization, transparency, and continuous improvement.
Strong proficiency with delivery tooling including Jira, Confluence, and Smartsheet.

Nice To Haves

Experience with low-code platforms (ideally Pega; Appian/Power Platform also valued) and workflow/case management approaches.
Experience with enterprise risk and/or GRC platforms (e.g., Archer or similar) and common workflows such as risk assessments, controls testing, issues management, exceptions, and attestations.
Experience partnering with enterprise integration teams and modern integration approaches (API management, event-driven design, service patterns).
Familiarity with data governance concepts relevant to risk and compliance: definitions, lineage, evidence retention, reconciliation, and reporting controls.
Experience with compliance surveillance/monitoring ecosystems and/or building similar capabilities in-house.
Tech-forward mindset with practical experience applying automation and AI to improve risk transparency, triage, reporting, documentation, and stakeholder responsiveness.

Responsibilities

Own the product strategy and roadmap for enterprise risk, investment compliance enablement, and LRC platform integrations, aligning priorities with business outcomes, control effectiveness, and Corporate Technology direction.
Partner with Risk and Compliance stakeholders to identify high-value opportunities across enterprise risk and investment compliance domains (e.g., trade/transaction compliance controls, surveillance/monitoring, approvals, attestations, exception management, reporting transparency) and translate them into measurable product outcomes.
Provide subject matter leadership for trade and transaction compliance processes, including understanding of pre-/post-trade controls, restricted/watch list considerations, and control evidence needs.
Bring familiarity with control room capabilities and workflows (e.g., information barrier processes, restricted list governance, wall-crossing support, monitoring/attestations), ensuring solutions are designed for effectiveness and auditability.
Serve as the “keeper and communicator of the vision,” translating product strategy into actionable roadmaps, milestones, and outcomes across delivery teams.
Lead discovery and definition activities: process mapping, end-user journey mapping, requirements, user stories, acceptance criteria, and prioritization—using tools such as Lucidchart to drive alignment and clarity.
Drive delivery across the full product lifecycle: solution design coordination, build oversight, testing/UAT, release management, change management, training, adoption tracking, and post-launch support.
Define and govern integration and data patterns across LRC platforms and enterprise systems—partnering with integration and data teams to ensure consistent, supportable approaches (APIs, eventing, middleware, batch), strong monitoring, and clear operational ownership.
Establish a strong point of view on risk and compliance data: data definitions, lineage, reconciliation controls, reporting needs, and how data should be structured to support auditability and effective oversight.
Coordinate cross-platform dependencies and sequencing with other LRC product owners and platform teams to ensure end-to-end process outcomes (not just system-by-system improvements).
Collaborate with Enterprise Architecture and Information Security to ensure solutions align with architectural standards, resiliency requirements, identity/access controls, privacy, and data governance expectations.
Provide executive-ready reporting and decision support: roadmap progress, risks/issues, dependencies, KPIs, and clear recommendations with appropriate context.
Oversee vendor/consulting resources as needed, ensuring delivery quality, documentation standards, and alignment with Ares’ operating model.
Maintain delivery discipline and transparency through strong tool usage and hygiene, including Jira, Confluence, and Smartsheet (plans, milestones, RAID, status).