Technical Payments Product Manager

Customers Bank•New York, NY

5d•$170,000 - $175,000

About The Position

The Technical Payments Product Manager is a senior individual contributor role responsible for the strategic ownership, lifecycle management, and technical execution of the bank’s payment platforms and supporting systems. This role merges deep product management discipline with hands-on technical systems expertise, bridging the gap between business strategy and operational delivery across the payments ecosystem. This individual will serve as the senior authority on payment product direction and system health, partnering with Operations, Technology, Risk, Compliance, and vendors to ensure payment capabilities are reliable, scalable, compliant, and aligned with the bank’s growth agenda. The role is critical to advancing Customers Bank’s payments modernization efforts and requires someone who can operate with strategic vision while rolling up their sleeves to drive execution.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in payments, product management, or financial services — with a demonstrated ability to operate at both a strategic and hands-on technical level.
Deep expertise in U.S. payment systems including ACH, Fedwire, RTP, FedNow, and API-based payment platforms.
Strong technical background in payment applications, backend systems, API integrations, and system support in a banking or regulated environment.
Proven track record managing product roadmaps, backlogs, and cross-functional delivery in complex, fast-paced environments.
Exceptional ability to translate between business strategy and technical requirements — comfortable in both boardrooms and technical design sessions.
Experience working with external vendors and third-party payment technology providers.
Ability to work with the Microsoft Suite and learn/work with other Customers Bank’s applications.
Must be legally eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship, now or in the future, to be considered.

Nice To Haves

Experience with modern payment hubs or core payment platform implementations.
Familiarity with agile product management methodologies and backlog management tools.
Understanding of ISO 20022, modern payment messaging standards, and cloud-based payment architectures.
Exposure to monitoring tools, logging platforms, and incident management processes.
Understanding of resiliency, high availability, and disaster recovery concepts in a payments context.
Senior ownership mindset — able to drive accountability and alignment across teams without direct authority.
Strategic thinker who can also execute: comfortable moving between long-range planning and day-to-day problem solving.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with exceptional attention to detail.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills — able to influence stakeholders at all levels.
Self-motivated, resilient, and committed to operational excellence in a high-growth environment.
Familiarity with AI and automation tools that support productivity, workflow efficiency, and client engagement.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end product strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle for payment platforms including Fedwire, RTP, FedNow, Foreign Currency, and more.
Define and drive a product-led approach to payments, ensuring systems are reliable, scalable, and continuously improving.
Develop and maintain product roadmaps aligned with business priorities, modernization goals, and the competitive payments landscape.
Evaluate opportunities to expand functionality, improve user experience, and increase adoption across internal and external payment channels.
Serve as the senior decision-maker and escalation point for product strategy, system changes, and cross-functional prioritization.
Provide oversight of payment systems health, performance, and availability — ensuring high resiliency and uptime across all payment services.
Lead incident response, root cause analysis, and post-incident reviews; drive systemic improvements to prevent recurrence.
Oversee application support, backend services, and integrations including APIs, message queues, and file-based interfaces.
Direct application upgrades, patches, configuration changes, and new payment capability rollouts in coordination with Technology and vendors.
Maintain and govern comprehensive documentation for system flows, integrations, support procedures, and operational runbooks.
Define, manage, and prioritize the product backlog for payment systems; gather and document business requirements for enhancements and new capabilities.
Translate complex business needs into clear technical requirements and vice versa, bridging product and engineering teams effectively.
Coordinate with Technology teams and vendors to deliver enhancements, upgrades, and fixes on schedule and within scope.
Lead and support testing efforts including UAT and regression testing; ensure successful, low-risk implementation of changes.
Serve as an internal subject matter expert on payment rails, formats, and standards including ACH, Wires, RTP, FedNow, ISO 20022, and proprietary APIs.
Stay current on industry trends, regulatory developments, and emerging payment technologies to inform strategic direction.
Ensure alignment with risk, compliance, and audit requirements; serve as a knowledgeable resource during regulatory exams and audits.
Identify and drive opportunities to improve monitoring, automation, controls, and operational efficiency.
Work closely with Payments Operations, Technology, Risk, Compliance, and business stakeholders to ensure seamless execution across the payments organization.