Group Product Manager, Digital Lending

Forward Financing is a financial technology company based in Boston, Massachusetts with team members throughout the United States, Dominican Republic, and Canada. The company is on a mission to unlock the capital that fuels small businesses across America. Recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In Boston and certified as a Great Place To Work®, Forward is investing in its employees, technology, and customer experience – with long‑term success in mind every step of the way.

We are seeking a Group Product Manager, Digital Lending, to own the end‑to‑end customer and broker (ISO) digital experience. You will lead the strategy and execution for all customer‑facing touchpoints—from marketing sites to funding portals—turning complex underwriting and payment capabilities into fast, transparent, and AI‑powered personalized user experiences.

• Product Strategy & Funnel Optimization

  • Own the Portfolio:
    Set the vision, strategy, and roadmap for the marketing site, application flows, customer portal, and ISO/broker portal.

  • Drive the Funnel:
    Optimize the origination funnel end‑to‑end (from first visit to funded deal) to materially improve pull‑through and conversion rates.

  • Treat Brokers as Customers:
    Govern the ISO digital experience (submissions, payouts, deal status) with the same rigor as the small‑business‑owner experience.

• AI Integration & Execution

  • Ship AI‑Native Experiences:
    Deeply embed AI into the product (e.g., chat bots, auto‑decisioning explanations, intelligent document collection, conversational support, agentic self‑service).

  • Lead with AI:
    Use AI fluently in your daily product craft (research synthesis, rapid prototyping, spec writing, SQL queries) to set the standard for the team.

• Data, Analytics & Experimentation

  • Govern Instrumentation:
    Treat event taxonomy and tracking plans as first‑class deliverables. No feature ships without strict data instrumentation.

  • Own the Analytics Stack:
    Partner with Data/Analytics to own digital analytics tools (e.g., Pendo, Amplitude, Tableau, Looker) and foster a daily habit of self‑serve metrics.

  • Run Continuous Experimentation:
    Lead a structured A/B and multivariate testing program grounded in rigorous hypothesis and data discipline tied to funnel optimization.

• Cross‑Functional Collaboration & Governance

  • Partner with Design & Platform PMs:
    Collaborate closely with a Senior Product Designer to maintain high UX craft, and translate platform capabilities (Salesforce, Underwriting, Money Movement) into seamless user experiences.

  • Manage Risk & Compliance:
    Ensure all digital and AI innovations align with credit policies, regulatory obligations, and operational risk frameworks.

  • Executive Communication:
    Deliver clear, data‑backed updates to leadership regarding trade‑offs, performance, and strategic requests.

• This is a unique opportunity to drive the digital lending strategy experience for our customer and ISO partners with AI‑powered personalized experiences and data‑driven decisions.

• Mission driven company:
  Forward is a trusted source of fast, flexible funding for small businesses that have often been underserved by traditional financing options. When you join the team, you will help ensure all small businesses have access to the financial support they need to succeed.

• Flexibility is a top priority:
  Our employees are empowered to choose where they want to work (whether that’s from home, in the office, or a combination of both) with flexible hours.

• Experience: 8+ years in product management, including 3+ years in fintech or digital lending – ideally in a high‑velocity B2B or B2C credit product.

• Funnel Ownership: Proven track record of driving measurable conversion and time‑to‑revenue wins.

• AI Fluent: Fluent in using AI tools for daily PM work and hands‑on experience shipping customer‑facing AI/ML features (including monitoring and evaluation framework design).

• Data & Tech Savvy: Deep fluency with product analytics (Amplitude, Mixpanel, etc.), data instrumentation/taxonomies, and the ability to write or leverage AI for SQL queries.

• Experimentation: Experience running structured A/B testing programs with rigorous…