Head of Product - Banking (Full Time)

About Cosmos Labs Cosmos is seeking a Head of Product to lead the design and development of our Tokenized Deposits platform. Cosmos is the most popular open source DLT stack globally, and powers blockchains for financial leaders like Wells Fargo, Figure Markets, and 200+ others. Now, our team is building a groundbreaking tokenized deposit product built on top of trusted technology, with the aim to arm mid-sized and regional banks with modern DLT capabilities. We are looking for an expert with deep, hands-on product experience in banking infrastructure, core banking software (e.g. FISERV/Jack Henry), order management platforms, and who also has a working knowledge of the operational dimensions of financial services businesses such as compliance, audit, and tax. You will report directly to the CEO, who is leading this initiative. Role Overview You will own the product strategy and execution for a tokenization product that enables financial institutions to interact seamlessly with tokenized assets, without requiring changes to their existing core banking systems. You will have massive ownership and responsibility - you will be able to design the product roadmap and lead it to commercial success. Specifically, in this role, you will: Define and evolve product requirements (PRDs), including detailed API specifications, reconciliation flows, and integration patterns Partner with engineering and design to take the product from prototype to production Work closely with our Head of Engineering and Co-CEO to craft our canonical product roadmap Work with bank customers to validate and refine the product in real-world environments Lead product ideation and translate concepts into tangible improvements across demos and production systems Navigate internal and external stakeholders to drive adoption and successful implementation Key Responsibilities Tokenization Product Ownership Own the tokenization product direction end-to-end. Make the hard product design calls: write-back vs. omnibus model, batch vs. webhook sync, how to handle the two-phase finality gap between core posting and on-chain confirmation. On-prem versus cloud-native deployments. Keep the product honest. For example, if something doesn't survive contact with a real bank's implementation requirements, kill it and replace it with something that does. Report to key stakeholders and work closely with all departments to ship and build momentum around the product. Be the voice of the customer in the room, and use your experience to design a product that will be impressive but believable Bring the “banking perspective,” based on your years of experience integrating software at banks, or for banks Customer Discovery Run at least 2 hours per week of direct conversations with target banks, channel/distribution partners and payment fintechs. Use these conversations to validate or kill product assumptions. Your job is to close the gap between what we think banks need and what they'll actually sign for. Do not wait for banking adoption to improve the product - banks are slow to adopt, yet expect finished products. You are responsible for the second goal. Bank-to-Blockchain Translation Turn bank-side realities into engineering design inputs. Examples: How does a Hogan batch file land? What does a Reg CC hold look like when you need to mirror it on-chain? Why will the compliance team reject a direct write-back API? Work side-by-side with the engineering team to scope PoCs, define adapter interfaces, and make sure the on-chain token logic maps correctly to real deposit operations — holds, memo posting, suspense, float. Design Partner Acquisition Co-own the path to key milestones with the Chief Commercial Officer. Work backwards from the criteria a customer requires to commit: regulatory confidence, core system compatibility, robust reconciliation guarantees, and a credible consortium narrative. Define and scope a PoC that directly addresses and validates each of these requirements.. Competitive Awareness Master the competitive landscape: Cari Network, Canton/JPMD, Kaleido, DXC CoreIgnite/Ripple, Fnality, Partior. Qualifications Required: 5+ years in product, strategy, or technology roles at a commercial bank, core banking vendor, or bank-focused fintech. Hands-on experience with core banking systems: Fiserv, FIS, Jack Henry, Temenos, or similar. You know how deposits post, how GL reconciliation runs, how holds work.Working knowledge of US deposit regulation: FDIC insurance, OCC guidance, BSA/AML, Reg CC. Familiar with payment rails - ACH, Fedwire, RTP, FedNow, SWIFT - and how interbank settlement works in practice. Can hold a room with a bank's technology architect and pivot to a technical conversation with an engineer building Cosmos SDK modules. Comfortable operating in ambiguity. This is a pre-product–market fit environment with evolving regulatory guidance, requiring sound judgment and decision-making with incomplete information. Have some experience in DLT tokenization: have shipped a product in a tokenization-related environment… we expect you to be opinionated about why tokenization makes sense for banks Willingness to work in-office in NYC (Union Square) for 3 days a week Bonus (not required): Familiarity with ISO 20022 messaging, correspondent banking (nostro/vostro), or treasury management. Track record working with mid-size ($50B–$300B) or larger US banks, or navigating enterprise PoCs in financial infrastructure. Knowledge of Canton Network, R3 Corda, Partior, Regulated Liability Network, or Project Agora. What We Offer Competitive base + equity/token allocation. Open to structuring comp for someone leaving a senior bank role. In-person team in New York. The working group operates together daily. Direct access to Co-CEO, CCO, Head of Engineering, CCO, and Legal. Who we are 📌 Cosmos Labs is the core team driving development and growth of the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem, Cosmos technology stack, and the Cosmos Hub. Cosmos powers the largest network of vertically integrated Layer 1 blockchains in the world: 200+ blockchains use the Cosmos Stack in production. At Cosmos Labs, we are responsible for developing new software and products for the Cosmos Stack and its customers, building and maintaining customer relationships, growing the adoption of our Stack, and fostering the community of independent builders and end users in the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem. Cosmos Labs builds open-source blockchain infrastructure used by 200+ networks globally. The Cosmos SDK and IBC protocol are the foundation for chains managing tens of billions in value. We are now applying this stack to bank tokenized deposits — the most significant shift in banking infrastructure since SWIFT, with the goal of delivering 24/7 asset settlement. We focus on hiring the core team and senior talent to work together in person in NYC and Berlin to build a collaborative and supportive culture. We are open to hiring best-in-class remote talent anywhere within 6 hours of the NYC timezone. Core team member responsibilities Work to solve hard technical problems at the cutting edge of blockchain research, alongside a world-class team. Be empowered to make bold technical and strategic decisions, including in product development, software engineering, marketing, sales, and operations. Play a critical role in building our culture, our engineering practices, the products we ship, and our customer relationships. How we work We value ambition and work ethic. This means initiative, self development, and adaptability are non-negotiable, even for the most experienced candidates. We value thoughtful and contentious dialogue over siloed and unilateral decision-making. We value acknowledging uncertainty and seeking support over unabated confidence and solo performances. We’re obsessive about documenting everything, learning, and shipping as fast as possible with short feedback cycles. Cosmos Labs is committed to inclusion. Cosmos Labs is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourages individuals from underrepresented backgrounds to apply. We believe the purpose of blockchain is to expand who has agency in society, which starts at home, by empowering people with diverse gender identities, ethnic backgrounds, and life experiences within our own organization. Cosmos Labs offers dedicated mentorship to support personal growth and a bright career in crypto. Benefits We offer competitive, equitable compensation and benefits tailored to your location — including token compensation, paid leave, and health coverage. Our goal is to make sure every team member, wherever they are, has what they need to do their best work.