Product Manager - Automation

About the role

You bring product thinking and AI-led tooling to redesign how Luno builds and operates. You report to the VP of Product while shaping priorities for a new automation team. You define the vision and roadmap for automation solutions that streamline internal workflows and improve operational reliability. You partner with engineering and operations to turn high-level goals into clear product requirements and execution plans. You act as the central decision maker on what to build, when, and why for automation initiatives. You synthesize feedback from internal stakeholders and transform it into actionable product strategies. You ensure that every solution balances efficiency gains with ethical considerations and regulatory expectations. You own the outcomes of the products you ship and are accountable for their impact on the business.

Key facts

What you'll do

Operational teams cut manual work and raise quality through solutions you design with technology partners.

Processes and systems are understood deeply enough to redesign them, rather than only automating existing steps.

Each automation choice is decided case by case, preserving human judgement where ethics and compliance require it.

Operational leaders trust your shipped solutions, because you build relationships that earn confidence.

You quantify impact, risk, and confidence to prioritise work for stakeholders.

You manage third-party vendors and integrate their capabilities into your plans.

You translate technical or compliance decisions into clear guidance engineering teams can build against.

You work within agile, continuous-delivery rhythms with engineering teams.

You demonstrate experience with AI tools for product building and engineering productivity, such as Claude or Lovable, and for AI embedded in production systems, such as LLMs summarising operational data.

You define the product scope for automation features and ensure alignment with business objectives.

You lead discovery sessions to validate assumptions before significant engineering investment.

You create clear product documentation that guides development, testing, and rollout.

You track product metrics to assess success and identify opportunities for further automation.

You collaborate with data teams to set up measurement frameworks that prove the value of automation.

Requirements

You have 3+ years as a Product Manager, including work for internal operational or engineering users.

You operate comfortably where product and compliance intersect, without waiting for someone else to define the problem.

You quantify impact, risk, and confidence to prioritise work for stakeholders.

You have both built and bought solutions, and you weigh these options honestly.

You manage third-party vendors and integrate their capabilities into your plans.

You translate technical or compliance decisions into clear guidance engineering teams can build against.

You work within agile, continuous-delivery rhythms with engineering teams.

You demonstrate experience with AI tools for product building and engineering productivity, such as Claude or Lovable, and for AI embedded in production systems, such as LLMs summarising operational data.

You hold a Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.

You bring a minimum of 3 years of professional experience in product management or a related role.

You are able to work in either Cape Town or Johannesburg.

You communicate clearly and confidently with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

You are comfortable making decisions in ambiguous situations where information is incomplete.

You have a strong sense of ownership and follow-through to deliver on commitments.

You understand the basics of software development life cycles and data concepts.

Nice to have

Experience sourcing or managing vendors strengthens your ability to deliver end-to-end solutions.

Practical notes

Typical interview steps

Product interviews often include a product sense round, an analytical round, and a behavioral round. Candidates may be asked to design a feature, prioritize a backlog, or estimate a metric. Some loops include a case exercise. Strong candidates show structured thinking and customer empathy. Interviewers want to see how you prioritize when everything matters. Walking through your decision criteria out loud is a strong habit in product interviews.

Good to know

AI tools and large language models are part of how this role designs and ships automation. The role focuses on internal operations and build processes rather than external customer features. Agile, continuous-delivery practices shape how solutions are released. Strong stakeholder communication is essential to turn compliance and technical constraints into buildable solutions. This role works with data, workflows, and tooling used in crypto operations and investment apps.

Questions to ask

Useful questions for the interview: what a typical week looks like, how work is assigned, what tools the team uses, and how feedback works. Asking how the role has changed recently and what the team wishes it had known when joining is also reasonable. Questions about the manager's priorities are especially valued.

Career growth

Product careers usually move from associate to product manager, then to senior, group, or director levels. Some people specialize in growth, platform, or enterprise products. Others move into general management. Success depends on shipped outcomes rather than shipped output. Product careers often reward generalists early and specialists later. Experience shipping measurable outcomes is the strongest signal for promotion.