Head of Product, Core Banking Systems

About the role

Driving the Core Banking Future at N26

This role centers on owning the Core Banking Systems product direction in Berlin. You transform complex banking requirements into a flexible, composable architecture. Your work enables rapid product configuration while ensuring unwavering financial data integrity and compliance. You serve as the vital link between technical execution and business value.

You will lead the product strategy across critical banking domains. This includes lending, deposits, payments gateway, and balance sheet infrastructure. You balance immediate delivery needs with long-term architectural vision. Your focus is building a platform that empowers product managers.

Collaboration is central to this position. You partner closely with N26 Product Segments and key stakeholders. These include Treasury, Credit Risk, Risk Controlling, Accounting, and Regulatory Reporting. You align priorities, planning cycles, and shared objectives.

A core mission involves managing the end-to-end product lifecycle. You handle initiatives from self-service enablement to third-party vendor in-housing. You also oversee platform scalability and continuous iteration. This ensures the core banking engine remains robust and adaptable.

You define and introduce best practices for the entire organization. This involves product configuration standards, known as the Product Factory. You also focus on ledger data integrity and progressive rollout guardrails. Embedding compliance by design is a fundamental principle.

You champion N26's company-wide data strategy. This means moving toward single sources of truth for financial data. You work to eliminate core vendor dependencies where possible. Reducing risk concentration across all banking endpoints is a key priority.

You support domain optimization efforts. This involves transitioning stable, non-core services to appropriate segment owners. You ensure operational excellence is maintained throughout. Zero material audit findings remain a strict requirement.

Managing and developing your team is a core responsibility. You lead a group of Core Systems Product Managers. You foster a culture of operational rigor and precision. You build a strong platform enablement mindset within the team.

You act as a trusted advisor for other teams. You assist Product and Tech colleagues integrating with core banking engines. You share best practices to enable rapid go-to-market execution. You manage stakeholder communication effectively. This spans Product, Engineering, Finance, Treasury, Risk, Compliance, and senior leadership.

Defining and tracking domain KPIs is essential. You measure product enablement speed and system uptime. You monitor compliance metrics and OPEX cost savings. Balance sheet data integrity is a critical metric.

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What It Takes to Succeed

You bring 5 to 7 years of relevant product management experience. A significant portion focuses on core banking systems, ledger infrastructure, or payments. You have a proven track record in these areas.

You partner effectively with Core Banking and Platform Engineering experts. You understand transaction processing and ledger mechanics. You know how to build scalable platform products. You engage confidently on backend trade-offs.

You possess strong technical literacy. You understand multi-currency ledgers and data pipelines. This allows you to credibly discuss options with engineering teams. You can navigate complex backend platform decisions.

You understand regulatory reporting demands fully. You know how these requirements shape product decisions. You communicate clearly with senior stakeholders. This includes banking operations and technical experts.

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Additional Information

Experience in a regulated financial environment is valuable. Navigating compliance constraints is part of the role. Details on compensation and location are confirmed What you'll do

About the company

A Berlin based fintech and neobank operates across SEPA countries. Founded in 2013 by Rocket Internet, the company was once called Papayer GmbH and Number26 GmbH. Now named N26 Bank SE, it serves under the N26 brand. Business focuses on digital banking in multiple EU member states. Strong ties exist with Rocket Internet in the early foundation phase. Current headquarters remain in Berlin, supporting cross border financial services within the Single Euro Payments Area.