Product Lead - Universal Money Address (UMA)

The Internet lacks a protocol for money. Lightspark is building the tools and services to make it happen. Lightspark builds enterprise-ready infrastructure for open payments for the Internet at scale using the Lightning Network. An always-on, low-cost, universal payment network will completely transform how money is moved, enabling businesses and developers to transform existing solutions and build new financial systems, services, and processes accessible to everyone, transcending geographical restraints. Lightspark is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, but serves the world.

As a Product Manager for UMA (Universal Money Address), you will oversee the product development of UMA, our open-source human-readable address standard that enables real-time cross-currency and payment system interoperability. Your role will be to work closely with our engineering team and network participants to evolve the protocol, improve ease-of-integration, and drive deep network effects.

What you’ll be doing:

• Drive the end-to-end product lifecycle for UMA.

• Develop and document the entire UMA roadmap based on network participant goals and painpoints.

• Conduct market research to identify trends, customer needs, and competitive landscape to inform product development.

• Find ways to reduce the integration “cost” of UMA for network participants.

• Develop an end-to-end view of the end-customer experience to reduce friction and drive virality.

• Work closely with internal stakeholders, including engineering, design, compliance, and business development teams, to define product requirements and prioritize features.

• Understand and incorporate regulatory and compliance requirements into the product development process, with a focus on AML, licensing, and payment industry standards.

• Collaborate with the design team to create intuitive and user-friendly payment experiences.

• Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of payment products and inform future development.

What we’re looking for:

• 7+ years of experience with a viral payments product or with financial services with network effects at the consumer or enterprise level.

• Familiarity with payment systems, payment rails, and the regulatory environment (AML, licensing, compliance). 

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate complex requirements into actionable product documentation.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, or a related field is ideal but not required.  We appreciate and acknowledge that some of the best talent comes from non-traditional backgrounds. 

• Experience building 0 to 1.

• Knowledge of modern product management tools. 

Lightspark is on a mission to build an open payment protocol for the Internet at scale and therefore we’re committed to creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace to reflect the customers we serve. We welcome interest from individuals of all backgrounds and levels of experience who share our mission. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. 

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the State of California Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.