Product Manager, Credit Risk & Strategy

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 a rapidly growing fintech company on a mission to revolutionize small business lending, and we believe the strategic use of data and models is the key to achieving this goal. Our proprietary platform leverages data and technology to provide fast and flexible financing to underserved businesses across the country. We are seeking a highly analytical Product Manager to drive the optimization and integration of our third-party decision engine with our proprietary core applications. This role is crucial for improving our operational efficiency in the revenue-based financing space, directly impacting our ability to assess risk, streamline the offer drafting process, and increase funding velocity.

You will focus on the day-to-day execution and organization of decision engine-related projects, working closely with the pricing and strategy, underwriting, engineering, and third-party vendor teams. This role will ensure the success of complex projects within the decisioning space, ensuring our capabilities are world-class, compliant, and seamlessly integrated into our business workflow. The role will report directly to the Senior Product Manager of Decisioning.

In this role you will:

• Decision Engine Optimization Support: Support the Senior Product Manager in executing the decision engine roadmap, focusing on improving approval rates, minimizing risk, and increasing the speed and accuracy of offer generation. Own the definition, documentation, and refinement of user stories and acceptance criteria for all decision engine-related features and integrations.

• Integration & Workflow: Work closely with Engineering to manage the API integrations and data exchange between the third-party decision engine and our internal core applications. Monitor data flows, identify anomalies, and contribute to implementing technical solutions to ensure data flow stability, scalability, and accuracy.

• Project Ownership: Drive assigned projects within the decisioning and offer drafting space from ideation to launch, coordinating cross-functional efforts.

• Liason Role: Act as a key liaison between Engineering and business stakeholders (Pricing & Strategy, Underwriting, Sales). Assist in translating business needs into technical requirements and explaining technical concepts to non-technical team members.

• Performance & Analysis: Monitor pre-defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the decision engine and assist in post-release analysis. Support A/B testing efforts to continuously refine decisioning parameters.

• Business Knowledge: Develop a strong understanding of our business processes related to revenue-based financing and offer drafting. Actively participate in identifying opportunities for business process improvements within the larger workstream.

Why you should apply:

• Critical role: We are rapidly growing and on a mission to revolutionize small business lending. This role is critical to continuing on that trajectory by leveraging data, models, and decision engines.

• 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.

• 2+ years of experience in product management, business analysis, or a related role within FinTech, lending, or a financial services environment.

• Direct experience working with a complex decision engine or rules/scoring engine (e.g., Taktile, FICO Blaze, Provenir, Lendflow, or similar) within a lending context is highly preferred.

• Experience working with API integrations and managing data flows between different systems. Familiarity with data analysis tools (e.g., SQL, advanced Excel) to support product strategy and measure results.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.

• Highly coachable, open to receiving and implementing feedback, and possesses exceptional professionalism and sound judgment.

Compensation:

Annual Targeted Salary: $120,000 - $150,000 USD

Annual Target Bonus: 10%

At Forward Financing, we're committed to fair and transparent compensation. We believe in providing a compensation package that recognizes your skills, experience, and the unique value you bring to our team. We take a market-based approach to pay, regularly reviewing benchmark data to ensure our compensation remains competitive, equitable, and aligned with our performance-driven culture.

Final offers are determined by a variety of factors, including the candidate's qualifications, relevant experience, specific skills, and internal equity. This approach ensures that our compensation is competitive and equitable. Your recruiter will provide specific details on the expected base and variable earnings as it pertains to this specific role.

Total Rewards:

Additionally, we offer a comprehensive total rewards package, including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, commuter benefits, a flexible time-off policy, paid parental leave, 401k match for US employees, wellness reimbursement, volunteering days, annual professional development budget, and charitable donation match.

Forward is proud to be a remote-first company, keeping workplace flexibility a top priority for our employees. As a business, we are focused on impact; we are more concerned with your contributions to the success of the company than where you get your work done. To help facilitate in-person collaboration, employees are welcome to work from one of our premiere office locations.

When we aren’t collaborating to drive business and support our customers, we’re finding virtual and in-person ways to get to know our colleagues, celebrate team wins, and have fun together!

• Drive the Mission - We believe in financial opportunity for underserved small businesses. We say “yes” when others say “no.”

• Keep It Real - We value direct communication, candid feedback, and authenticity. We are an open book.

• Act with Kindness - We create an environment where caring is cool and helping is the norm. We do the right thing.

• Shoot for Extraordinary - We are inspired by innovative thinking and continuous improvement. We never settle for yesterday’s best.

About Us:

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. Whether facing challenges accessing traditional financing or simply needing a convenient, flexible solution, Forward is committed to funding more of the millions of small businesses nationwide. Forward offers revenue-based financing – delivering an upfront sum of working capital in exchange for a set amount of the business’s future revenue. By simplifying the requirements, streamlining the process, and using advanced proprietary technology, Forward is often able to deliver funds same day – giving more businesses the financial opportunity they need to thrive. Plus, with their dedicated teams and award-winning service, customers get personalized support when they need it most.

Since 2012, Forward has expanded access to capital by providing over $4.1 billion in funding to more than 80,000 small businesses. The company is A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau with an Excellent / 4.7 stars rating on Trustpilot.com. Recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In Boston and certified as a Great Place To Work®, Forward is dedicated to empowering both its team and the customers they serve, helping them succeed and thrive.

US Equal Opportunity Employment Information

Forward Financing is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and is committed to fostering a fair and inclusive culture built on a foundation of high performance and exceptional customer experience. With a laser focus on employee impact, we’re able to reduce biases and ensure the right people are in the right jobs to contribute to our mission. The varied perspectives of our people fuel innovation and make us a stronger team. By embracing what makes each of us unique, we create a supportive environment where people feel valued, accepted, and empowered to thrive.

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