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Design Leadership - Future Opportunities

neofinancial

OnSite Calgary, AB
Product Owner Advertising

Job Score

90 pts
On-site model (+70) Product Owner (+10) Advertising (+10)

Join us to build a more rewarding financial future for all Canadians


At Neo, we’re on a mission to build a more rewarding financial future for all Canadians. Life at a rapidly scaling tech startup isn’t for everyone. It’s complex, fast-paced, high-pressure, but also incredibly fulfilling. Since its founding in 2019, Neo has gained incredible traction and is one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in Canada.

This posting is intentionally ongoing. It is not a single open role with a start date attached. As Neo's design organization grows, we keep a pipeline of people we'd want on the team and reach out when a current or emerging opportunity fits.

What you’ll be Doing

  • Strategic Leadership: Partner directly with Founders, VPs, and Product Directors to define and drive the long-term design vision and product strategy for a specific pillar.

  • Hands-On Craft: Lead by example, diving into the work to illustrate complex design solutions. You will create process flows, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups that set the standard for quality.

  • Team Building & Mentorship: Build, lead, and mentor a team of 2-3 high-potential designers. You will be responsible for elevating their craft, guiding their career growth, and fostering a culture of design excellence.

  • Cross-Functional Influence: Champion the value of design across the organization. You will work seamlessly with Engineering, Product, and Data leads to ensure design is a strategic driver, not just a service.

  • System & Scale: evolve our design system to support rapid scaling while maintaining consistency and quality across a growing product suite.

  • Design Operations: Help establish and refine our design processes, from discovery to delivery, ensuring the team operates with speed and precision.

Who we are Looking for

  • Startup DNA: You have significant experience (8+ years) in product design, with a proven track record of leading design in an early-stage, high-growth startup environment. You understand the pace, the pivots, and the "founder mindset."

  • Player-Coach: You are a seasoned leader who still loves to design. You can seamlessly switch between strategic planning and pushing pixels in Figma.

  • Executive Presence: You are comfortable presenting to and debating with C-level executives. You can articulate the business value of design decisions and influence org-level strategy.

  • Proven Builder: You have experience not just designing products, but building teams. You have hired, mentored, and managed designers, helping them reach their full potential.

  • Master of Craft: Your portfolio demonstrates industry-leading quality in UX and UI. You have deep expertise in systems thinking, information architecture, and prototyping complex workflows.

  • Iterative Mindset: You know how to balance the pursuit of perfection with the need for speed. You can deliver high-quality work iteratively (v1, v2, v3), navigating the "Now, Next, Later" with ease.

  • Tool Proficiency: Expert-level fluency in Figma and modern design tools.

🚀 Total Rewards

As Neo continues to grow, we’re committed to offering a competitive, market-leading rewards program that reflects the impact our team members make. In addition to salary, our program includes equity — empowering employees to share directly in our momentum today and in the meaningful value we create for years to come.

  • Salary: We provide a strong base salary aligned with market ranges, along with the flexibility to tailor your mix of cash and equity to match your longer term goals. Final compensation is based on your skills, experience, and scope. For exceptional talent, we’re prepared to go above and beyond.

  • Equity Ownership (Where Eligible): At Neo, you don’t just work here, you own a piece of what we’re building. As a full-time team member, you share directly in the upside of one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies. When we win, you win — with real ownership and meaningful long-term wealth-building potential tied to our success.

 

What does life as an Owner at Neo Include?

🇨🇦 You will redefine the financial landscape with top talent in Canada to help everyday Canadians win, and grow quickly while doing it

📈 For eligible roles, ownership structure that enables you to share in our path to victory

🏅Earn BIG with our short term incentive plans (STIP)

👥 Collaborating with the brightest minds to build something meaningful, united by a shared commitment to innovation, curiosity, and excellence

❤️‍🩹 Flexible health benefits & life insurance

🌴 21 Days PTO + stat holidays, and personal leave

💪 Health & personal spending accounts

🤑 A wide variety of discounts through our partner network

🏠 Access to early use of products and discounts on fixed-term Neo mortgages

👶 Parental top-up & equity vesting during long term leave

🎉 Neo night events

🧠 Company wide huddles, and education

Working at Neo:

The people who thrive at Neo are resourceful, growth-oriented, and driven to win. We hold ourselves to high standards because we’re on a mission that matters: to build a more rewarding financial future for all Canadians. As individuals and as a team, we constantly challenge ourselves and each other to raise the bar and deliver exceptional experiences for our customers. Our commitment to customer success drives everything we do, from building world-class products to providing exceptional support at every step of their journey. If this resonates with you, keep reading.

We trust, respect, and support each other. This means honest conversations, constructive input, and empowering each other to move fast and think big. You’ll be surrounded by people who push you to be your best. We primarily collaborate in person across our Calgary, Winnipeg, and Toronto offices, where ideas move quickly and teams build momentum together. As we continue to scale and evolve, we’re looking for builders, innovators, and problem solvers who thrive on challenge–people who would rather blaze a trail through uncertainty than follow a well-paved path.

At Neo, ownership is part of how we think and operate. For select roles, equity participation reinforces that mindset by giving employees a direct stake in the company’s long-term success. Regardless of role, every team member is expected to think like an owner and make decisions that move the business forward.

Apply with us:

We believe in equal opportunity and are committed to creating an inclusive climate where everyone can thrive. Customers trust us with their finances, so successful candidates for this position will be required to undergo a security screening, including a criminal records check and a credit check.

By continuing with your application, you agree to the Candidate Privacy Notice, which guides how we process your personal information for the purpose of your application.

Neo Financial leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to reinforce our candidate evaluation process, including the initial assessment of applications and screening of candidates. These tools support our recruitment team; however, all final hiring decisions are made by humans and are not based exclusively on automated processing. If you require further information regarding our data processing practices, please contact us.

We are hiring for an open, vacant position.

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About Product Owner

The Product Owner (PO) is the professional responsible for maximizing the value of the product delivered by the development team. They act as the voice of the customer and stakeholders, managing and prioritizing the product backlog, defining clear user stories, and ensuring the team works on the most valuable items for the business.

Key skills include backlog management, user story writing, prioritization (Mascow, RICE), agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban), and stakeholder communication. Knowledge of tools like Jira, Trello, Azure DevOps, and Miro is essential.

Product Owners are highly sought-after professionals in the technology market, working collaboratively with Scrum Masters, Product Managers, and engineering teams to drive agility and continuous value delivery.

About Advertising

The Advertising area is aimed at the planning, creation, and delivery of communication campaigns to promote brands, products, ideas, or services. Professionals in the sector work in advertising agencies or in-house marketing departments in creative fields (art direction, copywriting), strategic planning, account management, and media buying.

Discover Other Areas

Understand the scope of work, key skills, and tools used in different career areas.

About Public Relations

The Public Relations (PR) area focuses on managing the reputation, image, and communication of an organization with its various stakeholders (such as clients, investors, employees, media, and the community). PR professionals develop corporate communication strategies, manage media relations (press relations), organize institutional events, and work in image crisis prevention and management.

About Communications

The Communications area is strategic for building and maintaining a company's institutional image. It encompasses corporate, internal, and external communication, public relations, press office, and reputation management. Communications professionals are responsible for delivering consistent messages that strengthen the employer brand and market positioning.

Key skills include strategic writing, communication planning, crisis management, media relations, corporate content production, event organization, and digital communication. Knowledge of communication CRMs, press release distribution platforms, and media monitoring tools (Meltwater, Cision) is a differentiator.

Corporate communicators in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master change communication, employee engagement, and digital communication. The field offers opportunities in startups, scale-ups, and large corporations, with a focus on storytelling, organizational culture, and innovation communication.

About Infrastructure and DevOps

Infrastructure and DevOps are responsible for creating, maintaining, and optimizing IT environments that support applications at scale. This area is fundamental for system reliability and performance.

Key technologies include AWS, GCP, Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, CI/CD (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins), and monitoring (Datadog, Grafana, Prometheus).

DevOps engineers and SREs are highly sought-after professionals, with salaries among the highest in the technology sector.

About Data

The Data field has undergone a radical transformation with the rise of Generative AI. Data professionals are fundamental for evidence-based decision-making across all industries.

Key specializations include Data Engineering, Data Science, Business Intelligence, Machine Learning Engineering, and Analytics. Tools like SQL, Python, Spark, dbt, and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) are essential.

The data market continues with high demand and salaries among the most competitive in the technology sector, with many remote work opportunities.

About Photography

The Photography area encompasses the capture, editing, and processing of static images for commercial, advertising, editorial, or artistic purposes. Professionals in this field master lighting techniques, visual composition, camera and lens operation, as well as the use of specialized editing and post-processing software such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

Career Guides

Technology Career Guide

Planning, skills, interviews, and professional growth in IT, Data Science, DevOps, and Product.

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Design Career Guide

UX/UI, Graphic Design, Product Design. Portfolio, tools, interviews, and growth in the Design field.

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Marketing Career Guide

SEO, Paid Media, Growth, Content Marketing. Certifications, tools, and strategies to grow in Digital Marketing.

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Finance Career Guide

Financial market, investments, corporate finance, certifications, and strategies to grow in the financial field.

Read full guide →

Communication Career Guide

Journalism, PR, Corporate Communication, Content Marketing, and Multimedia Production.

Read full guide →

Administration Career Guide

Business Management, HR, Logistics, Consulting, Project Management, and Entrepreneurship.

Read full guide →

Data Career Guide

Data Science, Data Engineering, BI, Machine Learning, and AI. From training to the job market.

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Product Career Guide

Product Management, Product Ownership, Agile, Scrum, and OKRs. From strategy to execution.

Read full guide →

Tech & Remote Glossary

Stop getting lost in interviews and job descriptions

The job market, especially within tech and global companies, has developed its own dialect. Not understanding these acronyms can make you lose valuable opportunities or poorly negotiate your contract. To end this problem, we created the Definitive Glossary for the Remote Professional.

🏢 Work Models & Routine

Async (Asynchronous Work)
A communication model where responses don't need to be immediate. Instead of back-to-back meetings, the team relies on well-structured documents, threads, and messages. It's the gold standard for global companies spanning multiple time zones.
Sync (Synchronous Work)
The opposite of Async. It requires the team to be online and available at the same time for meetings, live chats, and real-time collaboration.
Daily / Stand-up
A quick daily meeting (usually 15 minutes) common in Agile (Scrum) methodologies. The team answers three questions: What did I do yesterday? What will I do today? Are there any blockers?
All-Hands / Town Hall
A company-wide meeting involving all employees. Usually led by the founders (C-Levels) to present results, new goals, and answer team questions.
1:1 (One-on-One)
A recurring individual meeting between a professional and their direct manager. It is used for career alignment, feedback, and problem-solving, not just for project status updates.

💰 Contracts, Benefits & Compensation

PTO (Paid Time Off)
Instead of strict, categorized leave policies, modern US companies usually offer a flexible pool of days (e.g., 20 days of PTO, or even "Unlimited PTO") that you can use for vacations, sick days, or personal matters, while receiving your regular compensation.
Equity / Stock Options
Company ownership. The startup offers you the right to buy shares at a heavily discounted strike price in the future. If the company grows, goes public, or is acquired, these shares can be highly lucrative.
Vesting (Vesting Schedule)
The rule that controls your Equity. It usually lasts 4 years. You don't get all the shares on day one; you "earn" them gradually as you stay with the company. A "1-year Cliff" means you must stay for at least one year to receive your first batch of shares.
RSUs (Restricted Stock Units)
Unlike Stock Options (where you have the right to buy the stock), RSUs are actual shares the company grants you as a bonus or part of your compensation package, following a strict Vesting schedule.
Independent Contractor (1099 / B2B)
The most common international hiring model for global talent working for US companies. You act as a service provider (business-to-business), receiving the gross salary (often six-figure compensation) without standard local payroll tax deductions at the source.

🤖 Recruitment & Hiring Process

ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
The "robot" that reads your resume. Software like Greenhouse, Ashby, and Workday are used to filter candidates by keywords before a human even looks at the document. (Pro tip: this is why your resume must be clean, semantic, and have the right keywords).
JD (Job Description)
The document that lists the responsibilities, technical requirements, and benefits of the open position.
Cultural Fit
The interview stage that evaluates if your core values, communication style, and worldview align with the company's culture. This is the ultimate test of your Soft Skills.
Onboarding
The integration process. It's the period of your first few weeks at the company, where you get your access credentials, learn about the culture, study the internal documentation, and understand how the product works.

🚀 How to use this to your advantage?

The secret isn't just knowing what these acronyms mean, but using them actively. If during an interview for a premium tech role you ask, "How does your PTO policy and Vesting schedule work?", the recruiter will immediately perceive you as a high-level professional, familiar with the global market standards.

The remote job market requires preparation. And having the right vocabulary is the first big step to securing six-figure proposals and standing out among thousands of applicants.

Expert Tip

Agile and Project Management in Today's Market

1. Move Beyond "Doing Agile": Deliver Real Value

One of the biggest mistakes candidates make in interviews for Agile roles is focusing too much on ceremonies (Dailies, Plannings, Retrospectives) and forgetting their actual purpose. Recruiters from global tech companies want to know how you eliminated bottlenecks and boosted team efficiency.

"True Agile success isn't measured by how many practices you implement, but by how much value you deliver to the customer and how quickly you do it."

Instead of writing "facilitated Scrum ceremonies" on your resume, use a results-driven approach: "Reduced team Cycle Time by 20% by identifying and removing bottlenecks in the value stream."

2. Certifications That Actually Bypass the ATS

While practical experience is the ultimate deciding factor, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) used by top US companies (like Greenhouse, Ashby, and Workday) filter resumes strictly through keywords. Holding the right certifications ensures you pass this first robotic barrier and get your profile in front of a human recruiter.

  • Professional Scrum Master (PSM I, II) by Scrum.org: Highly respected because it doesn't require renewal and features a rigorous, Scrum Guide-based exam.
  • Project Management Professional (PMP) by PMI: The gold standard for traditional, predictive, and hybrid Project Management.
  • PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP): Excellent for demonstrating broad knowledge across multiple Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, Lean).
  • SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework): Absolutely essential if you are targeting Enterprise-level corporations that have scaled Agile across thousands of employees.

3. Mastering Flow Metrics and Tools (Hard Skills)

The modern Agile professional must be data-driven. Companies offering six-figure compensation expect you to extract actionable insights from tools like Jira, Confluence, or Azure DevOps.

During technical interviews, be prepared to discuss how you utilize flow metrics, such as:

  • Lead Time and Cycle Time: To measure efficiency and the actual time it takes to deliver requests.
  • Throughput: The number of work items completed in a given timeframe.
  • Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD): To visually identify bottlenecks in the workflow.
  • OKRs (Objectives and Key Results): To align the development team's daily work with the company's high-level strategic goals.

4. Soft Skills and Conflict Resolution in Async Teams

In global, remote-first, and asynchronous environments, communication is the biggest challenge. A top-tier Project Manager or Scrum Master acts as a shield for the tech team and a bridge for stakeholders.

Demonstrate emotional intelligence, empathy, and negotiation skills. You will often face situational questions like: "How would you handle a Product Owner who constantly changes the Sprint scope mid-cycle?" Your answer should highlight peaceful, data-driven negotiation focused on business impact and team predictability.

Conclusion: Your Competitive Edge

To land premium Project Management and Agile roles, you must position yourself as a strategic business partner, not just a process enforcer. Understand the product, master the metrics, and know how to guide people towards continuous improvement.

References & Useful Links