Product Manager in Durham, North Carolina at Aspida Financial Services LLC

Company Description:

Aspida is a tech-driven, nimble insurance carrier. Backed by Ares Management Corporation, a leading global alternative asset manager, we offer simple and secure retirement solutions and annuity products with speed and precision. More than that, we’re in the business of protecting dreams; those of our partners, our producers, and especially our clients. Our suite of products, available through our elegant and intuitive digital platform, focuses on secure, stable retirement solutions with attractive features and downside protection. A subsidiary of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) acts as the dedicated investment manager, capital solutions and corporate development partner to Aspida. For more information, please visit www.aspida.com or follow them on LinkedIn.

Who We Are:

Sometimes, a group of people come together and create something amazing. They don’t let egos get in the way. They don’t settle for the status quo, and they don’t complain when things get tough. Instead, they see a common vision for the future and each person makes an unspoken commitment to building that future together. That’s the culture, the moxie, and the story of Aspida.

Our business focuses on annuities and life insurance. At first, it might not sound flashy, but that’s why we’re doing things differently than everyone else in our industry. We’re dedicated to developing data-driven tech solutions, providing amazing customer experiences, and applying an entrepreneurial spirit to everything we do. Our work ethic is built on three main tenets: Get $#!+ Done, Do It with Moxie, and Have Fun. If this sounds like the place for you, read on, and then apply at aspida.com/careers.

What We Are Looking For:

Under the general direction of the VP of Application Services, the Product Manager will support the evolution and delivery of Aspida’s Annuity Products and Retail platform. While primary focus will be placed on the FAST Policy Administration System, this role will work with multiple systems that must be integrated to launch and maintain Aspida’s annuities. This role partners closely with business and technology stakeholders to define requirements, drive delivery, and support the ongoing enhancement of annuity products and operational capabilities across the organization.

The Product Manager will work cross-functionally with Actuarial, Accounting, Operations, Data, and Engineering teams to translate business needs into scalable system solutions. This individual will play a key role in supporting new product implementations, financial processing, policy servicing capabilities, and downstream integrations and extracts. The ideal candidate is a grounded and analytical problem solver who thrives in a fast-paced environment, can manage multiple concurrent initiatives, and is comfortable navigating complex operational and technical challenges.

This role requires strong communication skills, a high degree of ownership, and the ability to work effectively with both internal teams and external vendors. Experience with policy administration platforms, financial services systems, and insurance operations is strongly preferred. This role reports to the Director of Insurance Product Management is located in our Durham, NC office and requires onsite presence three days per week.

What You Will Do:

• Define and manage the insurance product roadmap and execution for your assigned area.
• Optimize and enable collaboration between stakeholders across multiple departments including operations, actuarial, distribution, compliance, technology, finance, data.
• Create and maintain a strong experience and outcome vision for the Retail area.
• Support fact-based prioritization frameworks and capabilities.
• Ongoing product management and backlog refinement.
• Deeply understand our user’s workflows and buying experience to ideate new opportunities to improve their experience.
• Own roadmap prioritization to balance speed of new platform features with pre-committed servicing needs and technical debt .
• Manage external vendor relationships.
• Improve speed to market through identification of inefficiencies and automation
• Define clear outcomes that measure business impact with the ability to analyze them and utilize them in decision making processes.
• Ensure quality and completeness under a fast paced environment.

What We Provide:

• Salaried, DOE
• Long-Term Incentive Plan
• Full-Time
• Full Benefits Package Available

What We Believe:

At Aspida Financial Services, LLC, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As such, Aspida does not and will not discriminate in employment and personnel practices on the basis of race, sex, age, handicap, religion, national origin or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. Hiring, transferring and promotion practices are performed without regard to the above listed items.

What We Require:

• 5+ years of experience working within IT, software delivery, business systems analysis, or product management functions.
• Experience working within financial services, insurance, annuities, or related highly regulated industries.
• Experience working with Policy Administration Systems; FAST experience strongly preferred.
• Product Manager, Product Owner, Business Analyst, or related experience supporting enterprise applications and operational platforms.
• Strong understanding of software delivery processes and experience working in Agile or iterative development environments.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities in a fast-paced environment with shifting business needs and timelines.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex business requirements into scalable system solutions and actionable development requirements.
• Experience partnering with cross-functional business and technical teams, including Operations, Accounting, Actuarial, Data, and Engineering.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to investigate system behavior, financial outputs, and operational data issues.
• Experience working with APIs, batch processing, integrations, and enterprise system workflows.
• Strong SQL skills and ability to analyze and validate data independently.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders across multiple teams.
• Ability to operate independently, exercise sound judgment, and drive initiatives to completion with limited oversight.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Information Technology, a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience supporting annuity or life insurance products strongly preferred.