Product Owner - Lending & Mortgage

Overview

• **CodeNinja** is a full-stack AI delivery firm headquartered at Al Faisaliah Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Founded in 2014 as a bootstrapped software and solutions company, CodeNinja has grown into a trusted technology partner for enterprises, governments, and software acquirers across the GCC and beyond — helping organizations modernize legacy systems and operationalize intelligence across mission-critical workflows.
• Through its AI Pods, AI Labs, and Global Capability Centers spanning Riyadh, San Francisco, Santiago, and Lahore, CodeNinja co-engineers autonomous workflows, AI-native infrastructure, and bespoke models that embed intelligence at the core of enterprise operations.
• The company's forward-deployed engineering model places specialist teams directly alongside client teams to co-design, deploy, and optimize production-ready solutions at pace.
• Trusted by 240+ organizations and recognized as a category leader on Clutch and G2, CodeNinja is driven by a philosophy of 'Impact Engineering' — the belief that solving the world's most critical business challenges and creating opportunity for underrepresented knowledge communities can converge into a single, holistic outcome.
• Core service lines include:
• Work AI Solutions — deploying AI systems directly into credit, fraud, treasury, and operational workflows.
• AI for Infrastructure — integrating AI into IT and operational systems for predictive maintenance and resilience.
• AI Tooling & Platforms — including the proprietary HYPER platform for model development and workflow automation.
• AI Labs & GCC — establishing capability centers to scale internal AI and engineering talent for enterprise clients.

About the Role

Product Strategy & Backlog Management

• Own and manage the product backlog for lending and mortgage solutions, ensuring alignment with business objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Define, refine, and prioritize user stories, epics, and acceptance criteria in close collaboration with business stakeholders and SMEs.
• Translate complex banking workflows (loan origination, underwriting, disbursement, servicing) into clear, actionable product requirements.
• Maintain a clear product roadmap and communicate progress and trade-offs to senior stakeholders.

Agile Delivery

• Lead Agile ceremonies (sprint planning, backlog grooming, retrospectives, demos) as the primary Product Owner.
• Work closely with Scrum Masters and development teams to remove impediments and ensure iterative, on-time delivery.
• Apply SAFe, Scrum, or Kanban frameworks as appropriate to program and team-level delivery contexts.
• Track velocity, burn-down, and sprint metrics to maintain delivery transparency with leadership.

Integrations & Implementations

• Define integration requirements between core banking systems, CRM platforms, third-party APIs, and digital channels.
• Partner with technical architects and integration teams to validate data flows, API contracts, and middleware configurations.
• Drive UAT planning and execution for new system implementations, ensuring sign-off criteria are met before go-live.
• Oversee and coordinate end-to-end implementation of lending and mortgage modules within core banking platforms.

Migration Projects

• Lead product workstreams for data and system migration projects, including legacy-to-modern platform transitions.
• Collaborate with data architects and QA teams to define migration rules, data mapping specifications, and reconciliation processes.
• Ensure business continuity and minimal customer impact during cutover and post-migration stabilization phases.

Stakeholder Management & Governance

• Act as the primary liaison between business units (retail banking, risk, compliance, operations) and technology delivery teams.
• Facilitate workshops, requirement-gathering sessions, and sign-off meetings with senior stakeholders and C-level sponsors.
• Ensure product decisions comply with local banking regulations (SAMA guidelines and KSA financial services standards).
• Produce and maintain product documentation including BRDs, functional specs, and release notes.

& Experience**Essential**

• 8–10 years of experience in product ownership, business analysis, or product management within the banking or financial services sector.
• Demonstrable, hands-on experience in Lending and/or Mortgage products — including loan origination, credit assessment, mortgage servicing, and collections workflows.
• Proven track record delivering Agile projects (Scrum/SAFe) as a certified or practising Product Owner.
• Strong experience in systems integration projects — defining requirements for API-based integrations with core banking, LOS, or CRM platforms.
• End-to-end experience in platform implementation projects, including requirements definition, UAT coordination, and go-live support.
• Hands-on involvement in at least one large-scale data or system migration project in a banking context.
• Excellent stakeholder management, facilitation, and communication skills with the ability to influence at senior levels.

Desirable

• Prior experience working in or delivering projects for banks or financial institutions in Saudi Arabia or the GCC region.
• Familiarity with SAMA regulations, Basel frameworks, or KSA-specific mortgage/lending compliance requirements.
• Knowledge of core banking platforms such as Temenos T24, Oracle FLEXCUBE, Finastra, or Mambu.
• CSPO, SAFe PO/PM, or equivalent Agile certification.
• Experience with digital mortgage or open banking initiatives.

Why Join Us

• Work with leading **banking clients** on high-impact **digital transformation initiatives**.
• Exposure to **enterprise-level systems**, modern digital platforms, and multi-disciplinary project environments.
• A culture focused on **innovation**, **ownership**, and **continuous learning**.
• Collaborate with global teams across **technology**, **digital**, and **architecture** domains.
• Clear pathways for growth in **business analysis**, **solutioning**, and **digital leadership** roles.

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