Director of Product, Clasp Student Finance

Description

The company is a venture-backed startup that helps schools fill funding gaps for students, especially working-class and first-generation students, through institutionally funded gap loan programs. It is the market leader in this area and works with schools to design, launch and run lending programs that help students stay enrolled and graduate.

After a Series B round, the company is entering its next growth phase. It has been recognized by TIME (Best Inventions of 2026, for Loan-Linked Hiring), Forbes (Fintech 50), and Business Insider (Top 14 Healthcare Startups to Watch in 2026, and 43 Startups to Bet Your Career On in 2025).

The company runs two business lines. This role covers only the student finance line, which gives colleges and universities lending technology to launch and operate their own private student loan programs so they can fund students directly. Recent federal aid changes have made this work more urgent for institutions.

Demand has grown quickly since federal student loan policy changed. The company is closing deals with large, well-known universities that need its product to close financing gaps. Product-market fit is established, but the platform still needs work on scale, borrower experience, and the enterprise features large universities expect.

You will set the product strategy and work with executives, product, engineering, compliance and lending operations to carry it out. You will bring a clear point of view backed by data, and challenge decisions you think are wrong. Your days will range from presenting the annual plan to the executive team and board to making individual feature calls with engineers. You will lead PMs, hire and grow the team, and speak directly with customers.

Responsibilities

• Own the product strategy and roadmap for the student finance line, and co-lead delivery with the Director of Engineering
• Create a repeatable process for onboarding schools, covering loan certification and connections to their student information systems, so enterprise universities can launch without custom development
• Set priorities across the student application experience, university customer requests, and platform modernization
• Work closely with Compliance from the start on every decision, since shipping in a regulated setting depends on a strong Product and Compliance partnership
• Present the product vision to school partners, at higher-education finance conferences, and inside the company. This is not a sales role, but you must be able to explain why a school needs what the team is building
• Learn the lending platform end to end, from applications and disclosures through school certification, data, and disbursement with the bank and servicing partners, and become the go-to person for its product questions
• Stay current on student loan policy and identify where the company can better serve students and universities. You need a genuine passion for this problem space

Requirements

• At least 7 years in product management, with recent hands-on work. You can move from executive-level strategy to sprint-level detail
• Experience hiring, building an org chart, managing direct reports, and coaching PMs
• Experience with in-school student loans is required. You do not need a career in the field, but you must understand the basics of financial aid packaging, loan applications, certification, disbursement, and servicing
• Experience working with Compliance to weigh risk against product goals
• Ability to learn a complex system quickly, including reading diagrams, API documentation, and technical docs
• Commercial judgment: you link customer problems to revenue and can make a clear call when schools, students, and internal teams want different things
• You take a clear position and defend it. You have disagreed with senior leaders using research, and changed decisions while keeping their trust
• You use AI extensively and can show how you automated work that helped teammates, customers, or your own workflow
• Nice to have: experience at a startup or growth-stage company
• Nice to have: experience at a fintech that works with bank partners, such as lending-as-a-service

Conditions

Remote work for candidates in Eastern or Central time zones, with up to 10% travel

Annual base salary between $160,000 and $190,000, set by experience, qualifications, and industry knowledge. An equity component is also offered to eligible employees

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for any employer. This role is not eligible for immigration sponsorship now or in the future

AI tools support parts of hiring, such as transcribing or summarizing interviews, scheduling, and supporting evaluation in technical assessments. People review every application and make every hiring decision. You may use AI to research the company and prepare, but during live interviews and assessments the team wants your own reasoning, not real-time AI output. To request an evaluation without AI tools or an accommodation, or to ask about these tools, contact recruiting directly and another process will be arranged

Benefits

• Cash and equity compensation
• Health, dental, and vision coverage
• Student loan repayment benefits
• 401(k) with company match
• Flexible PTO policy
• Room to grow within a quick-moving team of strong colleagues