Director of Product, Payments

Employment Type: [Not Specified] Location Type: [Not Specified] Salary: [Not Specified]

Position Overview

Upwork is the world’s largest work marketplace, connecting businesses with highly skilled professionals worldwide. From entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 enterprises, companies trust Upwork’s platform to access expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive meaningful business outcomes. Upwork’s AI-powered platform has facilitated over $20 billion in economic opportunity for professionals worldwide. With professionals spanning 10,000+ skills, including AI and machine learning, software development, sales and marketing, customer support, finance and accounting, and more, Upwork empowers businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and build agile teams.

We’re looking for a strategic, customer-obsessed Director of Product, Payments to lead one of the most critical areas of our global business. In this high-impact role, you will define and drive product capabilities that deliver seamless, scalable, and trusted payment experiences for clients funding work on Upwork. This includes leading cross-functional initiatives across infrastructure, data, user experience, and automation to support evolving market needs without compromising customer trust.

You’ll partner closely with engineering, legal, finance, risk, and business leadership to build robust systems that meet the needs of both clients and talent. As a senior leader, you’ll shape the long-term product vision, prioritize strategic investments, and guide a team of high-performing product managers toward outcomes that support Upwork’s global scale and velocity. This is a unique opportunity to influence end-to-end payment experiences and build future-ready solutions that drive growth and trust.

Responsibilities

• Drive the vision, roadmap, and execution strategy for client payment experiences, ensuring reliability, ease of use, and global readiness.
• Manage, mentor, and develop a team of senior product managers; foster a culture of excellence, ownership, and continuous growth.
• Collaborate with engineering, design, finance, legal, and operations teams to deliver resilient and user-friendly payment solutions.
• Use customer insights, data analysis, and regulatory requirements to inform product decisions and continuously improve client experiences.
• Lead initiatives that enhance trust, reduce friction, and automate compliance across payment touchpoints.
• Set clear goals, define KPIs, and implement rigorous processes to ensure high-quality, high-impact product outcomes.
• Represent Payments in company-wide planning, effectively communicating priorities, tradeoffs, and vision to leadership and partners.

Requirements

• 10+ years of product management experience, with deep expertise in fintech, payments, or financial systems at scale.
• 5+ years leading product teams, with a proven ability to develop senior product managers and drive collective team success.
• Strong systems thinking and technical fluency, with the ability to guide architecture discussions and align technical and product strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to balance customer needs, regulatory requirements, and business goals in high-stakes environments.
• Clear and confident communicator, capable of aligning cross-functional stakeholders and navigating ambiguity with strategic clarity.

Company Information

Come change how the world works. At Upwork, you’ll shape the future of work for a global, remote-first workforce, creating economic opportunities for professionals worldwide. While we have a physical office in Palo Alto, we currently hire full-time employees in 21 U.S. states, making it easier than ever to join our mission from wherever you call home.

Our culture is built on trust, risk-taking, customer focus, and excellence, all in service of our core mission: to create economic opportunities so people have better lives. We embrace authenticity and inclusion, encouraging everyone to bring their whole selves to work. Personal and professional growth is a priority.