Product Lead
Reports To: Head of Product, AI & Intelligence
Role Type: Senior Individual Contributor
Location: Hybrid — Cape Town / Remote
We are looking for someone who sees noise, finds the signal and turns uncertain business problems into products worth building.
At VEA, product leadership starts before roadmaps, Jira boards and engineering stand-ups. It starts with judgement. This role is for someone who can sit in a room full of competing ideas, remove the noise and identify what actually creates value.
“What problem are we really solving, and why does it matter now?”
You will operate at the front end of product creation: shaping opportunities, testing assumptions, validating commercial logic and defining what deserves engineering attention.
Not every idea should be built. Your job is knowing the difference.
What You’ll Actually Do
- ✓Lead product discovery: Turn broad strategic goals into clearly defined and commercially relevant product opportunities.
- ✓Define the real problem: Separate symptoms from root issues before resources, time and momentum are committed.
- ✓Validate before we build: Test demand, desirability, feasibility and commercial logic at the earliest possible stage.
- ✓Write lean PRDs: Produce focused, outcome-driven product requirement documents that engineers can trust and act on.
- ✓Apply commercial thinking: Pressure-test value propositions, pricing logic, market relevance and expected return before momentum takes over.
- ✓Lead cross-functionally: Work directly with design, engineering, AI and data teams to shape what enters the build pipeline.
- ✓Translate between stakeholders: Move comfortably between executive strategy and technical execution without losing clarity or intent.
Who You Are
A Product Thinker First
You understand that product is not feature production. It is disciplined problem-solving.
Commercial by Nature
You instinctively think about value, leverage, pricing, return and market fit.
Strong in Ambiguity
You do not need perfect information to make intelligent, defensible decisions.
Structured, Not Bureaucratic
You create clarity and discipline without slowing momentum or adding unnecessary process.
Comfortable in Senior Rooms
You can challenge weak assumptions respectfully, confidently and with sound reasoning.
Technically Fluent
You do not need to code, but engineers do not need to simplify every technical concept for you.
What You Are Explicitly Not
- ×A traditional business analyst writing requirement documents nobody reads.
- ×A backlog administrator moving tickets between columns.
- ×A delivery coordinator hiding behind ceremonies and process.
Required Experience
- Eight or more years in product management, venture building or product leadership roles.
- A strong track record in product discovery and validation.
- Experience shaping products before delivery begins.
- Proven ability to work with senior leadership and technical teams.
- Clear, practical commercial judgement.
Why Join Us?
- Front-end influence: Help decide what gets built, not only how it gets delivered.
- Real strategic exposure: Work directly with high-level business thinking across multiple ventures.
- Zero corporate theatre: Less process for the sake of process and more intelligent movement.
- High-leverage work: Strong product decisions can affect entire operating companies.
Show Us Your Judgement
Skip the formal cover letter. Send us your CV together with the following:
One product, service or platform you believe solves the right problem exceptionally well, together with your reasoning.
One example of a business problem you helped shape into a viable product opportunity.