About kala
Helping US-based startups and SMBs build stronger teams by finding no more, no less than the right people remotely for tech, product, and digital/marketing roles worldwide.
About our client
Our client is building software that modernizes one of the most complex and outdated parts of global trade: importing goods into the United States, and is working with both the private sector as well as the Department of Homeland Security to redefine how $4 Trillion of physical goods enter US commerce over the next decade.
Today, importers and customs brokers must navigate tariffs, changing regulations, multiple government agencies, and large amounts of manual work. Their platform helps automate this process using software and AI, reducing research time, improving compliance, and helping companies move goods faster with fewer errors.
The team has already built a well-funded foundation with an experienced group of engineers, a working product, and growing customer traction. They are focused on fundamentally changing how experts through untrained small- and medium-sized businesses interact with the Federal Government to encourage more commerce, while under unprecedented levels of scrutiny.
👀About the role
The Head of Product will play a critical role in shaping the next phase of the company’s growth. The role combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution to help translate complex regulatory and operational challenges in global trade into clear product decisions and features that deliver real value to customers.
This role will have a high level of ownership and influence across product direction, roadmap prioritization, and collaboration with the engineering team. The ideal candidate is comfortable working in fast-moving environments, enjoys solving complex problems, and is motivated by building products that have real impact on an outdated industry.
👉 Responsibilities
- Lead product strategy and roadmap development in close collaboration with the founders and engineering leadership
- Take ambiguous, operational, and regulatory problems and convert them into something clear and buildable through product initiatives
- Work directly with customers and internal stakeholders to understand operational pain points and identify product opportunities to shape the roadmap
- Define product requirements, user flows, and functional specifications for new features and improvements
- Drive continuous improvement of existing products while helping expand the platform into new customer segments
- Establish product processes, frameworks, and documentation that support scalable product development
👉 Requirements
- 5+ years of experience in product roles, including experience owning product strategy, roadmap, and delivery
- Experience in early-stage or fast-moving environments
- Ability to translate customer problems into clear and executable product requirements and solutions that improve an outdated industry.
- Persistence, curiosity, and comfort with difficult and complex operational problems
- Passion to challenge ideas, ask why, make trade-offs, and decide what actually matters
🌍 Work setup
- New York, NY – Onsite
🍿About the process
- Intro call with the kala team 💜 (30 min) – Overview of the company and role, and a chance to learn more about your background and expectations.
- First interview with the team (45 min, remote) – Deeper conversation about your experience, the company, and role.
- Second interview with the team (90 min, in person, New York City office) – Discussion with leadership to explore product thinking, alignment, and how you would approach the company’s product direction.
- Final round with the team (60 min, remote) – Final discussions, clarifications, last details.
- Offer 🤝
💜Compensation & Benefits
Salary between $190K and $215K, plus meaningful equity and the opportunity to join an early-stage startup where your work will have real impact on the product and the industry. W-2 employment, PTO, 100% Healthcare reimbursement, offices in New York City.
🤚 Why Join
This is not just another role. It is an opportunity to modernize a large, outdated, and high-pain industry. The company is fundamentally changing how trade compliance works. The founders are deep subject matter experts in the space, and the company is well-funded and growing very seriously across both the private and public sectors nationwide.