SVP, Product at Toptal

As SVP, Product, you will shape the vision for Toptal’s products and platforms, driving execution to build them. This is the most senior product role in the company, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and collaborating with Engineering, Design, Finance, Marketing, New Businesses, Professional Services, and Customer leaders.

You will be Toptal’s foremost expert on what AI means for products and platforms, specializing in fine-tuning, post-training, agent design, evaluation, and the economics of running models in production. AI is not a line item—it is the roadmap. Work directly with our AI researchers, originating both the AI agenda and product strategy.

This is a hands-on role. You will write your own specs, pull your own data, and prototype AI agents before budgeting. You will set the pace for product reviews, own hiring standards, and bring in talent to advance Toptal to the next level.

Your remit spans the entire business: the core platform, talent and client experiences, internal systems, market products, and the data and AI platform underneath them. You will work closely with Engineering, integrate acquisitions, and understand growth marketing, as product reach is part of its creation.

Product is yours to shape at blazing speed: scoping, sizing teams, planning headcount, and defining roles. Hiring is the highest-leverage work, and we seek someone visibly excited about landing top talent.

This is a remote position. Resumes and communication must be submitted in English.

Responsibilities:

AI and Agentic Product

• Own Toptal’s AI product strategy, deciding where agents and models fit across the marketplace, talent/client experiences, internal systems, and market products, including business outcomes.
• Determine AI build-versus-buy decisions for models and tooling, and pricing for AI-enabled products.
• Make AI quality measurable through evaluations, acceptance bars, and review loops, partnering with Engineering as its most demanding customer.
• Rebuild Product workflows using AI, raising output and judgment for every product manager through AI-assisted discovery, research, prototyping, and analysis.

Portfolio and Operating Model

• Own the vision, strategy, and multi-year roadmap for the entire portfolio, including what to build, sunset, and invest in.
• Establish the product operating model and metrics, ensuring decisions are data-driven and user-researched.
• Oversee product integration of acquisitions and new products, acting as a senior voice for talent and clients.

Team and Accountability

• Define the modern product team structure, where roles blur between product management, engineering, and design.
• Own resourcing and workforce planning, meeting time-sensitive hiring commitments.
• Review product work directly, develop people against clear standards, and raise the bar as the organization grows.

In the First Week:

• Get up to speed with organizational frameworks, relationships with the CEO and executive team, and Toptal’s platform architecture.
• Learn marketplace dynamics, internal tooling, and current AI initiatives.

In the First Month:

• Assess the current Product organization’s AI maturity, people, roadmap, and gaps.
• Present an unrequested product strategy to the executive team.
• Establish shared priorities with the CEO and executive team.
• Collaborate closely with product teams.

In the First Three Months:

• Own the product portfolio, strategy, and roadmap, executing with at least one AI-enabled capability in production.
• Present resourcing plans and investment priorities to the executive team.
• Establish or refine the product operating model, including planning cadence and metrics.

In the First Six Months:

• Show business impact from AI-enabled products in at least two core surfaces, with measurable evidence.
• Ensure the right leadership team is in place, addressing any gaps.
• Mentor teams, uplevel collaboration, and chart a path for scaling Product’s impact.

In the First Year:

• Run a product organization recognized as one of the most advanced in the industry, with AI embedded in the portfolio.
• Build an exceptional product team delivering impactful work.
• Deliver on roadmap priorities, demonstrating a link between product investment and business results.

Qualifications and Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline (Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems); Master’s strongly preferred.
• 15+ years of proven software Product Management experience.
• 8+ years leading Product organizations, including managing managers.
• Proven ability to raise the level of a product organization through hiring and development.
• Proven ownership of resourcing and workforce planning, with a quantifiable hiring track record.
• Experience owning an entire product portfolio at a high-growth technology company, with accountability for business outcomes.
• Demonstrated success setting product strategy at the executive level and translating it into an executable roadmap.
• Experience leading AI-enabled products, delivering measurable business outcomes.
• Deep, hands-on command of modern AI, including agentic architectures, fine-tuning, evaluation, and production economics.
• Further ahead on AI than executives, able to teach it and move the organization to adopt it.
• Growth marketing fluency, understanding acquisition, activation, conversion, and retention.
• Experience with marketplace, platform, or two-sided business models is a strong plus.
• Prior experience as a Software Engineer is a strong plus.
• Comfortable working with SQL or spreadsheets for data analysis and user research.
• Ability to craft solutions through data and a user-centric approach.
• Meticulous quality standards for user stories, brainstorming, and testing before release.
• Humble, willing to learn, and committed to helping Toptal achieve its goals.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience with agile methodologies and globally distributed teams.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, rapidly growing company.
• Must be a world-class individual contributor, not just a manager.

Essential Job Functions:

• Regularly attend scheduled virtual team meetings on camera.
• Work independently with minimal supervision.
• Use all required digital collaboration tools.
• Prioritize and self-manage workflows and deadlines.