Product Builder

Product Builder

Full-Time No working from home possible
Doist

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Own and improve product surfaces using AI tooling, shipping changes directly.
  • Company: Fast-growing AI startup with a mission-driven culture.
  • Benefits: 33 days holiday, health plans, travel benefits, and a collaborative office environment.
  • Other info: Join a dynamic team with minimal management and lots of room for creativity.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact by solving problems and enhancing user experiences.
  • Qualifications: Experience in product ownership, AI tools, and a knack for building without instructions.

About Nous

Nous is an AI agent that takes some of the load of life: making good decisions and acting for people in areas where they're not the experts, or aren't paying enough attention. We started with bills, where we're already saving households thousands, and we're now expanding into new categories. Think Amazon starting with books. It's working. 20x year-on-year growth makes us one of the fastest-scaling startups in the UK, and an NPS of +70 (higher than Apple) says our users love it.

On top of bill optimisation, we've just launched two more products: insurance, where we're the first in the UK to get regulatory approval to run the full discovery-and-purchase journey as an agent (not just hand you a link). And subscription management, where we use Open Banking to actively cancel unwanted subscriptions for people, rather than just draw them a pretty graph.

We're a certified B Corp, and that's how we hold ourselves to the mission rather than just talking about it. We've stacked the deck: a founding team with multiple exits, and investors including the founders of Monzo, Wise, Booking.com, lastminute.com, Onfido, Funding Circle, Tide and Habito.

How we build (worth reading before the role)

Most companies split the thinkers, the doers and the builders. We don't. Something special happens when they're the same people: a small team that builds and owns the tools for its own problems understands those problems from the inside. So the rule at Nous is simple. The person who feels the problem should be the one who builds the fix.

This isn't brand new. A sharp generalist could always wire something together with no-code and low-code tools to solve a problem. The catch was the ceiling: those tools were far more limited than real code, so you hit a wall the moment the problem got interesting. Unless you had superhuman levels of stubbornness and a high tolerance for using tools for things they really weren't designed for. What's changed is that ceiling. With AI tooling and a lot of context, you're now building much closer to real code, and shipping it on the live product.

You can change how our WhatsApp agent handles a tricky conversation, dig through Open Banking data to find money we should be saving people, prototype a feature, or automate a process that used to eat someone's week. And you're not doing this around engineering, you're doing it alongside engineers. Engineers build the safe surfaces you ship on (the tools, the infrastructure, the context APIs, the guardrails), and they're who you pull in when you reach the edge of what's safe to touch alone. None of that works without a particular kind of person: not a software engineer, but someone who builds like one.

The role

You’ll own a product surface and make it better, end to end, without waiting for an engineer to do it for you. The clearest version of this already exists on the team. Ben joined as a PM, not an engineer. Engineering set him up with the right infrastructure and a context API, and now he ships changes to Nora (our customer-facing WhatsApp agent) himself, pulling people in only when he's blocked.

Worth being upfront: we've never hired for this profile directly before. The people doing it today grew into it here (Ben from product, Gen from ops) once we set them up with the tooling and context to build. You'd be the first we bring in, so expect the role to shift a bit as we figure out what works.

Depending on where you're strongest and where we need you most, the first surface might be:

  • Nora and our AI agents. Find where she struggles in real conversations, improve how she handles them, build and run the evals that tell us whether she's getting better, and tighten the recovery flows for when things go wrong.
  • Open Banking and subscriptions. Dig into the data behind our subscription product, spot the patterns, and build the logic that decides what's worth cancelling or flagging. Then work out how we cancel them automatically. Real money back in people's pockets.
  • Whatever's most broken. New products and surfaces appear constantly. You'll take a rough, messy problem and turn it into something shipped and improving.

What you'll actually do

  • Take a product problem from rough to shipped, with AI tooling (Claude Code, Cursor, whatever gets it done) as your main working environment.
  • Answer your own questions. When you need to know how many members hit a broken flow last week, write the query and find out. Don't file a ticket and wait.
  • Ship on the safe surfaces: prompts, agent behaviour, configuration, workflows, data pipelines, internal tools.
  • Know where the edge is, and pull in an engineer before you cross it.
  • Live close to the user. Read the conversations, watch where the product delights people or falls over, and let that drive what you build next.
  • Own the outcome. A feature isn't done when you've shipped it, it's done when it's working for members.

About you

You build without precise instructions. You've been a founder, an early PM, or the generalist who ends up owning the thing nobody else will. Give you a problem and some context and you start building. You don't wait for a spec or a map.

AI tooling is already how you work. Not "ChatGPT wrote my cover letter". You use Claude Code, Cursor or similar as your working environment: prototyping, querying data, navigating systems, automating your own work. You've felt the shift where one person with the right tools does in an afternoon what used to take a sprint, and you've leaned into it.

You're technically fearless yet humble about your limitations. You'll happily get under the bonnet, read enough code to be dangerous, write a bit of SQL, and pick up a new tool before anyone hands it to you. And you have good judgement on when you should ask for help.

You've got product judgement. You can tell a real problem from a shiny one, you frame things around what changes for the member, and you kill your own ideas as readily as you back them. You've been at this a while. You've done the doing long enough to have the scars, and you've owned something real before. This isn't a first job, and you'll be trusted to own a surface early.

Nice-to-haves

  • You've built and shipped your own thing: a startup, a side project, an internal tool that took off.
  • You've worked with LLMs, agents or evals, or with messy real-world data (Open Banking, financial, operational).
  • Startup experience where you wore several hats and none of them fit.

How we work

We keep the middle thin, on purpose. There's barely any middle management, which means fewer bottlenecks and room for exceptional people to have real impact without first being promoted into managing others. It's a real bet, not a free lunch. Instead of a manager buffer, you get lots of context and colleagues who help because they're invested, not because an org chart says so.

If you need a clear remit handed down before you can move, this probably won't suit you. Your first 90 days are built around getting you to real ownership safely: pairing when you want it, lots of context, and people who want you to ship.

We celebrate the person who built the unglamorous version this week, not whoever thought of it first. We're office-first, near Farringdon. We do a lot of our best thinking together and being in the same room helps, though we're pragmatic about heads-down work when you need it.

Remuneration and benefits

  • A great office set up for collaborative work (we already need more whiteboards)
  • The equipment, setup and training you need to do your best work
  • A high-context environment with real exposure to the big decisions, in the room when it happens
  • Very good coffee
  • A well-stocked kitchen (featuring a wildly popular toastie maker)
  • Informal social every week, something bigger every month
  • 33 days paid holiday (including bank holidays)
  • Health and dental cash plans, including an employee assistance programme
  • Travel benefits, including the cycle-to-work scheme and season ticket loans

Product Builder employer: Doist

Brink's is an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture, empowering employees to drive global commercial strategies in the ATM lifecycle solutions sector. With a strong focus on professional development and growth opportunities, employees are encouraged to expand their skills while contributing to sustainable growth and operational excellence. Located in a dynamic environment, Brink's offers unique advantages such as a diverse team and the chance to build long-term partnerships with global customers, making it a rewarding place to advance your career.

Doist

Contact Details:

Doist Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Product Builder

Get Involved in Startup Events

Dive into the local startup scene! Attend pitch nights, hackathons, and networking events. It's a great way to meet founders and like-minded folks. Plus, you never know who might put in a good word for you at a startup like Doist!

Show Off Your Creativity

Startups love unique ideas! Create a portfolio or a personal website showcasing your past projects, especially those relevant to startups. This personal touch can really make you stand out when you're applying for that full-time gig at Doist.

Leverage Startup Communities Online

Get active on platforms such as Indie Hackers, Startup Grind, or even LinkedIn groups focused on startups. Participating in discussions can increase your visibility and open up potential job leads, especially at buzzing companies like Doist.

Direct Applications are Your Best Bet

Don't shy away from applying directly through our website. Startups often check their own portals first before other job sites. Tailor your application to show how you can add value to Doist — a personal touch goes a long way!

We think you need these skills to ace Product Builder

Product Management
AI Tooling
Prototyping
Data Querying
SQL
Problem-Solving
User Experience Understanding

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show Your Entrepreneurial Spirit:When applying for a role in startups and entrepreneurship, it's crucial to highlight any experience you have with starting your own projects or businesses. We love seeing examples of your initiative, so sprinkle in stories of how you’ve taken risks or solved problems creatively—this is what makes you stand out!

Tailor Your CV for Impact:In the startup world, your CV should reflect not just your experience, but the impact you've made. Use quantifiable achievements to show your contributions, like percentage increases in growth or revenue. Remember, we’re looking for go-getters who know how to get results!

Craft a Provocative Cover Letter:Your cover letter is a chance to showcase your passion and motivation for working at Doist. Don't just list your skills—share your vision and what excites you about the entrepreneurial journey. Connect your personal aspirations with what we need, and let your enthusiasm shine through!

Keep Your Portfolio Handy:If you have a portfolio showcasing any past projects or entrepreneurial efforts, definitely mention it in your application. Though not always necessary for full-time roles, it can provide us with deeper insights into your work style and creativity. If you have a blog, products, or any innovation, we'd love to see it!

How to prepare for a job interview at Doist

Show Your Entrepreneurial Spirit

In startups, they love seeing passion and initiative. Be ready to share any personal projects or ideas you've worked on. This shows you’re not just about the 9-to-5, but you’re invested in creating value, which is key in this fast-paced environment.

Brush Up on Your Problem-Solving Skills

Expect to be thrown some curveballs during the interview—startups often face unexpected challenges. Having a couple of examples up your sleeve where you’ve creatively solved problems will really impress them. It's all about how you think on your feet!

Know Your Stuff About the Industry

Since you're applying for a full-time role, they’ll want to see you've done your homework. Make sure you understand where the startup stands in its industry, including competitors and market trends. It’s a great way to show you're genuinely interested and can contribute from day one.

Show Flexibility and Adaptability

Startups can pivot quickly, so highlight your adaptability. Share examples of when you've successfully navigated change or taken on roles outside your comfort zone. This shows you’re ready for whatever comes your way, which is crucial in a startup atmosphere!