Hey, I'm Jay.
I make complex things
feel simple.

10+ years building enterprise products that people actually enjoy using. Part-time crate digger. Full-time advocate for making complex things feel simple.

Jay Parafina

the short version

I've spent 10+ years in B2B SaaS shipping products from zero to scale, including one that helped a startup get acquired for $360M. I've launched 0→1 products, led platform migrations, and worked across every stage from "we don't have PMF yet" to "Fortune 500 clients need this yesterday."

Legal tech, healthcare, data infrastructure, automotive retail. Different industries, same thread: taking something gnarly and making it feel obvious. I owned IAM at Ontra, carrier experience at HealthSherpa, support experience at Fivetran, and consumer experience at Roadster.

I also build and design side projects, because I think PMs who make things have better instincts for what's possible and what's BS. Outside of work, I'm a record collector and audiophile, I run an album club, and I spend most of my time these days chasing around two young kids, which, honestly, is the best kind of product management there is.

"The best products feel obvious in hindsight. The hard part is getting there, and that's the part I like."

where i've been

Work history

A decade of making enterprise software less painful, across four industries and a few acquisitions along the way.

Ontra

2024 – 2026

Senior Product Manager, Platform (IAM)

AI-powered legal and compliance workflows for private markets

▾ collapse

Unified and modernized roles & permissions across distributed apps with a scalable RBAC/ReBAC model

Centralized document management system that became the foundation for global search and AI-powered chat

Enabled multi-tenant production environments for Fortune 500 clients including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley

HealthSherpa

2022 – 2024

Senior Product Manager, Carrier Experience

ACA health insurance enrollment, simplified

▸ show highlights

Fivetran

2021 – 2022

Product Manager, Support Experience

Automated data integration for modern analytics

▸ show highlights

Product Manager, Consumer Experience

Digital retailing for automotive dealerships

▸ show highlights

Earlier

2011 – 2015

Breeze Labs (→ Ford) · Mokriya (→ Nagarro) · CarWoo! (→ TrueCar)

Product, ops, and growth across early-stage startups, all eventually acquired

🎓

San Francisco State University

BA Communication Studies · Minor in Global Peace, Human Rights and Justice

products i've shipped

The receipts

Real products, real users, real impact across four companies and four industries.

Ontra

AdminEditorViewerOps

RBAC/ReBAC Permissions System

Unified permissions architecture across multiple microservices: scalable, auditable, enterprise-ready.

Read the full story →

Roadster → CDK Global

$24,500Get Value

Express Trade

Instant vehicle trade-in valuations integrated into the dealership website. No phone calls, no guesswork.

Read the full story →
2s5s

Express Response

Automated, personalized lead responses that engage shoppers within seconds, not hours.

Read the full story →

side quests

Things I'm building

Because the best way to understand what's possible is to build it yourself.

how we can work together

I can probably help with that

Whether you need product strategy, career guidance, or a website that actually works for your business. I'm into it.

Contact me at jparafina@gmail.com.

🧭

PM Coaching

Breaking into PM, navigating a career pivot, or prepping for interviews? I've been through it, multiple times, at multiple companies. Let's talk through it.

🔧

Product Consulting

IAM, platform architecture, enterprise multi-tenancy, auth systems. The gnarly infrastructure stuff that nobody wants to think about until it's on fire.

🏪

Independent Business Consulting

Running a small or independent business and wondering how to make AI and tech actually work for you? I help owners cut through the hype and find tools that move the needle.

🤖

AI Strategy for Small Business

There are a thousand AI tools out there and most of them won't move the needle for your business. I'll help you cut through the noise and find the ones that actually matter.

🌐

Website Development

Need a web presence that actually works for your business? I'll help you figure out the strategy: what it should say, who it's for, how it should work. Then I'll build the whole thing.

Let's grab coffee

Figuratively or literally. I'm in the East Bay and always down to talk product, music, or whatever's on your mind.

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