IT Product Owner - Global Business Application & Platform Services

Costco IT is responsible for the technical future of Costco Wholesale, the third largest retailer in the world with wholesale operations in fourteen countries. Despite our size and explosive international expansion, we continue to provide a family, employee centric atmosphere in which our employees thrive and succeed.
 

This is an environment unlike anything in the high-tech world and the secret of Costco’s success is its culture. The value Costco puts on its employees is well documented in articles from a variety of publishers including Bloomberg and Forbes. Our employees and our members come FIRST.  Costco is well known for its generosity and community service and has won many awards for its philanthropy. The company joins with its employees to take an active role in volunteering by sponsoring many opportunities to help others. 
 

Come join the Costco Wholesale IT family. Costco IT is a dynamic, fast-paced environment, working through exciting transformation efforts. We are building the next generation retail environment where you will be surrounded by dedicated and highly professional employees.
 

Product Owners are responsible for defining requirements, assisting with the overall product roadmap /vision, and driving value
at the scrum team level. Product Owners work closely with teams and are the “voice of the customer”, ensuring the needs of
the end-user are incorporated into the product from design to deployment. Product owners are responsible for the authoring of
functional user stories which are used to support the day to day development of new features and capabilities.
 

The IT Product Owner will join the Global Business Application and Platform Services (GBAPS) organization to own and manage the overall product strategy and backlog for the development of the new Costco ERP/MRP. This will be in support of the strategic initiative to replatform the current IBM iSeries-based core systems. The person in this role will prioritize, sequence, and coordinate the overall feature development roadmap in partnership with Enterprise Architecture and IT Vertical teams and manage the roadmap and backlog for the initiative. This person will also partner with Product Owners within initiative workstreams who are implementing core platform components and new features for the ERP.
 

The Product Owner also partners with Product Managers and stakeholders to translate product strategy and problem solving into a detailed, prioritized backlog of user stories. The Product Owner collaborates with an agile delivery team to implement, measure, and learn from the improvements they have made. The Product Owner manages execution of the portfolio’s product features and delivery roadmap for GBAPS that are aligned to KPIs that integrate both internal and external stakeholder requirements.
 

The Product Owner may also serve as the Scrum Master for their delivery team by enabling the team to self-organize, remove impediments, and foster an environment for high-performing team dynamics, continuous flow, and continuous improvement.

If you want to be a part of one of the worldwide BEST companies “to work for”, simply apply and let your career be reimagined.

 
ROLE

● Supports business strategy by forming a backlog of initiatives, features, and user stories for use in managing program sequencing.
● Collaborates with Product Managers and technology stakeholders (e.g., Enterprise Architects, IT Vertical Leadership, Product Management) to define new and/or enhanced product requirements and functionality.
● Collaborates with Product Managers to support the prioritization of feature enablers defined by architects within the product roadmap.
● Consults Product Managers for guidance and clarity on the product vision, roadmap, requirements, etc.
● Prioritizes the Epic backlog (as part of the sprint planning ceremony) based on the sequencing / ranking of features defined in the product roadmap.
● Prioritizes and sequences Epics/Features based on stakeholder and Product Manager input to maximize value and customer satisfaction and defines the overall Program sequence.
● Supports and participates in program level ceremonies including product increment (PI) planning sessions with input and consultation from the Product Managers.
● Works collaboratively and uses best practices with the delivery team to support backlog refinement, Epic planning, and long-term release planning.
● Seeks and improves processes across the delivery team by using retrospectives to inspect and adapt.
● Communicates with team members, stakeholders, and all levels of management.
● Provides direction, mentorship, and coaching to junior Product Owners.
● Stays current with product management and lean-agile best practices.
● Works continuously / daily with teams to provide answers, feedback and direction on work items, enablers, user stories, etc.
● Collaborates with Scrum Masters to ensure the work managed by teams achieves the highest value relative to needs / priority of the business.
● Collaborates with Scrum Masters and teams to define the sprint plan based on the priority outlined within the overall product vision and roadmap.
● Prioritizes the sprint backlog (as part of the sprint planning ceremony) based on the sequencing / ranking of features defined in the product roadmap.
● Refines product requirements based on the input obtained through sprint showcases / demos.
● Creates and authors user stories with detailed acceptance criteria written in the customers’ voice.
● Articulates requirements for each user story with detailed acceptance criteria.
● Ensures that all requirements support the business need, fulfill goals and objectives, and meet stakeholder needs.
● Defines and communicates requirements, risks and issues that may require changes to plans or scope.
● Prioritizes and sequences requirements/user stories based on stakeholder and Product Manager input to maximize value
and customer satisfaction and defines.
● Assists the development team with the translation of business requirements into functional or non-functional specifications.
● Collaborates with the team to prepare the estimates for the user stories within the product backlog.
● Conducts the formal review and acceptance of user stories implemented by a team within a sprint.
● Drives the execution of user acceptance testing (UAT) activities with support from business and technology team members.
● Performs functional reviews as part of sprint demos and showcases along with the Product Manager and Delivery Manager.
● Uses data and insights from multiple sources that benefits the business and our members.
● Pursues incremental delivery by looking for ways to meet business goals and learn from members and end users through
frequent, measurable enhancements.
● Monitors and improves product health.
● Ensures completed stories meet acceptance criteria by reviewing test plans, the output of automated testing or, where
necessary, contributing to manual testing efforts.
● Prioritizes and collaborates in resolution of issues and defects.
● Seeks and improves processes across the entire product team.
 
REQUIRED

● 7+ years current experience as a Product Owner or similar role
● 5+ years current experience working on a Scrum and/or Agile team.
● 5+ years current experience working within a complex software development environment.
● 5+ years’ experience with creating documentation for communication with varied audiences.
● 2+ years’ experience working on complex development projects.
● Deep understanding of business requirements elicitation pursuant to specific programs/projects involved.
● Proficient in requirements gathering, business modeling, project scoping, and use case creation.
● Expertise in utilizing standard documentation and backlog management tools/utilities.
● Ability to effectively present to and communicate with both business and technical audiences

Recommended
● 2+ years past technical development experience
● Deadline oriented and capable of self-management.
● Strong work ethic, demonstrated attention to detail, excellent time management and organizational skills.
● Ability to work both independently and within a close team environment.
● Ability to listen to and understand business needs.
● Proficient in Google Workspace applications, including Sheets, Docs, Slides, and Gmail.

 
Required Documents

●      Cover Letter

●      Resume

 
California applicants, please click here to review the Costco Applicant Privacy Notice.

Pay Ranges: 

Level 1 - $90,000 - $115,000

Level 2 - $105,000 - $135,000

Level 3 - $130,000 - $2160,000

Level 4 - $140,000 - $200,000

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, health benefits - medical/dental/vision/hearing aid/pharmacy/behavioral health/employee assistance, health care reimbursement account, dependent care assistance plan, short-term disability and long-term disability insurance, AD&D insurance, life insurance, 401(k), stock purchase plan to eligible employees.

Costco is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Costco is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or any other legally protected status. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to IT-Recruiting@costco.com
If hired, you will be required to provide proof of authorization to work in the United States. Applicants and employees for this position will not be sponsored for work authorization, including, but not limited to H1-B visas.