Role: Product Owner 4 – Technical Product Owner
Location: Peoria, IL / Chicago, IL
Work Arrangement: Hybrid – 2 Days Onsite Per Week
About The Role
We are seeking an experienced Technical Product Owner to work closely with Scrum Teams, manage product backlogs, establish priorities, and ensure engineering teams deliver business value while meeting sprint objectives.
The ideal candidate will have 8–10 years of Technical Product Owner experience, a strong hands-on technical understanding of Java 17+, RESTful APIs, databases, and AWS Cloud, and proven experience leading multiple software engineering teams.
This role will support two engineering teams, each consisting of approximately 7–10 developers, and oversee multiple software services and complex technical projects.
Key Responsibilities
Maximize product value and improve the productivity of software development teams.
Own, create, maintain, and prioritize the Product Backlog based on business value and project objectives.
Define and communicate product vision, goals, priorities, and release plans.
Collaborate with Lead Engineers to break down epics and features into actionable user stories.
Translate business requirements into clear technical requirements and sprint deliverables.
Work with business stakeholders and development teams to negotiate requirements, scope, and release timelines.
Manage defect prioritization and make decisions regarding product releases and features.
Represent customer needs and serve as the primary point of contact between stakeholders and engineering teams.
Lead sprint planning, daily Scrum meetings, backlog grooming, retrospectives, and sprint demonstrations.
Review sprint deliverables and accept or reject completed work based on defined acceptance criteria.
Communicate project progress, priorities, and delivery status to stakeholders.
Promote Agile practices and champion Scrum principles across the organization.
Coordinate development activities across multiple engineering teams and onshore/offshore resources.
Required Qualifications
8–10 years of experience as a Technical Product Owner or in a similar technical product management role.
Bachelor's and/or Master's degree required.
Strong experience managing technical product development and multiple projects simultaneously.
Proven experience working closely with and leading software engineering teams.
Strong understanding of software development technologies and concepts, including:
Java 17 or newer
RESTful APIs
Relational and/or NoSQL databases
AWS Cloud Development
Cloud-native application development and scalable architectures
Experience managing product backlogs using Agile tools such as:
Azure DevOps
JIRA
Mingle
VSTS / Team Services
Rally
Experience working with distributed onshore/offshore development teams.
Experience using Generative AI tools such as GitHub Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Core Competencies
Business Analysis: Ability to identify business needs, evaluate requirements, and recommend solutions that deliver stakeholder value.
Decision-Making & Critical Thinking: Ability to analyze complex situations and make informed product and business decisions.
Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to engage technical teams and business stakeholders.
Software Engineering Knowledge: Strong understanding of software engineering principles, development processes, and technical solution delivery.
Software Product Management: Ability to manage product vision, roadmaps, backlogs, product lifecycles, and business value.
Preferred Candidate Profile
Proven experience as a Technical Product Owner in software development environments.
Experience managing multiple projects while working closely with engineering teams.
Strong technical understanding of Java 17+, RESTful APIs, databases, and AWS.
Experience supporting cloud-native application development and scalable software solutions.
Hands-on experience with Agile backlog management tools.
Experience coordinating onshore and offshore engineering teams.
Familiarity with Generative AI-assisted software development tools, particularly GitHub Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
