Product Owner 4 - Technical Product Owner

Job Title: Product Owner 4 - Technical Product Owner
Requisition ID: #119237-1
Duration: 12 Months
Location: Peoria, IL (Preferred) / Chicago, IL
Work Arrangement: Hybrid - 2 days onsite per week
Interview Process: 1 Round - Virtual/Phone Panel. Local candidates from Peoria or Chicago may be interviewed in person.

Focus: Candidates with 8-10 years of Technical Product Owner experience, strong hands-on technical understanding of Java 17+, REST APIs and AWS, and experience leading multiple engineering teams. Peoria and Chicago local candidates are preferred.

Job Description
Our client is seeking an experienced Technical Product Owner to work closely with Scrum Teams, manage product backlogs, establish priorities, and ensure development teams deliver business value while meeting sprint objectives.
This role will support two engineering teams, each consisting of approximately 7-10 developers, and will oversee multiple software services and complex projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Maximize product value and the productivity of 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 act as the primary point of contact between stakeholders and engineering teams.
• Lead sprint planning, daily Scrum meetings, backlog grooming, retrospectives, and sprint demos.
• Review sprint deliverables and accept or reject completed work based on requirements.
• Communicate project progress, priorities, and status to stakeholders.
• Promote Agile practices and serve as a champion of Scrum principles across the organization.

Required Qualifications

• 8-10 years of experience in a Technical Product Owner or similar capacity.
• Bachelor's and/or Master's degree required.
• Strong experience managing technical product development and multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience working closely with and leading software engineering teams.
• Strong understanding of software development, including: Java 17 or newer; RESTful APIs; Databases; AWS Cloud Development; Cloud-native software solutions and scalable architectures.
• Experience managing product backlogs using Agile tools such as Azure DevOps, JIRA, Mingle, VSTS / Team Services, Rally.
• Experience working with 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: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to engage technical teams and business stakeholders.
• Software Engineering Knowledge: Understanding of software engineering principles, development processes, and technical solution delivery.
• Software Product Management: Ability to manage product vision, roadmap, backlog, product lifecycle, 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 background in Java, REST APIs, databases, and AWS.
• Experience supporting cloud-native application development.
• Hands-on experience with Agile backlog management tools.
• Experience coordinating onshore and offshore teams.
• Familiarity with GenAI-assisted software development tools.

Disqualifiers / Red Flags

• Frequent job changes or inconsistent employment history.
• Candidates without strong technical product ownership experience.
• Candidates lacking a solid understanding of software development and cloud technologies.
• Non-local candidates must be willing to relocate at their own expense and report onsite from Day 1. This commitment must be clearly stated on the resume.

Team Structure & Work Environment

• Supports 2 engineering teams, each with approximately 7-10 developers.
• Responsible for supporting multiple software services.
• Hybrid work arrangement requiring 2 days onsite per week.
• Preferred office location is Peoria, with Chicago also considered.