Senior Product Owner / Product Manager

Accountabilities

In this role, you will take ownership of the product development lifecycle, from discovery and prioritization to delivery and continuous improvement. Working alongside engineering, design, and client stakeholders, your responsibilities will include:

• Product Backlog Ownership

  • Own and manage the product backlog from end to end.

  • Write clear, actionable user stories and acceptance criteria.

  • Maintain backlog priorities and communicate the reasoning behind prioritization decisions transparently.

  • Product Discovery and Validation

    • Engage directly with users and stakeholders to understand their needs, challenges, and expectations.

    • Test early ideas and validate problems and potential solutions before committing engineering resources.

    • Translate user feedback and business requirements into practical product opportunities.

    • Prioritization and Decision-Making

      • Make informed trade-off decisions based on business value, delivery effort, and potential risks.

      • Communicate prioritization decisions clearly and align stakeholders around product direction.

      • Balance short-term delivery needs with longer-term product objectives.

      • Product Development and Delivery

        • Collaborate daily with engineers and UX designers to turn product concepts into working features.

        • Review and accept completed work against clearly defined acceptance criteria.

        • Support frequent, incremental releases to deliver value and gather feedback quickly.

        • Product Vision and Roadmap

          • Shape the product vision and roadmap in collaboration with the client's product leadership.

          • Keep the development team focused on measurable outcomes rather than simply increasing feature output.

          • Ensure product priorities remain aligned with user needs and strategic objectives.

          • Performance Measurement

            • Define and monitor product success metrics, including adoption, task completion, and user satisfaction.

            • Use performance data and user feedback to evaluate results and guide future product decisions.

            • Agile Delivery

              • Participate in Scrum ceremonies and contribute to effective team collaboration.

              • Take part in Program Increment (PI) Planning when the program follows the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).

              Requirements

              The ideal candidate is an entrepreneurial product professional with proven experience taking a software product from initial concept to successful launch. You should be comfortable operating in an early-stage environment, making independent decisions, and collaborating closely with technical and business stakeholders. The following qualifications are required:

              • Demonstrated ownership of at least one product from idea through launch.

              • Ability to provide evidence of a product you have shipped, such as a live website, app store listing, or public launch announcement.

              • Startup experience as a founder, founding team member, early product manager, or early product owner.

              • At least 5 years of experience in software product management or product ownership.

              • Hands-on experience managing and prioritizing product backlogs using Jira or a comparable tool.

              • Strong written and verbal communication skills.

              • Ability to work directly and effectively with users, engineers, designers, and executive stakeholders.

              • Proven ability to translate product vision and user needs into clear requirements and actionable development priorities.

              • Entrepreneurial mindset, ownership, and comfort working in a small, fast-moving team.

              Preferred Qualifications

              • Experience building products on Google Cloud or another public cloud platform.

              • Experience developing products for the public sector or other regulated environments.

              • SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager, Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), or equivalent certification.

              • Technical background in engineering, data, or design.

              • Experience with UX research, design systems, and accessibility standards.

              Additional Information

              • Fully remote position within the United States.

              • Expected start date: As soon as possible.

              • Applicants must be U.S. citizens or green card holders.

              • Candidates must remain located in the United States for the entire engagement.

              • Applicants must include a link to a product they have shipped, along with a brief explanation of their contribution to its development and launch.

              Benefits

              • Fully remote work arrangement.

              • Opportunity to build and launch a new application from the ground up.

              • Direct ownership of product strategy, backlog management, and delivery priorities.

              • Close collaboration with a small, multidisciplinary team operating with a startup mindset.

              • Opportunity to work with Google Cloud technologies and contribute to a public-sector product initiative.