PRODUCT OWNER

BASIC FUNCTION:

This hybrid Product Owner role plays a pivotal part in delivering customer-focused digital products and solutions. Responsible for driving the on-time, high-impact delivery of digital features, this position ensures that business goals and user needs are effectively translated into product requirements, technical configurations, and actionable solutions. In addition to traditional product ownership, this role requires hands-on engagement in workflow design, business rule implementation, and technical problem-solving to ensure system solutions are robust, scalable, and business-ready.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES & REPORTING STRUCTURE:

• Supervises who (level and number): N/A (none) but some coaching is expected
• Reports to: Commercial Program Manager

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collaborate with business stakeholders (Sales, Operations, IT) to gather and define business needs.
• Translate business requirements into technically detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and technical specifications.
• Own and prioritize the product backlog to maximize customer value and business impact and reduce waste.

2. Design & Development

• Oversee the full product lifecycle, from ideation through design, development, and delivery.
• Align feature development with the overall product roadmap and strategic goals.
• Act as the central liaison between development teams and stakeholders to ensure roadmap clarity.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to define and evolve future product enhancements.
• Manage backlog grooming and prioritization based on impact, feasibility, and user value.
• Participate in Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, standups, and retrospectives.
• Perform hands-on testing to ensure feature quality and readiness.
• Provide updates and training to stakeholders and end-users.

3. Admin, Technical Configuration, Workflows & Back-Office Execution

• Manage back-office and other administrative functions to support applications.
• Define and implement business rules and logic using configurable back-office platforms.
• Design, configure, and manage workflows that support business processes and automation.
• Partner with developers, architects, Dev Ops, and system admins to validate feasibility, assist with technical designs, and ensure scalable solutions.

4. System & Process Analysis

• Conduct gap analyses between current system capabilities and business requirements to determine the changes needed.
• Identify improvement opportunities across digital tools, workflows, and integrations.
• Support testing, quality assurance, and troubleshooting during feature development and rollout.
• Stays informed about future technologies that can be applied to solutions.
• Works with the development team to ensure that technical debt is tracked and helps to retire TD.

4. User Enablement & Feedback Loop

• Lead user training sessions and create documentation to support adoption.
• Act as a feedback loop between users and development teams to drive continuous improvement.
• Monitor product usage and gather insights to inform future enhancements.

4. Reporting & Strategic Support

• Provide KPI reporting and product performance insights to leadership.
• Support strategic planning through data analysis and stakeholder alignment.

Track progress against delivery milestones, ensuring projects stay on time and on scope.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Requires a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
•  3–5+ years of experience as a Product Owner, Technical Product Owner, or Business Analyst, preferred in SAP environment.
• Strong understanding of Agile/Scrum methodologies and software development lifecycle (SDLC).
• Preferred experience in configuring business workflows and automating processes using workflow engines or low-code/no-code platforms (e.g., Power Automate, Salesforce, ServiceNow)
• Ability to define, manage, and execute business rules from configurable back-office tools
• High-level understanding of system architecture, data models, APIs, and system integrations. Able to access and analyze data using SQL.
• Familiarity with tools like Jira, Confluence, Azure, MS Office, Service Now, or similar platforms
• Experience in or knowledge of the following industries is a plus:
• Steel
• Metals Manufacturing
• Commodities (steel-related)
• Service Centers
• General/Industrial Manufacturing
• Travel: Minimal, estimated at 2–5 overnights per quarter.
• Soft Skills:
• Able to collaborate with others to make decisions. Approachable, active listener, conflict resolution and the ability to energize and motivate others by sharing the value of any enhancements with the team. Ownership mindset: takes responsibility to drive results and hold others accountable.
• Presentation skills: able to conduct Agile ceremonies that include sprint planning and sprint demos.
• Able to provide and receive feedback in a professional manner.
• Problem solving skills: able to apply problem solving methods to identify a process changes.
• Analytical skills: patience to break down problems, identify actionable steps, document process flows, analyze patterns in data.