Software Product Owner

Xylem |ˈzīləm|

1) The tissue in plants that brings water upward from the roots;
2) a leading global water technology company.

Xylem, a leading global water technology company dedicated to solving the world’s most challenging water issues, is the leading global provider of efficient, innovative and sustainable water technologies improving the way water is used, managed, conserved and re-used. Our international team is unified in a common purpose: creating advanced technology and other trusted solutions to solve the world’s water challenges. We are committed to creating an organization of inclusion and diversity, where everyone feels involved, respected, valued and connected, and where everyone is free to bring their authentic selves and ideas.

If you are excited and passionate about helping us #letssolvewater, we want to hear from you

**The Role**:The Application Software Product Owner is responsible for the product and product features from concept to EOL. The incumbent works with architects, product management and development teams to ensure that business, quality and functional goals are met with each product release. He/She is responsible for the design, usability, quality and delivery of a product or feature and is a key decision maker, along with the Software and Product Leaders, on priorities and design decisions, and works to ensure that all stakeholders are aligned at each stage of the development lifecycle. The Application Software Product Owner understands both the engineering and business opportunities.

**Essential Duties/Principal Responsibilities**:

- Leads the translation of software features into technical requirements (Features) and follow Agile Scrum based Software development.
- Ensures there is ample room for the development team to do their work as their input is valued by the development team by creating and maintaining an appropriately prioritized backlog of user stories for implementation
- Understands and coordinates feature backlog for all releases for the platform — and their dependencies on each other.
- Is aware and able to articulate the phases of development of a product or feature
- Collaborates with product architects and product management teams to translate business requirements into user stories for the development teams to implement
- Shares and communicates business requirements and their feedback effectively so that it will lead the team to a successful outcome for our customers.
- Understands iterative development process and realizes the fact that requirements will change with time and how to adapt the changes without breaking cadence of the team.
- Be present in daily scrum, and retrospective meetings, apart from required presence in sprint planning and review meetings.
- Define software release plan and scope with Solution leaders.
- Inspire and motivate the development teams to deliver innovative and exciting solutions with an appropriate sense of urgency
- Act as an ambassador for the product internally and externally, and as the primary technical contact for queries related to the product
- Work with key stakeholders across the company to ensure successful product releases
- Partner on Continuous Improvement efforts
- Participation in Xylem Watermark volunteer activities

**Minimum Qualifications: Education, Experience, Skills, Abilities, License/Certification**:

- Bachelor’s / 4 year Degree in Software Engineering/Computer Science, business management or equivalent experience
- 5+ years of experience working in a fast-paced business environment as a Product Owner working with software and solution requirements, particularly in system-solutions which interface and collect data from distributed networks.
- Solid technical background with understanding and/or hands-on experience in modern software technologies including, web, mobile and cloud-based technologies.
- Proven track record of managing successful product launches throughout its lifecycle
- Agile Methodology software development experience required
- Training and/or certification as a professional scrum product owner (PSPO) or as a certified scrum product owner (CSPO) is strongly preferred
- Familiarity and/or experience with user research (foundational/discovery methodologies, usability studies, persona development, etc.) is a plus
- Able to direct and motivate the software development team
- Able to conduct interviews and gather various stakeholder feedback to determine most appropriate feature to add to a new or existing product
- Adept to working with user groups and scrum teams to obtain and analyze user stories and define acceptance criteria
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Skilled at working collaboratively and effectively with cross functional teams in a matrix organization
- Strong problem solving skills
- High degree of confidence and experienced presenter
- Experience in the water and/or wastewater industries or using software solutions aimed at utilities