Technical Product Owner

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We are seeking a seasoned Technical Product Owner to guide the evolution of our high-traffic Sports and News mobile applications, working in close partnership with the Product Owner. This role is pivotal in bridging the gap between business objectives, user needs, and technical execution, with a primary focus on backend systems and APIs. A core responsibility will be empowering our Scrum teams by meticulously refining user stories related to these backend components, ensuring they are clear, concise, and fully prepared for development sprints, thereby maximizing team velocity and product quality.
Key Responsibilities

• Product Vision & Roadmap Collaboration: Collaborate with the Product Owner and product leadership to define and articulate the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for the Sports and News mobile applications, ensuring alignment with company goals and technical feasibility.
• Backlog Management & Prioritization (Backend Focus): In partnership with the Product Owner, manage, maintain, and prioritize the product backlog for the mobile apps, with a specific focus on backend services, APIs, and their integration with the mobile front-end. Ensure the backlog is transparent, well-understood, and reflects the highest value opportunities.
• Story Refinement & Readiness (Backend & API Emphasis): Lead and facilitate rigorous backlog refinement sessions, particularly for backend-focused user stories, with the Scrum development team (engineers, QA, designers). This includes:
• Breaking down epics and larger features related to backend systems and APIs into granular, well-defined user stories.
• Clearly articulating functional requirements, technical specifications, and user needs for backend services.
• Defining precise, testable acceptance criteria for API endpoints and backend logic.
• Ensuring all backend stories meet the teams agreed-upon Definition of Ready (DoR) before sprint planning, minimizing ambiguity and enabling efficient development.
• Technical Liaison & API Definition: Act as the primary technical point of contact for the mobile development team and backend engineering teams, translating business requirements into actionable technical tasks for APIs and services, and providing necessary context. Contribute to the design and definition of new APIs and backend services, ensuring they are scalable, reliable, and meet the functional and non-functional requirements of the mobile applications.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Engage with various stakeholders, including the Product Owner, business units, editorial teams, marketing, and UX/UI designers, to gather requirements, solicit feedback, and ensure alignment. Act as a key liaison between the Product Owner and the engineering teams for backend initiatives.
  
• Agile Process Facilitation: Actively participate in all Scrum ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Sprint Reviews, Retrospectives), providing ongoing clarification and support to the team, especially regarding backend and API implementations.
• Quality Assurance Support (Backend & API): Work closely with QA to ensure test ability of backend features and API integrations, and validate that implemented solutions meet acceptance criteria.
• Performance Monitoring (Backend Systems): Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to backend service health, API response times, and data integrity, as well as user feedback, to inform future iterations and identify areas for improvement.
• Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3+ years of experience in a Product Owner, Technical Product Manager, or similar role, with a significant portion focused on backend systems or API development within mobile application contexts.
• Proven experience working within an Agile/Scrum framework, with a strong emphasis on backlog grooming and story refinement techniques, particularly for backend services.
• Demonstrated ability to write clear, concise, and comprehensive user stories and acceptance criteria for backend functionalities and APIs.
• Solid understanding of the mobile application development lifecycle (iOS and/or Android) and how it interfaces with backend systems.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience with backlog management tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence).
• Analytical mindset with a passion for data-driven decision-making.

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• Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience working on high-volume consumer-facing applications, particularly in the Sports or News media domain.
• Technical background or a strong understanding of mobile technologies, RESTful APIs, microservices, and system integrations.
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or similar Agile certification.
  

What We Offer

• Competitive salaries and comprehensive health benefits
• Flexible work hours and remote work options
• Professional development and training opportunities
• A supportive and inclusive work environment
• Access to cutting-edge technology and tools.