Enterprise IT Product Owner (6 month contract-to-hire)

We are seeking an IT Product Owner to join a growing enterprise technology organization supporting a portfolio of internal business applications that drive critical operational processes across the organization.

This role is responsible for maximizing value delivered by Agile teams through effective backlog ownership, prioritization, stakeholder collaboration, and day-to-day product decision-making. The Product Owner will serve as the primary liaison between business stakeholders and technology teams, ensuring solutions align with business objectives while supporting ongoing modernization initiatives.

Unlike traditional customer-facing product roles, this position focuses on enterprise platforms and operational business applications supporting areas such as payroll, onboarding, workforce operations, reporting, data services, and internal business workflows.

The Product Owner will typically support one to two products at a time and may rotate across product domains as business priorities evolve.

What You'll DoProduct Ownership & Backlog Management

• Own and actively manage the product backlog for assigned applications and platforms
• Translate business objectives into epics, features, user stories, and acceptance criteria
• Prioritize work to maximize business value while balancing technical debt, risk, compliance, and operational needs
• Maintain a healthy, refined backlog that is ready for development
• Make day-to-day prioritization decisions for Agile delivery teams

Agile Team Collaboration

• Serve as the voice of the customer and business within Agile teams
• Participate in sprint planning, backlog refinement, reviews, and retrospectives
• Provide timely clarification and decision-making to support development teams
• Review completed work and validate outcomes against business expectations and acceptance criteria
• Remove ambiguity and help teams maintain delivery momentum

Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner with business leaders and product leadership to understand strategic priorities
• Gather feedback and continuously refine product requirements
• Communicate priorities, progress, and delivery outcomes to stakeholders
• Lead demonstrations and review sessions with business partners
• Build strong relationships across operations, technology, and support teams

Enterprise Technology Alignment

• Collaborate with architects, engineers, analysts, and delivery teams
• Support modernization initiatives and continuous improvement efforts
• Ensure backlog items appropriately address security, scalability, reliability, and performance considerations
• Help drive adoption of enterprise standards and best practices, * Tell us about a product or business application you currently support. What decisions are you personally responsible for making regarding the backlog, priorities, and sprint work?
• Describe an internal business system or platform you've supported (ERP, CRM, payroll, HRIS, ServiceNow, operations platform, etc.). Who were your stakeholders, and how did you balance competing enhancement requests?

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
• 3+ years of experience as a Product Owner, Business Analyst, Product Analyst, Functional Analyst, or similar Agile role
• Experience working directly with Agile/Scrum delivery teams
• Experience managing or supporting product backlogs
• Strong understanding of user stories, acceptance criteria, backlog refinement, and sprint planning
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to balance competing priorities and make informed tradeoff decisions

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or similar Agile certification
• Experience supporting enterprise platforms such as ERP, CRM, HRIS, ServiceNow, payroll, workforce management, onboarding, or operational business systems
• Experience working with Azure DevOps, Jira, or similar Agile management tools
• Familiarity with APIs, integrations, cloud technologies, or DevOps practices
• Experience within large enterprise or scaled Agile environments

What Success Looks Like

• Agile teams consistently deliver high-value solutions
• Product backlogs remain healthy, prioritized, and aligned to business objectives
• Stakeholders have confidence in delivery outcomes and priorities
• Teams experience minimal delays caused by unclear requirements or decisions
• Product enhancements improve operational efficiency and business outcomes

Why This Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to play a key role in a growing enterprise technology organization focused on modernizing and enhancing critical business applications. You'll work closely with business leaders, delivery teams, and technology stakeholders while influencing products that directly support operational success across the organization.