Associate Director - Head of Product Design & Product Owner

This role involves setting a clear product vision and communicating it to stakeholders. The Associate Director will own the end-to-end product strategy, manage the product backlog, and approve features. The position requires driving sprint and release plans with the Scrum Master and collaborating with a Solution Architect to build modular solutions. The focus is on customer-driven design and continuous improvement of the backlog. The candidate must have deep domain knowledge and experience in Agile Development, specifically with Product Design (UX/UI) and leading a Product Owner.

Set ambitious and clear product vision and communicate the story effectively to key stakeholders and the team

Own the end-to-end product strategy from inception and determine business value once solution enters production

Build Backlog of product features, i.e. write user Stories and acceptance criteria together with the work-cell team

Continuously improve Backlog ensuring all items are clearly described, estimated and prioritized

Ensure customer-driven design considering user pain points and usability test results, while using market and industry knowledge to deliver a well-positioned product

Deep knowledge of relevant domains/products/journeys

Solid knowledge of industry trends pain points to be able to create a high value product vision and user demands

Comfortable with technology/IT to enable engagement and discussion with tech team to understand risks

Experience in Agile Development, with specific Product Design (UX/UI) and experience in leading the Product Owner (or similar)

Strong communication skills with ability to communicate complex messages and trade-offs and tell a compelling story

Sufficient authority to make real time decisions in the lab (should be an actual Product Manager, or a direct report)

Ability to influence a diverse group of stakeholders – strong leadership skills

Strong problem solver with ability to lead the team to push the solution and progress

Challenger mindset and passion to challenge status quo to find new solutions and drive out of the box ideas

Believes in a non-hierarchical culture of collaboration, transparency and trust across the team

Not afraid to roll up the sleeves and seeks to go outside comfort zone to learn – pushes the team to do the same