Lead Development Product Owner - AI Product Solutions

USAA•San Antonio, TX

1d•$114,080 - $218,030•Hybrid

About The Position

The Lead Development Product Owner – AI Product Solutions will join AI enablement teams in USAA’s Technology organization and support AI delivery from pilots through production. The role serves several AI domains and partners with peers to manage dependencies and risks across the AI value chain, working with delivery teams and stakeholders throughout the development lifecycle. The Product Owner understands and communicates business needs, manages work backlogs, and guides Data Scientists and AI Engineers in writing and refining features and stories, planning and prioritizing work, and managing risks to delivery plans. The role ensures development adheres to applicable internal software development lifecycle controls and uses strong critical thinking, problem solving, and technical knowledge to plan and predictably deliver business value across multiple delivery methodologies. This position requires working in the office four days per week and may be based in San Antonio, Texas; Plano, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; or Charlotte, North Carolina. Relocation assistance is not available.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree, or four years of relevant education and/or experience.
Eight years of experience in process improvement, project delivery, business or requirements analysis, or directly related supported business operations or product line work.
Expert knowledge of the AI development lifecycle, including data science pilots and engineering productionalization and hardening, with a track record of managing products through the full product lifecycle.
Expert experience analyzing business requirements, process flows, and use cases to identify process improvements in accordance with risk management frameworks and regulatory requirements.
Expert understanding and demonstrated use of Process Engineering methodologies and Change Management practices to translate business requirements into actionable functional specifications.
Ability to independently gather business requirements, process flows, and use cases; develop and deliver business capabilities under the approved methodology; write user stories; and follow development through story acceptance.
Advanced experience analyzing and translating business requirements and identifying process streamlining opportunities in accordance with risk management frameworks and regulatory requirements.

Nice To Haves

Eight or more years of experience delivering successful AI or Machine Learning products.
Five or more years of experience in enterprise technology, Data Science, or AI/ML product or program management at a major financial institution.
Five or more years managing delivery team backlogs and workflow in systems of record such as JIRA and Clarity.
Five or more years managing code development execution and delivery, from story writing through production, in a timely and predictable manner.
Five or more years managing development team or program-level risks and dependencies across large technology organizations, including assessing, mitigating, documenting, and presenting their status.
Technical fluency in AI concepts and business value, all phases of the AI lifecycle, data requirements, technical trade-offs and challenges, and the impact of technology deliverables on stakeholder needs.
Ability to decompose features into iterative stories, prioritize backlog items, align work to sprint cadence, and release planned stories for incremental delivery.
Experience managing release processes, including documenting testing, assessing whether code meets product requirements, demonstrating working technology, validating after release, and documenting work completion.
Ability to communicate about AI development verbally and in writing to executive leaders, directors, business users, IT partners, and development teams.
Experience engaging and influencing cross-functional teams and leaders—including Data Scientists, engineers, and other personnel—in geographically distributed work environments.
Demonstrated bias toward informed action, including taking initiative with ambiguous development challenges or stakeholder needs, planning a path forward, and generating buy-in for impactful action.
US military experience through military service or as a military spouse/domestic partner.

Responsibilities

Work with business partners and Subject Matter Experts to understand business strategy and vision, and write, refine, accept, and prioritize stories, features, or epics for effective and compliant solutions while balancing investment and business value.
Own and maintain prioritized backlogs for one or more Agile teams or programs, ensuring user stories or features have acceptance criteria and are consumable and testable.
Review and accept development output to confirm that specified acceptance criteria have been met.
Collaborate across business and system domains and lead development across multiple teams at the program and Epic level.
Represent the business to delivery teams throughout the product delivery cycle.
Work with cross-functional partners, including user experience, design, business analysis, development, and testing, to develop and release solutions aligned with road maps.
Partner with sponsors, stakeholders, and IT to define and document business processes and understand needs, measures, risks, and controls.
Participate in portfolio-, program-, and project-level planning for schedule, scope, and resources.
Prepare the business for change and provide tactics and metrics for benefits, adoption, and risk, using change management routines as needed.
Enhance and advance the business development and execution discipline.
Coach and mentor less experienced Product Owners, including Senior Product Owners.
Identify, engage, influence, and lead business stakeholders and Subject Matter Experts across programs.
Ensure business risks are identified, measured, monitored, and controlled in accordance with risk and compliance policies and procedures.