PRODUCT OWNER

VSolvit

About The Position

The Product Owner (PO) proxy will serve as the voice of the customer and the mission for a dedicated Agile Team within a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) organization supporting the Department of Defense (DoD). This role serves as the primary interface between the government stakeholders, end-users, and the development team. The PO is responsible for defining, prioritizing, and accepting the work built by the team to maximize the value delivered while ensuring compliance with all necessary DoD security and mission requirements As with any position, additional expectations exist. Some of these include, but are not limited to, adhering to normal working hours, meeting deadlines, following company policies as outlined by the Employee Handbook, communicating regularly with assigned supervisor(s), staying focused on the assigned tasks, and completing other tasks as assigned. Hiring for this role is contingent upon project funding

Requirements

Education: Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., IT, Computer Science, Business, or related).
Minimum of 3+ years of experience as a dedicated Product Owner, Business Analyst, or similar role defining software requirements.
Minimum of 2+ years of recent, hands-on experience supporting an DoD program or military component.
Experience working in a SAFe or similar scaled Agile environment.
Tooling Proficiency: Expertise in writing, managing, and tracking user stories and acceptance criteria using Jira and documenting business and technical details in Confluence.
A current, recognized Product Owner certification is preferred (e.g., Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM).
Security Clearance: An Active U.S. Federal Government Secret (or higher) security clearance is required.
Soft Skills: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to articulate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and advocate for team needs.

Nice To Haves

Experience in DevSecOps environments and understanding of Continuous ATO (cATO) processes.

Responsibilities

Define and Accept Stories: Work with the Product Manager and other stakeholders to prepare, refine, and break down Features into clear, concise, and testable User Stories for the team.
Backlog Stewardship: Maintain, prioritize, and sequence the Team Backlog, ensuring the team is working on the highest-value items that align with the Program Increment (PI) Objectives and the strategic vision.
Just-in-Time Story Elaboration: Lead the team’s backlog refinement sessions to ensure stories are ready for implementation in upcoming sprints, including acceptance criteria and necessary Non-functional Requirements (NFRs).
Mission-Critical Alignment: Ensure all implemented stories directly contribute to the warfighter's mission goals and contractual obligations.
Voice of the Customer: Act as the subject matter expert (SME) for the team, clarifying requirements, answering questions, and making critical scope decisions on behalf of the government customer.
Stakeholder Sync: Participate in Product Management Syncs and other ART-level meetings to coordinate dependencies and align on solution intent and priorities across the entire Agile Release Train (ART).
System Demos: Participate in the System Demo, showcasing the team's delivered capabilities to government stakeholders and gathering necessary feedback.
Acceptance Criteria & DoD: Define and enforce strict Acceptance Criteria for all User Stories, ensuring they meet the team's Definition of Done (DoD), which must include rigorous quality and security standards mandated by the DoD.
Security Integration: Work closely with the Information System Security Manager (ISSM) or security team to integrate security requirements and controls (e.g., related to NIST SP 800-53 or RMF) directly into user stories and acceptance criteria.
Traceability: Ensure high-quality documentation and traceability between government requirements, user stories, and implemented code to support the rigorous audit and assessment processes required for Authorization to Operate (ATO).