Product Owner

Adelphi • McLean, VA

33d • Hybrid

About The Position

Adelphi is seeking a Product Owner to manage delivery planning for a major public sector client within an AI R&D setting. This role involves working closely with the engineering team to define and maintain essential project documents such as Product Requirement Documents (PRDs), roadmaps, backlogs, and committed timelines. The objective is to establish and sustain clear project plans in a fast-paced environment where documentation is currently lacking, enabling engineers to proceed without constant scope renegotiations. This is a new position within the company, offering significant autonomy in planning and execution. The Product Owner will collaborate with the lead forward-deployed engineer and report to the Sr. Director of Product Operations. The role offers the experience of working at startup speed within government projects across diverse missions. The position is based in the McLean, VA area, requiring three days onsite per week (either at Adelphi's office or a customer location), with potential for one customer-facing day. Minimal travel is expected beyond the local area. An active U.S. Government clearance of Secret level or higher is mandatory.

Requirements

• 2–5 years of experience as a product owner, scrum master, or technical program manager.
• At least three years of experience delivering projects in the public sector.
• Experience working without a pre-existing spec and the ability to define requirements.
• Ability to credibly size work and identify discrepancies in engineering estimates.
• Experience managing delivery in tools like Jira, Linear, or similar, and maintaining an honest board.
• High level of organization and attention to detail, reflected in documentation.
• Resilience to scope and direction changes, and ability to manage challenges from external contractors.
• Focus on task completion over individual recognition.
• Customer-facing presence and confidence in team capabilities.
• AI-native mindset, even without direct coding responsibilities.
• Active U.S. Government clearance at the Secret level or above.

Nice To Haves

• Interest in building dashboards and roadmap visualizations for scrum and delivery management.
• Experience building program wikis and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Experience with AI, LLM, or data integration programs.
• Prior experience being forward deployed or embedded with a customer.
• Experience as the first product person on a program or team.

Responsibilities

• Own delivery planning across every project supported for this customer, including scope, sequencing, timelines, and completion.
• Write and maintain PRDs and roadmaps that serve as the reference documents for both Adelphi and the customer when dates shift.
• Manage the agile function, including structuring the backlog, creating tickets with engineers, and maintaining the delivery cadence.
• Oversee requirements intake from weekly mission owner touchpoints, summarizing requests and translating them into actionable work for the team.
• Define 'done' for each project and maintain scope integrity through documentation.
• Develop delivery reporting and metrics for customer program leadership to track progress.
• Establish processes for intake, building, and delivery of new projects within the customer's domain to ensure repeat business.

Benefits

• Healthcare coverage: 100% employee premium and 50% dependents premium coverage of a platinum-level plan.
• 401K with 2% company match.
• Equity in a seed-stage business.
• $500 monthly Physical and Mental Health reimbursement program.
• Flexible PTO policy.
• Competitive salary and equity compensation.
• Opportunity to work on impactful projects in the national security sector.
• Career growth and leadership opportunities in a dynamic, innovative environment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed