Tech Product Owner III - Quality Engineering and Test Automation

Medica•St. Louis, MO

8h•$88,800 - $152,300•Hybrid

About The Position

Medica is a nonprofit health plan with more than a million members that serves communities in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, and beyond. We deliver personalized health care experiences and partner closely with providers to ensure members are genuinely cared for. We're a team that owns our work with accountability, makes data-driven decisions, embraces continuous learning, and celebrates collaboration — because success is a team sport. It's our mission to be there in the moments that matter most for our members and employees. Join us in creating a community of connected care, where coordinated, quality service is the norm and every member feels valued. The Technical Product Owner (TPO) is the tactical owner of a team’s backlog and capacity. While the Technical Product Manager (TPM) sets strategic direction at the capability level, the TPO ensures the team delivers the highest-value work in alignment with capability priorities. Acting as the single-threaded owner of the team backlog, the TPO bridges business, technology, and delivery execution, consolidating responsibilities traditionally split between a Product Owner and Scrum Master. The TPO champions MDF principles by fostering transparency, enabling disciplined delivery, and ensuring predictable flow of work. They shield the team from external disruptions, maintain clarity on priorities, and ensure commitments align with proven capacity.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in related field
5+ years of related work experience beyond degree
5+ years of work experience in Quality Engineering and test automation
2+ years of experience in working with offshore team members

Responsibilities

Translate prioritized capability epics (from TPM ) into clear backlog items (features, user stories, technical enablers)
Define acceptance criteria in partnership with the Technical Lead (TL) and ensure backlog items are “ready” for development
Maintain a healthy backlog sequenced based on value, risk, and dependencies
Reject or escalate any “backdoor” requests that bypass MDF intake
Partner with the Delivery Leader to ensure backlog aligns to actual team capacity
Respect and enforce WIP limits so the team is never overcommitted
Actively remove work when urgent items are added per EDC governance
Represent the team during prioritization sessions and ensure EAC and EDC decisions are reflected in the backlog
Ensure RTB (Run-the-Business) items, enhancements, and strategic initiatives are prioritized together within the backlog
Lead backlog refinement, sprint planning, and iteration reviews
Ensure team goals tie back to capability and enterprise priorities
Lead all Scrum Master activities, including facilitating ceremonies and promoting agile practices
Partner with the Technical Lead (TL) on delivery—the TPO owns the “what/why,” at the feature level while the TL owns the “how"
Make trade-off decisions daily if necessary to keep delivery aligned with priorities
Coordinate dependencies with other teams and escalate blockers or capacity issues to EDC
A point of contact for business stakeholders
Provide transparency into progress, risks, and delivery metrics
Ensure feedback loops with TPM, business users are fast and continuous to validate outcomes early
Capture learnings from retrospectives and incorporate them into future sprints
Track delivery metrics: say/do ratio, cycle time, throughput
Validate delivered stories/features against acceptance criteria and business outcomes
Report progress and risks to TPM, Delivery Leader, and stakeholders
A single, transparent backlog for the team that reflects enterprise priorities
Backlog items are outcome-oriented, clear, and feasible before sprint planning
Sprint commitments align with proven capacity and are delivered predictably
Completed work delivers measurable business outcomes—not just features
Transparent communication with stakeholders—no surprises
Translate capability-level priorities into backlog items; align roadmap to team execution
Co-lead the team—TPO owns “what/why,” TL owns “how"
Balance team capacity, enforce WIP, and escalate systemic issues
Validate backlog items against business outcomes and secure timely feedback
Ensure prioritization decisions are executed at the team level