Description

Job Purpose: 

The Product Owner works as a member of a Scrum Team to help maximize the value of the product and the work of the Scrum Development Team.  The Product Owner works intimately with the ScrumMaster and the Development Team.  The Product Owner’s primary task is to create and manage the Product Backlog and to ensure everyone knows the priorities of the Product Backlog.  The Product Owner is empowered to make all decisions regarding the Product Backlog.  The Product Owner is typically the individual closest to the business side of the project. 

Job Related Statistics

• Responsible for acting as Product Owner for larger, more complex projects with high value to the organization

Job Duties/Responsibilities may include but not limited to:

• Responsible for maximizing the value of the product and the work of the Development Team
• Responsible for acting as Product Owner for larger, more complex projects with high value to the organization
• Responsible for creating, maintaining and prioritizing the Product Backlog according to business value for the life of the project
• Communicate Product Backlog priorities to the team
• Act as the key decision-maker regarding what features the product will have
• Responsible for the vision of what is to be built, and conveying that vision to the team
• Assists with the elaboration of epics, themes and features into user stories that are small enough, or granular enough, to be achieved in a single sprint
• Responsible for conveying the vision and goals at the beginning of every sprint
• Work closely with key stakeholders throughout the organization
• Responsible for making decisions on release dates and content
• Represent the customer, interfacing and engaging with the customer
• Participate in Daily Scrum as needed
• Participate in Sprint Planning meetings, Reveals and Retrospectives
• Inspect the product progress at the end of every Sprint and accept or reject the work that has been done by the Development Team
• Act as the voice of the team, communicating status externally

• Be a good role model of Scrum values; understand the framework and the roles of each team member
• Be a champion for the agile community and help to further the community within the organization
• Employee is also responsible for performing other job duties as assigned by Caterpillar management from time to time.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• Four year Bachelor’s degree preferably in computer science, information systems, marketing, communications, engineering or related field
• 5+ years’ experience as a product manager
• 5+ years of experience leading a technical team while simultaneously managing multiple projects
• 3+ years of experience with the Agile methodology
• Demonstrated ability to communicate appropriately to ensure a team’s success
• Domain expert in business applications
• Strong accountability planning/organization, and teamwork
• Highly developed interpersonal skills to deal with sensitive, emotional or potentially controversial situations.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills

Top candidates will also possess these Qualifications

• Experience managing projects using Agile software tools such as Mingle, VSTS, JIRA, Team Services, Rally, Azure DevOps
• Experience working with onshore/offshore team model
• Product Owner certification (CSPO from Scrum Alliance)
• Demonstrated ability to empower teams
• Strong accountability, teamwork, and interpersonal skills, and communication skills
• Knowledge of SDLC and demonstrated experience employing SDLC in aspects of the project management process
• Background in Information Technology
• Good knowledge of Caterpillar policies, standards, procedures, and a broad understanding of Caterpillar’s organization

This position has been evaluated using Hay Standard Process and has taken into consideration the organizational structure and reporting relationship.  Any deviation from the information above may impact the evaluation of this position.

This Job Description is intended as a general guide to the job duties for this position and is intended for the purpose of establishing the specific salary grade.  It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as an exhaustive summary of all responsibilities, duties and effort required of employees assigned to this job.  At the discretion of management, this description may be changed at any time to address the evolving needs of the organization.  It is expressly not intended to be a comprehensive list of “essential job functions” as that term is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.