Product owner jobs in Waterloo, IA

Job Family Agile Leadership About Us At Transamerica, hard work, innovative thinking, and personal accountability are qualities we honor and reward. We understand the potential of leveraging the talents of a diverse workforce. We embrace an environment where employees enjoy a balance between their careers, families, communities, and personal interests. Ultimately, we appreciate the uniqueness of a company where talented professionals work collaboratively in a positive environment - one focused on helping people look forward and plan for the best life possible while providing tools and solutions that make it easier to get there. Who We Are We believe everyone deserves to live their best life. More than a century ago, we were among the first financial services companies in America to serve everyday people from all walks of life. Today, we're part of an international holding company, with millions of customers and thousands of employees worldwide. Our insurance, retirement, and investment solutions help people make the most of what's important to them. We're What We Do Transamerica is organized into three distinct businesses. These include 1) World Financial Group, including Transamerica Financial Advisors, 2) Protection Solutions and Savings & Investments, comprised of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits, retirement plans, and Transamerica Investment Solutions, and 3) Financial Assets, which includes legacy blocks of long term care, universal life, and variable and fixed annuities. These are supported by Transamerica Corporate, which includes Finance, People and Places, General Counsel, Risk, Internal Audit, Strategy and Development, and Corporate Affairs, which covers Communications, Brand, and Government and Policy Affairs. Transamerica employs nearly 7,000 people. It's part of Aegon, an integrated, diversified, international financial services group serving approximately 23.9 million customers worldwide.* For more information, visit transamerica.com. Summary The Product Owner (PO) develops and communicates their product's vision to be fulfilled by their agile team(s). The PO is the team's key stakeholder who serves as proxy for the customer, both internal and external, and effectively engages other stakeholders, including other POs, to define and prioritize deliverables for their agile teams. The PO has a significant role in quality control and is empowered to accept work as done. The PO is dedicated to fulfilling these responsibilities and participates in one or two agile teams. The PO works closely with the team to align around objectives, incentives, and culture, and also engages critical stakeholders and customers to inform their product's vision and backlog as a means to help the organization achieve business agility. Responsibilities Research and evaluate market-based and customer-inspired insights that inform the product's vision and comprehensive strategy planning. Provide vision and serve as a champion of customer perspectives to the Agile team in the form of clearly written epics, themes and user stories each with clear acceptance criteria in collaboration with the team. Help the team make business trade-offs between near term and longer term product goals. Provide leadership to make the hard calls on scope and competing priorities while realistically manage stakeholder demands Establish and prioritize the product roadmap and its backlog in collaboration with the team. Collaborate proactively in ceremonies with UI/UX team, product scrum team, and other product owners to maintain the product roadmap, business outcomes, and goals. Lead regular backlog refinement workshops to help estimate relative feature value and update delivery forecasts to aid prioritization, minimize oversubscription of delivery teams and manage stakeholder expectations. Ensure product aligns with company strategy and broader product strategies through regular communication with customers, stakeholders and product management. Coordinate with the Scrum Master to facilitate short feedback loops between delivery teams and stakeholders through frequent deliveries and sharing of lessons learned. Engage in scaled agile practices and coordinate with other Product owners (as needed) to promote cross-team alignment around product roadmaps and dependencies. Lead product release planning with technical and business stakeholders and set expectation for delivery of new functionalities. Participate in system demos at the end of the iteration and provide story/feature acceptance per the pre-agreed “Definition of Done” criteria. Qualifications Bachelor's degree in business, computer science, or experience work in a related field. Solid understanding of the product lifecycle. In-depth experience with agile methodologies, technical understanding of products, and up-to-date on industry standards and best practices Comfortable working with multiple teams, in-house and remote Excellent verbal and written communication skills Accurate and precise attention to detail. Able to build strong interpersonal relationships with business analysts, UI/UX team, leadership, senior management, and internal and external stakeholders Experience with JIRA, or a similar agile product management toolset. Proficient computer skills, Microsoft Office Suite; working knowledge of software development. Preferred Qualifications Two years of related work experience. Product Owner certification (e.g. CSPO, SAFe POPM) Track record of continued and recent education in agile, including training, conferences, user groups and self-study Knowledge of approaches discussed in the agile space: XP, Kanban, SAFe, LeSS, Crystal, FDD, etc. Experience as a collaborative leader. Working Conditions Hybrid Office Environment Compensation The Salary for this position generally ranges between $102,000 - $130,000 annually. Please note that the salary range is a good faith estimate for this position and actual starting pay is determined by several factors including qualifications, experience, geography, work location designation (in-office, hybrid, remote) and operational needs. Salary may vary above and below the stated amounts, as permitted by applicable law. Additionally, this position is typically eligible for an Annual Bonus based on the Company Bonus Plan/Individual Performance and is at the Company's discretion. Applicants must possess legal authorization to work for our company in the U.S. without the need for immigration, sponsorship or otherwise serving as an employer of record for immigration employment purposes. At this time, this role is not eligible for immigration-related employment authorization sponsorship. This is not a contract of employment nor for any specific job responsibilities. The Company may change, add to, remove, or revoke the terms of this job description at its discretion. Managers may assign other duties and responsibilities as needed. In the event an employee or applicant requests or requires an accommodation to perform job functions, the applicable HR Business Partner should be contacted to evaluate the accommodation request. What We Offer For eligible employees, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support both the personal and financial well-being of our employees. Compensation Benefits Competitive Pay Bonus for Eligible Employees Benefits Package Pension Plan 401k Match Employee Stock Purchase Plan Tuition Reimbursement Disability Insurance Medical Insurance Dental Insurance Vision Insurance Employee Discounts Career Training & Development Opportunities Health and Work/Life Balance Benefits Paid Time Off starting at 160 hours annually for employees in their first year of service. Ten (10) paid holidays per year (typically mirroring the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) holidays). Be Well Company holistic wellness program, which includes Wellness Coaching and Reward Dollars Parental Leave - fifteen (15) days of paid parental leave per calendar year to eligible employees with at least one year of service at the time of birth, placement of an adopted child, or placement of a foster care child. Adoption Assistance Employee Assistance Program College Coach Program Back-Up Care Program PTO for Volunteer Hours Employee Matching Gifts Program Employee Resource Groups Inclusion and Diversity Programs Employee Recognition Program Referral Bonus Programs Inclusion & Diversity We believe our commitment to diversity and inclusion creates a work environment filled with exceptional individuals. We're thrilled to have been recognized for our efforts through the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, Dave Thomas Adoption Friendly Advocate, and several Seramount lists, including the Inclusion Index, 100 Best Companies for Working Parents, Best Companies for Dads, and Top 75 Companies for Executive Women. To foster a culture of inclusivity throughout our workforce, workplace, and marketplace, Transamerica offers a wide range of diversity and inclusion programs. This includes our company-sponsored, employee-driven Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are formed around a shared interest or a common characteristic of diversity. ERGs are open to all employees. They provide a supportive environment to help us better appreciate our similarities and differences and understand how they benefit us all. Giving Back We believe our responsibilities extend beyond our corporate walls. That's why we created the Aegon Transamerica Foundation in 1994. Through a mix of financial grants and the volunteer efforts of our employees, the foundation supports nonprofit organizations focused on the things that matter most to our people in the communities where we live and work. Transamerica's Parent Company Aegon acquired the Transamerica business in 1999. Since its start in 1844, Aegon has grown into an international company serving more than 23.9 million people across the globe.* It offers investment, protection, and retirement solutions, always with a clear purpose: Helping people live their best lives. As a leading global investor and employer, the company seeks to have a positive impact by addressing critical environmental and societal issues, with a focus on climate change and inclusion and diversity. * As of December 31, 2023