Lead Technical Product Owner

Career Area:

Job Description:

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.

When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other.  We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

Job Summary:

We at CAT Digital are building a state-of-the-art platform to springboard a wide range of customer-focused applications. We are looking for a Lead technical product owner to join our Platform Services team to help maximize the value of our products and work of our scrum development teams.

What You Will Do:

The Technical Product Owner works intimately with the Scrum Team with the primary task of creating and managing the Product Backlog and to ensure everyone knows the priorities and assisting the scrum team to meet the objectives of each sprint.

• 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.
• Collaborate with Lead Engineers on decomposition of epics and features into user stories that are small enough, or granular enough, to be achieved in a single sprint.
• Negotiate business requirements and their release dates with Product and development teams.
• Responsible for conveying the vision and goals at the beginning of every sprint.
• Responsible for defect management and prioritization.
• 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.
• Leading the Daily Scrum.
• Lead the sprint planning, backlog grooming, retrospectives and sprint demos.
• 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.

What you will have:

• Business Analysis: Knowledge of business analysis and the set of tasks, techniques and tools required to identify business needs; ability to recommend solutions that deliver value to stakeholders. 
• Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment. 
• Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors. 
• Software Engineering: Knowledge of software engineering; ability to deliver new or enhanced fee-based software products. 
• Software Product Business Knowledge: Knowledge of and experience with the business aspects and operation of a software product; ability to manage install base, current uses, future plans, and product vision. 

Consideration For Top Candidates:

• Experience as a technical product owner
• Previous experience working with or leading a technical team while simultaneously managing multiple projects.
• Must have a strong understanding and proven experience in software development, including Java 17 or newer, RESTful APIs, databases, and AWS cloud development, with a focus on designing and developing cloud-native software solutions at scale.
• Experience managing product backlogs using Agile software tools such as Azure DevOps, JIRA, Mingle, VSTS, Team Services, Rally.
• Experience working with onshore/offshore team model.
• Experience using GenAI tools like GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, etc.

Additional Details:

• This position requires the candidate to be based in either Chicago, IL or Peoria, IL
• Relocation assistance is NOT available for this position

#LI

Summary Pay Range:

Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, job level, market location, job-related knowledge, skills, individual performance and experience. Please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Caterpillar. 

Benefits:

Subject to plan eligibility, terms, and guidelines. This is a summary list of benefits.

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits*

• Paid time off plan (Vacation, Holidays, Volunteer, etc.)*

• 401(k) savings plans*

• Health Savings Account (HSA)*

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)*

• Health Lifestyle Programs*

• Employee Assistance Program*

• Voluntary Benefits and Employee Discounts*

• Career Development*

• Incentive bonus*

• Disability benefits

• Life Insurance

• Parental leave

• Adoption benefits

• Tuition Reimbursement

* These benefits also apply to part-time employees

Posting Dates:

Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen.     

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer, Including Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities.  Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply.

Not ready to apply? Join our Talent Community.