API Product Owner (PWS, LWS, IWS)

Bridgestone Corporation - San Francisco, CA

Full-time - Mid Level

San Francisco, CA

5,001-10,000 employees

Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing

About the position

The Product Owner position at Bridgestone Americas is a pivotal role that provides product ownership for the enterprise enablement APIs and supporting platforms. This role is essential in leading the alignment of related capabilities and adoption across various business units, borders, and partners, acting as a crucial link between marketing and other functions. The Product Owner is responsible for conveying the platform vision to the delivery team, outlining and prioritizing work based on business value, and liaising with stakeholders to ensure their interests inform the product roadmap. This position serves as the primary contact for information and decision-making, contributing significantly to the development and execution of the enterprise API strategy within the CB2 API team. In this role, the Product Owner will communicate the solution vision and roadmap with Product Managers and architects to support the creation of a product roadmap that breaks down epics and features into user stories and enabler stories. They will oversee all stages of product creation, including design and development, while monitoring and evaluating product progress at each stage of the process. The Product Owner will also liaise with the product team and end-users to identify and track KPIs and metrics, delivering updates to stakeholders and executive leadership. Participation in agile ceremonies, including presenting the vision and reviewing the plan during PI planning events, is also a key responsibility. Decision-making will be guided by a customer-centric mindset and the strategic objectives of the area of specialization. The Product Owner will support relationships through strong communication and negotiation skills with internal and external customers, stakeholders, and executive leadership. Collaboration with these parties is essential to understand and anticipate their needs, translating them into a solution backlog consisting of epics and features. The role requires balancing the needs of multiple internal and external customers to create a comprehensive solution roadmap. Continuous improvement and risk identification are also critical aspects of this position, as is leading projects or processes of diverse scope while working independently with limited supervision. The Product Owner will ensure stakeholder interests are included in the release and that the team meets deadlines, taking responsibility for the business aspects of the project to ensure the right product is built in the right order.

Responsibilities

• Communicate the solution vision and solution roadmap with Product Managers and architects to support the creation of a product roadmap that breaks down epics and features into user stories and enabler stories, providing inputs and clarifications to acceptance criteria.
• Oversee all stages of product creation including design and development, monitoring, and evaluating product progress at each stage of the process.
• Liaise with the product team and end-users to identify and track KPIs and metrics, delivering updates to stakeholders and executive leadership.
• Participate in agile ceremonies, including presenting the vision and reviewing the plan during the PI planning events.
• Make decisions guided by a customer-centric mindset and the strategic objectives of the area of specialization.
• Support relationships through strong communication and negotiation skills with internal and external customers, stakeholders, and executive leadership.
• Collaborate with internal and external customers to understand and anticipate their needs and translate them into a solution backlog consisting of epics and features, balancing the needs of multiple internal and external customers to create a solution roadmap.
• Drive continuous improvements and identify risks, addressing them in a timely manner.
• Lead projects or processes of diverse scope, while working independently with limited supervision.
• Liaise with stakeholders ensuring their interests are included in the release, and the team to ensure the release is developed by the deadline.
• Responsible for the business aspects of the project, including ensuring the right product is being built, in the right order.
• Serve as the Scrum Delivery Team's primary contact for information, work prioritization, and decision-making.

Requirements

• Minimum of 5 years of related experience with a bachelor's degree; or 3 years and a master's degree.
• English C1 proficiency.
• Experience working in an agile development process (bias towards the SAFe framework).
• Experience managing multiple project deliverables comprising short and long development cycles without supervision.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to explain complex concepts and technologies to diverse audiences.
• Experience collaborating with technical product teams including offshore resources and working in matrixed environments.
• Good skills and knowledge of servant leadership, facilitation, situational awareness, conflict resolution, continual improvement, empowerment, and observability.
• Passionate about technology and committed to continual improvement.

Nice-to-haves

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, Marketing, or a related discipline.
• PSPO I or PSPO II Certification.
• Automotive, manufacturing industry, and/or retail experience.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully deliver large technical initiatives across multiple dimensions (e.g., technical decisions, fiscal accountability, change management, etc…).
• At least 1 year in current position (internal candidates).