IT Product Owner

$90,000 - $115,000/Yr

Costco - Issaquah, WA

Full-time - Mid Level

Issaquah, WA

General Merchandise Retailers

About the position

The IT Product Owner at Costco is responsible for defining product requirements, managing the product backlog, and ensuring that the needs of the end-users are met throughout the product development lifecycle. This role involves close collaboration with Product Managers, Scrum Masters, and Agile Delivery teams to drive value and implement product strategies effectively. The Product Owner will also oversee user acceptance testing and refine product requirements based on feedback and insights.

Responsibilities

• Defines and communicates the minimum viable product (MVP) for applications/products and supporting release plans.
• Collaborates with Product Managers and technology stakeholders to define new or enhanced product requirements and functionality.
• Works continuously with teams to provide answers, feedback, and direction on work items, enablers, and user stories.
• Consults Product Managers for guidance on product vision, roadmap, and requirements.
• Collaborates with Scrum Masters to ensure work achieves the highest value relative to business needs.
• Prioritizes the sprint backlog based on the product roadmap during sprint planning.
• Refines product requirements based on input from sprint showcases and demos.
• Creates and authors user stories with detailed acceptance criteria in the customers' voice.
• Conducts formal reviews and acceptance of user stories implemented by the team within a sprint.
• Drives user acceptance testing (UAT) activities with support from business and technology team members.
• Supports program level ceremonies including product increment (PI) planning sessions.
• Performs functional reviews during sprint demos and showcases with the Product Manager and Delivery Manager.
• Forms a backlog of features and user stories to support business strategy.
• Articulates requirements for each user story with detailed acceptance criteria.
• Uses data and insights from multiple sources to benefit the business and members.
• Pursues incremental delivery through frequent, measurable enhancements.
• Collaborates with the delivery team to support backlog refinement, sprint planning, and long-term release planning.
• Ensures completed stories meet acceptance criteria by reviewing test plans and outputs of automated testing.
• Seeks and improves processes across the product and delivery teams.
• Communicates with team members, stakeholders, and management levels.
• Identifies solutions that support business requirements.

Requirements

• 5+ years' experience as a Product Owner.
• Proven experience working on an Agile and/or waterfall team.
• Proven experience with creating documentation for varied audiences.
• Proven experience in a complex software development environment.
• Proven experience on complex development projects.
• Deep understanding of business requirements elicitation for specific programs and projects.
• Certified Product Owner.
• Proficient in User Story creation.
• Expertise in utilizing standard documentation tools and utilities.
• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.

Nice-to-haves

• Deadline oriented and capable of self-management.
• Strong work ethic with attention to detail and excellent time management skills.
• Ability to work independently and within a close team environment.
• Ability to listen to and understand business needs.

Benefits

• Paid time off
• Health benefits (medical, dental, vision, hearing aid, pharmacy, behavioral health, employee assistance)
• Health care reimbursement account
• Dependent care assistance plan
• Short-term disability insurance
• Long-term disability insurance
• AD&D insurance
• Life insurance
• 401(k)
• Stock purchase plan for eligible employees.