Product Owner

at  WebstaurantStore

Join an industry-leading company today! WebstaurantStore, the world’s largest online restaurant supply company, is looking for candidates who possess strong critical thinking and project management skills to join our company as a Product Owner within our Operations Support Services (OSS) department. This role will focus on collaborating with a variety of stakeholders to identify and understand needs for our internal warehouse automation and execution system projects, and working with our software development teams to manage projects that turn those needs into functional products.

Areas of impact and focus for the Product Owner will be:

• Becoming an expert on assigned internal processes and software tools, and proactively applying that knowledge towards system creation and improvements
• Representing the best interests of the business, stakeholders, and end-users as part of a cross-functional agile development team
• Prioritizing development resources to implement the most valuable enhancements and corrections to warehouse systems, and working towards minimum viable product on new software
• Managing and organizing multiple projects that vary in complexity and importance

This position will work closely with other members of the Operations Support Services team; members of one or more agile development teams; stakeholders and end-users in the warehouse and other departments throughout the company; and representatives from third-party software and mechanical vendors. The Product Owner will also work with guidance from the Technical Product Manager on top priorities of the department along with departmental systems for communicating and rolling out programming changes.

Specific duties and responsibilities include:

• Owning your team’s backlog in Azure DevOps (ADO) and maintaining a thorough understanding of all active work items
• Interpreting stakeholder and organizational needs and translating them into concise, yet comprehensive, work items for the development team (bugs, PBIs, features, and research spikes)
• Explaining the ‘what’ and ‘why’ behind all work items to facilitate accurate refinement and sizing
• Prioritizing and organizing your team’s backlog on a continuous basis to ensure transparency and keep the most critical work items positioned for timely completion
• Developing a product roadmap to effectively communicate priorities and vision to the development team and stakeholders
• Thoroughly testing completed items to ensure quality and compliance with Acceptance Criteria, and coordinating with warehouses to ensure a smooth release
• Troubleshooting bugs and answering questions about our software products originating from our shared team inbox
• Attending daily and weekly development meetings with your assigned Scrum development team(s), and adhering to all aspects of the team’s working agreement
• Publishing training materials, FAQ sheets, and other resources to our internal Wiki to support the usage of our systems
• Communicating with the Technical Product Manager, as well as internal and external stakeholders, on a regular basis to provide updates and ensure business value is being maximized
• Facilitating discussion as needed to gather feedback and identify opportunities
• Working with the OSS continuous improvement team to understand how areas of operational inefficiency may be addressed through system changes
• Working with the OSS data team to identify areas of data that we need visibility to through our current systems
• Working effectively with other departments and development teams when software needs cross the boundaries of our team’s ownership

The ideal candidate will have:

• Prior experience as a product owner or project manager coordinating software integrations
• Prior experience with warehouse automation systems and software, including warehouse management systems and/or warehouse execution systems (WMS/WES), and automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS)
• Working knowledge of AutoCAD and 3D modeling software (such as Emulate3D)
• Exceptional organization and communication skills
• Advanced critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities
• Confidence in navigating grey areas and making independent decisions
• A results-oriented mindset
• A proven track record of taking ownership of projects and guiding them from start to finish
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams
• The ability to facilitate clear and effective communication and follow-up with stakeholders at all levels of the organization
• A passion for learning and growth

If you’re ready for a challenge, and have the ambition to succeed in a fast paced, growing industry, we’d love to discuss the Product Owner position with you! Submit your resume and cover letter online today.

Remote work qualifications

• Access to a reliable and secure high-speed internet connection. Cable or fiber internet connections (at least 75mbps download/10mbps upload) are preferred, as satellite connections often cannot support the technologies used to perform day-to-day tasks.
• Access to a home router and modem.
• A dedicated home office space that is noise- and distraction-free. The space should have strong wireless connection or a wired Ethernet connection (wired connection is preferred, if possible).
• A valid, physical address (apartment, suite, etc.). PO Boxes are not supported, as a physical address is required for you to receive your computer equipment.
• The desire and ability to work and communicate with other team members via chat, webcam, etc.
• Legal residents of one of the following states: (AK, AL, AR, AZ, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NH, NM, NV, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, and WY). H-1B Visa Sponsorship Not Available, W2 only.

• Owning your team’s backlog in Azure DevOps (ADO) and maintaining a thorough understanding of all active work items
• Interpreting stakeholder and organizational needs and translating them into concise, yet comprehensive, work items for the development team (bugs, PBIs, features, and research spikes)
• Explaining the ‘what’ and ‘why’ behind all work items to facilitate accurate refinement and sizing
• Prioritizing and organizing your team’s backlog on a continuous basis to ensure transparency and keep the most critical work items positioned for timely completion
• Developing a product roadmap to effectively communicate priorities and vision to the development team and stakeholders
• Thoroughly testing completed items to ensure quality and compliance with Acceptance Criteria, and coordinating with warehouses to ensure a smooth release
• Troubleshooting bugs and answering questions about our software products originating from our shared team inbox
• Attending daily and weekly development meetings with your assigned Scrum development team(s), and adhering to all aspects of the team’s working agreement
• Publishing training materials, FAQ sheets, and other resources to our internal Wiki to support the usage of our systems
• Communicating with the Technical Product Manager, as well as internal and external stakeholders, on a regular basis to provide updates and ensure business value is being maximized
• Facilitating discussion as needed to gather feedback and identify opportunities
• Working with the OSS continuous improvement team to understand how areas of operational inefficiency may be addressed through system changes
• Working with the OSS data team to identify areas of data that we need visibility to through our current systems
• Working effectively with other departments and development teams when software needs cross the boundaries of our team’s ownershi