Software Product Owner

Department: Engineering

Location: Bristol, UK

Compensation: £55,000 - £65,000 / year

Description

We're building the next UK-headquartered engineering powerhouse.

There is a gulf between the needs of mission-focused organisations and the development and delivery of the critical technology they rely on. The consequences of this are felt acutely by underserved frontline operators, demanding a new breed of engineering enterprise to bridge this divide.

Rowden exists to meet this need. We design and build systems, infrastructure, and applications to deliver mission advantage to those working to protect the security of the UK and its allies. Rowden is setting a new standard in government technology provision: hyper-efficient engineering, better customer relationships, and rapid assimilation of commercial technology.

We are looking for an experienced Software Product Owner to drive the development of next-generation software solutions. The ideal candidate will act as a key interface between the user, the business, software principals, and systems engineering teams. You will be responsible for managing the full product lifecycle, from ideation to release, ensuring alignment with both technical teams and Business and Customer stakeholders.

You will own the product vision, refining and prioritising features, and ensuring the roadmap aligns with the User, Customer and Rowden's strategic goals and meets both technical and user-experience standards.

The role will be initially aligned to our Edge Systems Operating Unit, building and deploying software-centric systems for constrained network environments to deliver mission advantage to those working to protect the security of the UK and its allies.

Key areas of responsibility

Product Vision & Roadmap:

• Lead the definition, development, and communication of the product vision, ensuring it aligns with business objectives and customer/user needs.


• Develop and maintain a clear product roadmap, prioritising features based on business value, technical feasibility, and user impact.

Backlog Management & Refinement:

• Own the product backlog, ensuring stories and tasks are well-defined, prioritised, and regularly refined.


• Collaborate with the development team to break down high-level ideas into actionable tasks with clear acceptance criteria.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Act as the key point of contact between the business and engineering teams, translating high-level requirements into detailed technical specifications.


• You are technical enough to ask engineers good questions about architecture and product decisions alike.


• Regularly communicate with stakeholders to ensure alignment on product objectives and progress, managing expectations along the way.


• Build and deliver demonstrations to the Business as well as to our Customers.

Sprint Planning & Delivery:

• Lead refinement, sprint planning, reviews and retrospectives - guiding the team to focus on delivering the most valuable features and ensuring they are properly scoped and sequenced.


• Own and champion the Definition of Ready and the Definition of Done to support your Team in their timely delivery of quality outputs.


• Manage the development workflow using Jira, ensuring tasks are organised, tracked, and delivered within the agreed-upon timelines.


• Analyse feedback from users and stakeholders, adjusting the product backlog as necessary to ensure continuous alignment with business needs and market trends.


• Advocate for a user-centred approach, ensuring that software solutions not only meet technical requirements but also deliver a superior user experience.

Key skills, experience and behaviours

• Extensive experience in a Product Owner, Product Manager, or similar role within Software Development.


• Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies and working in cross-functional teams.


• Prior experience in a fast-paced engineering or technology-driven environment.


• Knowledge of Jira and other product management tools for workflow management and sprint planning.


• Familiarity with UX/UI design tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD) and the ability to collaborate on wireframes and user flows.


• Proven experience managing the full lifecycle of software products, from ideation to market release, with a focus on iterative development and continuous delivery.


• Strong understanding of software development processes, with the ability to communicate effectively with technical teams. Knowledge of systems engineering and at-the-edge software products is highly advantageous.


• Demonstrated ability to break down requirements into manageable tasks and features, ensuring traceability.


• Familiarity with user experience design principles and wireframing tools.


• Solid understanding of agile methodologies, including experience managing sprints, backlogs, and using tools like Jira to facilitate continuous development.


• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to inspire and guide teams toward a shared product vision. Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, capable of bridging the gap between technical and non-technical teams.

Working at Rowden

We are committed to building a flexible, inclusive, and enabling company. Our aim is to create a diverse team of talented people with unique skills, experience, and backgrounds, so please apply and come as you are!

We also recognise the importance of flexible working and support this wherever we can. We typically operate a flexible, hybrid-working model, with an average 3 days in the office each week (dependent on the role). We welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility, part-time working requirements and/or workplace adjustments with all our applicants.

Rowden is a Disability Confident Committed company, and we actively encourage people with disabilities and health conditions to apply for our roles. Please let us know your requirements early on so that we can make sure you have everything you need up front to help make the recruitment process and experience as easy as possible.

Finally, if you feel that you don't meet all the criteria included above but have transferable skills and relevant experience, we'd still love to hear from you!