Product Owner

Our Company 

Smarter Grid Solutions is a pioneering software technology company working at the intersection of clean energy, advanced digital technology, and power systems. We are a team of electrical engineers, software developers, and analytics & consulting experts working on the transformation of tomorrow’s electric grid – to become cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable. 

We spearheaded the introduction of Active Network Management in the UK, and we are now a world-leading provider of Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) software to electrical utilities across the UK, Europe and North America. We have a customer base that includes major utilities, and we manage a portfolio of over 400 megawatts of renewable generation - from wind turbines and solar systems to battery energy storage and electric vehicles. 

We are looking for a diligent and enthusiastic Product Owner to help in our mission to transform today’s energy systems! 

The Role 

As Product Owner (PO) in Grid Products, you will play an instrumental role in SGS’s overall product strategy. In addition to the traditional responsibilities of a PO supporting agile software teams, you will be tasked with developing pragmatic strategies to build new elements of our award-winning DERMS platform to address next generation needs for application functionality, scaling, security, and resiliency. 

We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic, helpful, diligent, and excited to work in a role that combines high-level strategy with lower-level technical details. You will effectively prioritise the work of a full software development team and are capable of contextualizing product development through both a business and technical lens. You will have a strong customer service ethos, a great work ethic, and be professional, organised, effective and efficient in the way that you work. You will have excellent organisational skills and the ability to communicate effectively with audiences that possess diverse backgrounds. 

This is an excellent opportunity to develop and use a wide range of product management experience in an exciting and growing organisation, which operates in the UK (Glasgow) and in the US.

You will be part of an exciting, friendly, clever and highly committed team building and delivering critically needed decarbonisation technology. 
 

Key responsibilities 
 

• Traditional Product Ownership responsibilities including maintaining and prioritising a product backlog. 

• Working closely with stakeholders to gather requirements and elaborate backlog items into user stories with the team. This includes soliciting feedback, addressing problems, managing expectations and being the voice of the customer during the sprints.

• Participating in the development of acceptance criteria and supporting test driven development. 

• Assisting the team in decision-making, sequencing of key technology developments throughout the agile development process.

• Accepting user stories are complete.

• Contributing to the team retrospectives.

• Facilitating team collaboration as a leading individual in agile ceremonies and fostering a cooperative culture with clear communication to enable the team to meet its goals.

• Owning and updating a 12-month tactical roadmap that breaks down product development initiatives into manageable chunks that provide incremental and prioritized value to the product and our customers 

• Providing input into long-term strategic roadmaps for multiple product verticals 
   

You will be involved in, but not limited to, the following 
 

• Supporting external bids and engaging with existing and potential customers to better understand and refine product value propositions 

• Working closely with internal software teams to ensure that underlying technology development supports broader product strategy goals 
   

Essential qualifications and experience 
 

• Strong academic track record in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, or similar 

• Over 5 years of experience as a Product Owner working on complex software within a Scrum Agile framework 

• Diverse experiences successfully shepherding major product development initiatives from start to finish 

• Experience developing both modern web-based applications as well as traditional desktop software systems 

• Knowledge of emerging smart grid industry, power systems, or electrical engineering in general would be advantageous. 
   

You will be complemented by a team with strong competencies in software product development, power systems, and the energy industry.
 

Benefits 

• Competitive salary, dependent upon experience

• 33 days holiday (inclusive of 3 public days) 

• 5% matched Employer pension scheme 

• Up to 12% bonus dependant on company performance against Income Before Tax target 

• Salary sacrifice Electric Car Scheme 

• Private Medical Insurance through Vitality 

• Life Cover (3x) 

• Cycle scheme