Product Owner - Hybrid (Req. #496)

Founded in 1994, Mindex is a software development company with a rich history of demonstrated software and product development success. Our three divisions - Cloud, SchoolTool, and Software Development - are all rapidly growing, and our employee base is close to 400. We are ranked the the #1 Software Developer in the 2023 RBJ's Book of Lists, the Best Software Developer in the RBJ's 2022 Reader Rankings, and a 2022 Certified Great Place to Work.

Mindex's SchoolTool division is responsible for New York State's market leading Student Management System (SMS), built from the ground up. Our team is involved in the full lifecycle of this product, including sales, training, support, and maintenance.

We seek a Product Owner (PO) to collaborate with the Product Director, UI/UX, and Agile Team(s) to develop clearly defined product requirements and to facilitate transforming those requirements into the product. The PO will maintain their team(s) backlog and communicate the ongoing progress against the backlog to all stakeholders. The PO will document conditions of acceptance and perform product acceptance based on those conditions. The PO will clearly communicate backlog priorities to their team(s), participate in team ceremonies and meetings, and help the scrum master manage their team'(s) scrum boards. They PO also support the Product Director in gathering end-user requirements, grooming the overall product backlog, and communicating the backlog to stakeholders.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Works with, and assists, the Product Director to translate high-level company vision and strategy into actionable product plans. Communicates and collaborates with internal and external customers to identify product improvements, analyze user needs, identify the problem(s) to solve, and document features/high level functional requirements to solve those problems.
• Collaborates with the entire product team and stakeholders to manage overall product priorities across multiple teams. Navigates organizational boundaries to ensure a vertically aligned product implementation that ensures alignment of the product vision, roadmap, marketing, sales strategy, operational readiness, and product backlog.
• Acts as SME in support of service, sales and marketing for general Q&A and relevant presentations, conferences and other events as needed.

• Owner and champion of assigned Epics / features. Works in coordination with the broader product team, end users, and other stakeholders to develop, refine, and maintain Epics and supporting documentation.
• Represents Product Management on agile teams as the Product Owner/Decision Maker to assist in answering questions and to prioritize the team backlog. Provides agile teams with technical expertise in business requirements and market conditions/needs shaping the specific functionality included in each product release.

• Performs final approval of completed work against conditions of acceptance, verifying they are "done". Where appropriate, facilitates user acceptance testing / feedback demonstrations prior to release.
• Facilitates and participates in the continuous improvement of systems, procedures, and processes for the betterment of the product and the organization.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in information technology, Computer Science, or a combination of education and equivalent work experience
• Two+ years of experience as a product owner or working within agile software development team
• Two+ years of experience in software application design / development / support in the PK-12 education field preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communicaiton skills
• Strong focus on exceptional service
• Strong organizational / prioritazition skills
• Strong initiative and follow-through skills
• Willing to travel up to 15% of the time

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Paid holidays
• Paid time off
• 401k retirement savings plan and company match with pre-tax and ROTH options
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Employer paid disability insurance
• Life insurance and AD&D insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending accounts
• Health savings account with employer contributions
• Accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and legal assistance
• Adoption assistance
• Domestic partner coverage

Mindex Perks

• Tickets to local sporting events
• Teambuilding events
• Holiday and celebration parties

Professional Development

• Leadership training
• License to Udemy online training courses
• Growth opportunities