Junior Product Owner at Motorola Solutions

Job Description

• We're seeking an aspiring Junior Product Owner to help drive the execution of our innovative SaaS platform, partnering with Product Management and Engineering. This role is for a proactive and detail-oriented individual who thrives in an agile environment. You will be responsible for maintaining the product backlog, transforming high-level requirements into detailed functional and non-functional requirements, and facilitating communication between stakeholders and our technical teams. Critical to the role, this individual must possess a deep understanding of Agile/Scrum methodologies, demonstrating excellent communication skills, and maintaining a passion for delivering high-quality products. Your ability to prioritize effectively and foster a collaborative atmosphere will be crucial in ensuring the timely and successful delivery of new capabilities.

Execution & Delivery (Your Primary Focus): Participates in the scrum process as defined by RapidDeploy, including Planning, Refinements, Stand Up, Retros, and Velocity Planning to stay aligned with the development team, facilitating transparent communication within the team and ensuring we deliver what has been committed to for a sprint.

• Manage engineering team backlog
• Gathers, manages, and prioritizes the engineering team backlog
• Ensures work items meet the Definition of Ready including having story points allocated.
• Ensures that the product backlog items are clearly defined, well understood, and properly estimated by the development team to reduce ambiguity and confusion, allowing the development team to work more efficiently in executing the product roadmap and delivering on our business goals.
• Manages defect or bug resolution based on organizational objectives
• Play an active role in mitigating blockers and dependencies impacting successful team completion of Release/Sprint development, including progress reviews during the sprint to assure that development is in line with expected outcomes and to reduce the risk of late found defects
• Ensure sprint ceremonies are scheduled, attend and facilitate where needed.
• Prepares and conducts sprint review for the R&D organization and shares a summary of what went well, challenges and accomplishments, demonstrating progress, fostering accountability within the team, and recognizing the hard work of other team members to boost morale and motivation.

Stakeholder Collaboration: You will be a key communicator, collaborating with cross functional teams during design, build, test and launch of new features.

• Makes delivery risks known with Product and Program Managers to ensure the business is appropriately mitigating changes in scope or other unforeseen challenges effectively.
• Update product development tracking tools
• Advocate on behalf of the customer with the development team
• Assist in the product release plans and sets the expectation for delivery of new functionalities in collaboration with the technical leads before, during and after sprint cycles
• Serve as a subject matter expert on the value (why solving this problem matters) and functionality of your product
• Works closely with the Technical Writer to make sure product documentation is completed and accurately reflects product features, functionality, and best practices, allowing internal stakeholders to efficiently and effectively perform their roles.

Basic Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Software or Computer Science or Business Administration OR
• 5+ years of hands-on experience managing software product backlog of defects, technical debt and new features
• Demonstrated track record of collaborating with development, product management and customers
• Knowledge of agile software development practices
• Ability to manage resources across distinct locations and time zones. Translate customer needs into detailed requirements and user stories
• Strong management and project management skills for planning and executing complex projects.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills across multiple audience types
• Experience working in a fast-paced and goal-driven environment
• GIS / ESRI knowledge and experience a plus

Required Behavioral Competencies

• Customer-Centric Mindset - Deeply understands user needs and advocates for them in decision-making. Prioritizes features and enhancements that create the most value.
• Strategic Thinking - Aligns product goals with business objectives. Balances long-term vision with short-term delivery.
• Communication & Stakeholder Management - Clearly articulates requirements and priorities to developers, designers, and business leaders. Manages stakeholder expectations and negotiates priorities effectively. Answer incoming questions about the product and its capabilities.
• Decision-Making & Accountability - Takes ownership of product backlog and delivery timelines. Makes data-driven decisions while balancing intuition and experience.
• Adaptability & Resilience - Adjusts quickly to changing priorities or new information. Stays focused and solution-oriented in high-pressure situations.
• Collaboration & Teamwork - Works closely with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment. Encourages open discussions and respects diverse viewpoints.
• Problem-Solving & Analytical Thinking - Breaks down complex challenges into actionable steps. Uses data and feedback loops to improve the product iteratively.
• Empathy & Emotional Intelligence - Understands the perspectives of users, team members, and stakeholders. Navigates conflicts diplomatically and fosters a positive team culture.