Product Owner – Transmission & Distribution Planning

Job Title: Product Owner – Transmission & Distribution Planning

Location: Charlotte, NC / Remote within supported utility territories

Duration: 12 Months
Pay Rate: $75 - $85/HR (W2 Only)

Job/Role Description:

• This role is responsible for defining, delivering, and managing the lifecycle of products within a product portfolio supporting Transmission and Distribution Planning.
• Lead product teams responsible for developing and enhancing technology products used across utility planning functions.
• Define and manage the product roadmap while aligning product priorities with business objectives, customer needs, and technology strategy.
• Build, groom, prioritize, and continuously manage the product backlog while setting expectations with stakeholders and senior leadership.
• Lead the sprint planning process and actively participate in Agile ceremonies, including sprint reviews, backlog grooming, and retrospectives.
• Develop a deep understanding of customer, worker, and end-user needs to guide product decisions and priorities.
• Gather feedback through user interactions, focus groups, stakeholder engagement, and industry research to support future product development.
• Write detailed functional specifications, user stories, acceptance criteria, and product documentation.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams of developers, designers, analysts, business stakeholders, and technology partners to implement and deliver new products and features.
• Partner with the organization on product vision, strategy, decision-making, tactical execution, and measurement systems.
• Communicate product roadmap stages, priorities, dependencies, and timelines to key stakeholders.
• Support product and portfolio funding management and budgeting activities as needed.
• Develop domain expertise in Transmission and Distribution Planning and translate complex business requirements into clear product priorities and roadmap decisions.
• Operate within an Agile development environment supporting bi-weekly releases.
• Use KPIs and other performance measures to evaluate product outcomes and determine appropriate courses of action.

Required Qualifications

• Strong Product Owner, Product Management, or related technology product development experience in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience defining and managing product roadmaps, product backlogs, user stories, and product priorities.
• Strong understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and experience working in an Agile environment.
• Experience leading sprint planning and participating in Agile ceremonies such as backlog grooming, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating with cross-functional teams including developers, designers, analysts, business stakeholders, and technology teams.
• Ability to translate complex business and user needs into functional requirements, user stories, and actionable product priorities.
• Experience developing or delivering technology products, preferably including experience shipping software or new product capabilities.
• Ability to communicate complex and innovative concepts effectively to product development teams and business stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to make decisions in a KPI-driven environment.
• Ability to be self-directed, proactively anticipate problems, identify opportunities, and drive work forward.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong relationship-building skills with the ability to effectively influence stakeholders across multiple organizational and management levels.
• Strong interest in technology products with the ability to identify opportunities for innovation.

Preferred Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience working in the utility industry.
• Strong understanding of electric utility Transmission and Distribution operations and planning processes.
• Experience supporting Transmission Planning, Distribution Planning, grid modernization, or related utility technology products.
• Experience working with technology products supporting Transmission and Distribution Planning.
• Previous experience as a Senior Product Analyst or in a comparable product-focused role.
• Experience with Jira.
• Agile Product Owner certification.
• Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
• Experience working with product funding, budgeting, or portfolio management processes.
• Experience conducting user research, focus groups, market research, or other customer-feedback activities to inform product development.