Agile Product Owner

NISC IV is seeking an experienced Agile Product Owner to provide strategic product leadership in support of a high-visibility Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) modernization program. This position serves as the primary point of accountability for product vision, backlog strategy, release planning, and delivery outcomes for a complex enterprise application supporting critical FAA business operations.

The Agile Product Owner operates with a high degree of independence and serves as the authoritative leader for product direction across the program. Working closely with FAA leadership, associate managers, business analysts, software engineers, quality assurance professionals, DevOps engineers, architects, and customer stakeholders, this position drives product strategy and delivery decisions that directly impact contractual performance, customer satisfaction, operational readiness, cost, schedule, scope, quality, and overall program success.

As a recognized subject matter expert in Agile product management and enterprise software delivery, this individual influences organizational processes, establishes product management standards, leads complex cross-functional initiatives, and provides strategic guidance to both program leadership and customer executives.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as the product authority responsible for defining product vision, delivery strategy, release objectives, and backlog priorities in alignment with FAA business objectives, contractual requirements, and organizational goals.
• Exercise independent decision-making authority over product direction, backlog prioritization, release scope, acceptance criteria, and delivery sequencing based on customer value, operational risk, technical dependencies, contractual commitments, and available resources.
• Lead and influence cross-functional teams consisting of associate managers, business analysts, software engineers, quality assurance professionals, DevOps engineers, architects, and FAA customer stakeholders to successfully deliver complex enterprise software capabilities.
• Influence the development and implementation of software solutions that directly impact strategic program objectives, operational effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and business results.
• Evaluate complex technical, operational, and business challenges spanning multiple functional disciplines and develop recommendations that balance customer priorities, contractual obligations, technical feasibility, delivery timelines, and organizational objectives.
• Translate strategic business objectives into product roadmaps, release strategies, epics, features, user stories, acceptance criteria, and measurable business outcomes.
• Establish and maintain product management processes that improve backlog health, release predictability, delivery quality, governance, requirements traceability, and stakeholder engagement.
• Make strategic product tradeoff decisions involving scope, schedule, customer priorities, technical debt, operational risk, security considerations, and available resources to maximize business value.
• Lead backlog refinement, release planning, sprint planning, product demonstrations, customer reviews, acceptance activities, and other Agile product management ceremonies.
• Evaluate delivered functionality against customer expectations and business objectives while exercising authority to accept completed work or require additional refinement to ensure product quality and operational readiness.
• Develop, recommend, and implement improvements to Agile delivery processes, product management practices, release governance, prioritization methodologies, and program standards to improve organizational effectiveness and project outcomes.
• Identify organizational, technical, and process-related risks affecting delivery and develop mitigation strategies in collaboration with program leadership and customer stakeholders.
• Regularly communicate with executive leadership, FAA management, and program stakeholders regarding delivery strategy, release readiness, product priorities, program risks, customer concerns, and recommended courses of action affecting successful program execution.
• Influence stakeholders with competing priorities to achieve consensus on product direction, release scope, implementation strategy, and organizational objectives.
• Represent the program during executive briefings, governance meetings, release readiness reviews, strategic planning sessions, and customer decision forums.
• Serve as the program's subject matter expert for Agile product ownership, backlog management, release planning, and customer value delivery by providing guidance to associate managers, delivery teams, and program leadership.
• Research, evaluate, and implement industry best practices, emerging Agile methodologies, and product management techniques that improve organizational capability and delivery performance.
• Mentor Business Analysts, Scrum Masters, and other team members in Agile product management, prioritization techniques, stakeholder engagement, requirements development, and product delivery best practices.
• Ensure product activities remain aligned with contractual requirements, FAA objectives, organizational policies, technical standards, and delivery commitments.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 12+ years of relevant experience, or Master's degree with 10+ years of relevant experience. Additional years of directly related experience may be considered in lieu of degree requirements where applicable.
• Extensive experience serving as a Product Owner, Product Manager, Business Analyst, Scrum Master or similar product leadership role supporting complex enterprise software development efforts.
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead product strategy and make complex decisions affecting cost, schedule, scope, quality, operational readiness, customer satisfaction, and business outcomes.
• Experience leading and influencing cross-functional teams without direct supervisory authority.
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex problems affecting multiple functional disciplines while balancing competing customer, technical, contractual, and organizational priorities.
• Experience communicating and presenting recommendations to executive leadership, senior customer stakeholders, and program management regarding matters of significant organizational importance.
• Demonstrated success influencing stakeholders, building consensus, resolving conflicts, and driving organizational decision-making.
• Advanced knowledge of Agile software development methodologies including Scrum, Kanban, backlog management, release planning, iterative development, and continuous process improvement.
• Experience establishing or improving product management processes, delivery standards, governance practices, and organizational procedures.
• Strong analytical, facilitation, communication, negotiation, leadership, and executive presentation skills.
• Experience using Jira, Confluence, or similar Agile lifecycle management tools.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a government public trust.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM), or equivalent Agile product management certification.
• Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), SAFe Agilist, or similar professional certification.
• Experience supporting the Federal Aviation Administration or other Federal Government agencies.
• Experience supporting enterprise modernization initiatives, cloud migration efforts, legacy system replacement, or mission-critical operational systems.
• Experience working within a government contracting environment.
• Knowledge of enterprise software architecture, DevOps practices, software quality assurance, systems integration, configuration management, and release management.

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The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.