Product Owner

Lee Enterprises is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Product Owner to join our Data Services team and help drive the delivery of high-impact data and technology solutions. This role will serve as the primary liaison between business stakeholders and technical teams, ensuring the product backlog is well-defined, prioritized, and aligned with business objectives.

The ideal candidate combines strong Product Owner skills with technical curiosity and a working understanding of data concepts. They should be comfortable partnering with developers, data engineers, analysts, Finance, and other business stakeholders to translate business needs into clear, actionable requirements and ensure the team delivers maximum value in each sprint.

Key Responsibilities

Product Ownership & Backlog Management

• Own and manage the product backlog, ensuring it reflects business priorities and is ready for development
• Translate business needs into clear user stories, functional requirements, acceptance criteria, and technical considerations
• Ensure the team maintains a two-sprint-ready backlog aligned with product and business priorities
• Make day-to-day prioritization decisions and provide clarity to the development team

Data & Technical Collaboration

• Partner closely with data engineers, developers, analysts, and other technical resources to understand requirements, dependencies, and solution options
• Translate business requirements into actionable work for technical teams and communicate technical considerations back to business stakeholders
• Develop a working understanding of data sources, integrations, workflows, and dependencies that impact assigned products and initiatives
• Support requirements related to data integrations, APIs, data pipelines, reporting, data quality, and system-to-system workflows
• Partner with technical teams to define acceptance criteria and validate that delivered solutions meet business requirements

Finance & Business Collaboration

• Partner closely with Finance and other business stakeholders to understand business processes, data requirements, and system needs
• Translate financial and operational requirements into actionable user stories and technical requirements
• Support initiatives involving financial data, reporting, reconciliation, payment workflows, and related system integrations
• Help ensure solutions meet business requirements for data accuracy, completeness, and reliability

Agile Delivery

• Work closely with the Scrum Master and development team to plan and deliver sprint commitments
• Participate in and contribute to Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, daily standups, backlog refinement, sprint reviews, and retrospectives
• Identify and communicate risks, blockers, and dependencies that may impact delivery
• Balance changing priorities while keeping the team focused on the highest-value work

Stakeholder Communication

• Serve as the day-to-day point of contact for stakeholders and technical teams regarding product direction, requirements, and priorities
• Provide regular status updates and communicate progress, risks, dependencies, and blockers
• Facilitate conversations between technical and non-technical stakeholders to ensure shared understanding and alignment
• Use tools such as Jira, Confluence, Excel, and PowerPoint to manage workflow, requirements, and documentation

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience as a Product Owner, Business Analyst, Technical Business Analyst, or similar role
• Strong understanding of Agile/Scrum methodology and the Product Owner's role within a cross-functional team
• Experience translating business requirements into clear user stories, functional requirements, and acceptance criteria
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with the ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver in a fast-paced environment
• Proficiency with product and project management tools such as Jira and Confluence

Preferred Technical & Business Experience

• Experience working with data, analytics, integration, or technology teams
• Working knowledge of data concepts such as databases, data integrations, APIs, data pipelines, data quality, and reporting
• Familiarity with SQL or other tools used to query, validate, or analyze data
• Ability to understand technical documentation, data flows, and system dependencies
• Experience working with Finance teams or supporting financial systems and business processes
• Familiarity with payment processing, payment workflows, transaction data, reconciliation, or related financial integrations is a plus
• Experience supporting data platforms, data warehouses, business intelligence, or system integration initiatives is a plus

Preferred Traits

• Technically curious and comfortable learning how systems and data work without needing to be a developer
• Analytical mindset with a focus on solving business and user problems
• Strong ability to translate between business and technical audiences
• Self-starter who thrives in collaborative and dynamic environments
• Comfortable asking questions, challenging assumptions, and working through ambiguity
• Able to adapt to changing priorities while keeping the team focused on the highest-value work