Technical Product Owner

Job description

The Technical Product Owner is part of Terra Quantum’s product organization, which is responsible for implementing the general product vision, ensuring the company’s ability to implement it, and aligning the product vision with the corporate vision. The Technical Product Owner reports to the Senior Product Manager, supporting continuous product development and improvement, including product engineering, research, design, and – in close collaboration with marketing – product marketing. With a naturally curious and empathetic personality, the Technical Product Owner has a passion for deeply understanding customer needs and uses that knowledge to create a compelling product vision, then translate that into business opportunities. He/she engages and motivates cross-functional stakeholders, including, but not limited to: the Commercial and Business Development, R&D, Marketing, Product, and Engineering teams to plan and execute work in an agile, iterative fashion, prioritizing that which aligns to the company goals and customer needs.

The Technical Product Owner supports the product organization in building scalable, easy-to-use, secure, practical, and intuitive products, and will be primarily responsible for managing the Python Software Development Kit (SDK) and Command Line Interface (CLI) tools that underlie the TQ42 Quantum Software as a Service (QaaS) platform. These APIs and technical assets are designed for developers, then used to create new web-based user experiences. Additionally, this candidate will support the integration of our post-quantum cryptography software into TQ42, which may run on a separate licensing model but is still part of the ‘TQ42 ecosystem.’ Candidates should have excellent oral and written communication skills, demonstrated technical skills, strong interpersonal skills, outstanding analytical and research skills, and a passion for digital channels. This person should have experience using and/or managing Python SDKs and developer tools, and ideally also have experience as a scrum master and/or product owner responsible for inspiring and managing development teams.  The Technical Product Owner is a leader in all regards – able to inspire those around him/her, as well as to lead the team of UI/UX and full-stack developers through tactical execution, setting and meeting realistic but ambitious timelines.

Responsibilities

Overall

• Support the Product team in developing and executing the product strategy to build best-in-class digital products, and convert the product strategy into a concrete execution strategy
• Partner with business owners, engineering, and agile product teams to build product roadmaps that will be incorporated into the broader company product portfolio plan, and that specifically outlines the features, enhancements, and releases for the SDK
• Lead the definition, prioritization, and development of developer-centric user experience improvements to the Python SDK and CLI documentation for TQ42, including working with the Engineering and Applied Research teams to create code and use case examples, quick start tutorials, and other types of technical documentation that supports a simple, fast onboarding journey to ensure technical customer success with the TQ42 SDK
• Manage the development team’s bi-weekly sprints, including preparing, grooming, and managing the backlog, leading sprint planning activities, retros, and other Agile ceremonies
• Define the long-term vision and strategy for the Python SDK, considering market trends, customer needs, and business objectives, including possibly expanding to other languages
• Work with stakeholders and experts across the organization to define the architecture and strategy to integrate the proprietary post-quantum cryptography libraries and other aspects of the software product offering in TQ42
• Manage the ongoing maintenance and adoption of the open-source cryptography libraries
• Promote a clearer understanding and adoption of the TQ42 SDK internally and externally, addressing gaps in knowledge and upskilling colleagues and customers
• Develop an understanding of Terra Quantum’s portfolio projects on a technical-scientific level and work with scientists, technical writers, and marketers to develop materials to support the product (e.g., relevant copy, content, and/or marketing assets)
• Evaluate, analyze, and understand the voice of the customer through a variety of data sources
• Maintain organizational standards of satisfaction, quality, and performance

Everyday 

• Partner with the Product Manager and Strategy to translate the product vision and roadmap into user stories, release plan, and product backlog.
• Work closely with key business partners to define and prioritize feature requirements and related acceptance criteria (definition of done).
• Collaborate with the Product Manager, IT, and stakeholders to define direction. This direction can include performing analysis, defining requirements/user stories, working with teams to develop solutions to meet these requirements, and to test and deliver experiences with the customer in mind.
• Execute that direction by providing clear and detailed requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria, and working with delivery teams to ship value-add features and functionality.
• Manage and identify risks, working with Program Management and other leads to identify risks, opportunities, mitigation plans, and executive updates.
• Prioritize issues and inquiries/spikes. Manage internal escalation and resolution of issues.
• Act as a liaison between the engineering team, the Product Manager and other business partners, and executives to communicate timelines and escalate issues.
• Develop and manage the product roadmap and backlog for the TQ42 SDK and other technical products such as the open-source and proprietary cryptography libraries.
• Maintain a prioritized product backlog for the TQ42 SDK and cryptography libraries, ensuring that it aligns with the overall product strategy and business goals.
• Ensure the availability of comprehensive documentation for the SDK, including API documentation, tutorials, and sample code.
• Plan and coordinate release planning for the SDK functionality with peer product and engineering teams, considering dependencies, timelines, and impact on users
• Facilitate the team scrum process by planning and leading agile ceremonies, including, but not limited to: backlog grooming, sprint planning, daily standups, architecture reviews, sprint demos, and retrospectives
• Support development of executive dashboards, presentations, or other materials, as needed
• Develop and manage budget for projects and be accountable for delivering against established business goals/objectives
• Support go-to-market activities and monitor and evaluate product performance to ensure constant product iteration and improvements
• Provide advanced customer support for Tier 2 or 3 customer questions and work with Customer Support teams to identify and establish opportunities for improvement or efficiency in customer support processes
• Gather and analyze feedback from developers and customers to continuously improve the SDK
• Collaborate with support and training teams to ensure developers have the resources they need to effectively use the SDK

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree + or equivalent work experience in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• 3-5 years of experience in digital product management or similar (digital product delivery, web strategy, mobile application development, or equivalent), preferably with an SDK or developer-focused products
• Strong understanding of software development processes and methodologies, preferably within an Agile compliant framework.
• Proven track record of delivering both minimum viable products and scaled solutions within a matrixed organization to market at rapid speed.
• Exceptional interpersonal, collaboration, and communication skills to work effectively with teams throughout the organization.
• Excellent leadership, time management, facilitation, and organizational skills with ability to flex and adapt to different types of digital product development (e.g., websites, mobile applications, desktop applications, APIs, and other types of software)
• Analytical mindset with the ability to make data-driven decisions.
• Strong analytical, prioritization, and negotiation skills.
• Working knowledge of engineering team daily operations and familiarity with developer communities and understanding of their needs.
• Work within an Agile compliant framework and collaborate with partners/business owners to convert strategy and priorities into tangible business requirements, prototypes, design concepts, and feasible product roadmaps.
• Fearless in exploring new ways of working, experimental concepts and innovations.
• Passionate about building great products that solve customer and business problems.

Desired

• Knowledge and practice of core principals of Agile methodology and development practices including Scrum, Kanban, Lean software development, etc.
• Familiarity and experience using tools such as Jira, Miro or Confluence for product user stories and agile development.
• Previous developer background with familiarity with Python, C, C++, C#, GoLang, CLI tools, etc.
• Usability and customer-focused design experience a plus
• Advanced proficiency in written and spoken English - German language skills are a huge plus

If you are enthusiastic about positively impacting the world and helping to drive the second quantum revolution, let’s talk!