Product Owner (L3)

About Zaden Technologies, Inc.

Join Zaden Technologies on our mission to simplify the delivery and improve the utility of software products for our customers. At Zaden, we believe that our employees are our greatest assets. We hire the right candidates with the right skill sets who fit our culture of customer obsession, innovation, and continuous learning. We are our customer’s biggest advocate and we are looking for like-minded individuals who encompass these same ideals. It is important to us to offer you competitive pay and comprehensive benefits with opportunities that match your life and propel your career!

We're seeking a Senior Product Owner to join our growing team in the greater DC area. In this role, you'll serve as the voice of the customer, translating mission needs into actionable requirements for our development teams. You'll work closely with stakeholders, end users, and engineering teams to define product vision, prioritize features, and ensure delivery of high-quality software solutions that meet our customers' needs. The ideal candidate will have experience with Agile methodologies, strong stakeholder management skills, and a background in defense or government software development. This position offers hybrid work arrangements for qualified candidates who meet security requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary interface between stakeholders, users, and development teams to elicit, analyze, and refine product requirements
• Create and maintain the product backlog, ensuring alignment with program goals and user needs while prioritizing work items based on business value and technical dependencies
• Develop comprehensive user stories with clear acceptance criteria that define when work is complete
• Participate in sprint ceremonies including planning, reviews, retrospectives, and daily standups
• Facilitate user validation events to gather feedback on delivered capabilities and inform future development
• Create and maintain a product roadmap that communicates the long-term vision and delivery timeline
• Review and approve deliverables to ensure they meet quality standards and user requirements
• Develop and maintain documentation including user guides, training materials, and process documentation

Required Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain a security clearance
• 5+ years of experience as a Product Owner or Business Analyst in software development environments
• Demonstrated experience with Agile methodologies and tools (Jira, Confluence, etc.)
• Experience translating complex stakeholder requirements into actionable user stories and acceptance criteria
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience creating and maintaining product documentation and user guides

Preferred Qualifications

• Active security clearance

• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or similar certification
• Experience with DevSecOps practices and CI/CD pipelines
• Knowledge of government software acquisition processes
• Experience with data visualization or geospatial applications
• Experience working in classified environments and understanding of security compliance requirements
• Previous experience in defense, intelligence, or federal software development projects
• Familiarity with user experience (UX) design principles and usability testing

Benefits

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package
• Career growth opportunities in a rapidly expanding company
• Training and certification support
• Flexible work arrangements (hybrid options available for some roles)
• Collaborative and innovative work environment
• Opportunity to work on impactful, mission-critical systems