Hicks

Product Owner
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
Chicago, Illinois Contract Oct 6, 2026
Product Owner
Chicago, IL | Hybrid | Product Owner 5
Job Details
  • Building Location: Chicago, IL office
  • Remote / On-Site: 2x a week in office currently; eventually this could change to more days in office.
  • Daily Schedule: Monday thru Friday; 1st shift
Position’s Contributions to Work Group / Story Behind the Need
Position’s Contributions to Work Group:
  • Coordinates with product development engineers to track and communicate design, development, support, and maintenance problems and solutions.
  • Identifies, documents, and reports design, reliability and maintenance problems and bugs. Gathers and consolidates feedback from customers and field staff.
  • Coordinates with field support specialists and customers to address and resolve problems and expand product usage.
  • Answers customer and field support questions; provides guidance and support for product integration and infrastructure issues.
Typical Day or Week in the Role
Typical task breakdown:
  • Coordinates with product development engineers to track and communicate design, development, support, and maintenance problems and solutions.
  • Identifies, documents, and reports design, reliability and maintenance problems and bugs. Gathers and consolidates feedback from customers and field staff.
  • Coordinates with field support specialists and customers to address and resolve problems and expand product usage.
  • Answers customer and field support questions; provides guidance and support for product integration and infrastructure issues.
Work environment:
2x a week in office currently; eventually this could change to more days in office.
Candidate Requirements
Education & Experience Required:
10+ years of experience as a Lead product owner
No Bachelor’s degree required but is a nice to have
Required Technical Skills:
(Required)
Business Analysis: Knowledge of business analysis and the set of tasks, techniques and tools required to identify business needs; ability to recommend solutions that deliver value to stakeholders.
Level Working Knowledge:
  • Analyzes the value of a business and its functions through the value estimation of assets.
  • Applies the prerequisites to a project before starting the business analysis process.
  • Collaborates with stakeholders, development teams, testing teams, etc., to deliver business solutions.
  • Documents the business case to justify the requirements of time and resources of a project.
  • Utilizes diverse analysis tools and methodologies to group different business activities based on shared characteristics or similarities.
Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.
Level Extensive Experience:
  • Differentiates assumptions, perspectives, and historical frameworks.
  • Evaluates past decisions for insights to improve decision-making process.
  • Assesses and validates decision options and points and predicts their potential impact.
  • Advises others in analyzing and synthesizing relevant data and assessing alternatives.
  • Uses effective decision-making approaches such as consultative, command, or consensus.
  • Ensures that assumptions and received wisdom are objectively analyzed in decisions.
Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.
Level Extensive Experience:
  • Reviews others' writing or presentations and provides feedback and coaching.
  • Adapts documents and presentations for the intended audience.
  • Demonstrates both empathy and assertiveness when communicating a need or defending a position.
  • Communicates well downward, upward, and outward.
  • Employs appropriate methods of persuasion when soliciting agreement.
  • Maintains focus on the topic at hand.
Software Change Request Management: Knowledge of software change request management; ability to manage software product change requests from customers, prospective customers, vendors, and internal staff.
Level Extensive Experience:
  • Describes methods for estimating costs for request fulfillment.
  • Defines responses for non-standard or unsupported change requests.
  • Contributes to the design and development of request process flow and templates.
  • Clarifies description, components affected, need, cost estimate, risk, resources, status.
  • Manages all aspects of the change request process.
  • Researches new tools and techniques for monitoring product efficacy.
Software Engineering: Knowledge of software engineering; ability to deliver new or enhanced fee-based software products.
Level Working Knowledge:
  • Identifies considerations for product integration with multiple platforms and systems.
  • Works with development or delivery of a software package or component.
  • Describes phases, activities, deliverables and processes for a specific methodology.
  • Works with structured documents for developing features, functions, plans and schedules.
  • Describes software design practices, technologies, and considerations.
Software Problem Management: Knowledge of strategies, practices and tools for resolving software problems; ability to manage software problems in installed software products.
Level Working Knowledge:
  • Documents resolution progress and provides feedback to customers.
  • Describes issues and consideration for resolving problems involving other products or vendors.
  • Works with tracking and resolving common types of problems for a product or product group.
  • Describes actions, tools, and procedures for problem reporting, solving, and resolution.
  • Cites examples of unusual problems; follows proper notifications and escalation procedures.
Software Product Business Knowledge: Knowledge of and experience with the business aspects and operation of a software product; ability to manage install base, current uses, future plans, and product vision.
Level Extensive Experience:
  • Participates in enhancing the sales process and expanding sales opportunities.
  • Collects, documents, and maintains product functional requirements; makes recommendations.
  • Supports and participates in major installations and customizations.
  • Maintains and disseminates information on customer use and experiences.
  • Has knowledge of all advanced business features and functions of the product.
  • Relates experiences with unusual or non-traditional uses; assesses opportunities and challenges.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Knowledge of UAT activities, tasks, tools and techniques; ability to design, implement and evaluate acceptance tests for end-users.
Level Extensive Experience:
  • Compares and contrasts features and benefits of major acceptance testing frameworks.
  • Critiques user acceptance plans for appropriateness and completeness.
  • Develops approaches for acceptance testing following legal or contractual agreements.
  • Monitors end-users in defining the testing environment and acceptance criteria; explains the importance of being actively involved in test designs and other testing phases.
  • Applies user acceptance testing in typical software development scenarios.
  • Consults on test strategies, components, processes, plans and approaches during the user acceptance testing process.