[Hiring] Product Owner @Illinois Tool Works

Role Description

In Alpine’s Agile software development environment, the Product Owner (PO) is the key role to ensure product priorities and product roadmaps are executed. The PO develops and executes on a vision for the product and is responsible for translating that vision to actions for the scrum teams. The PO collaborates with internal stakeholders including Product Management, Marketing, Support, Operations, and Engineering to ensure that business, quality, and functional goals are met with each product release. The PO is responsible for the design, usability, quality, and delivery of a product or feature. The PO is the key decision maker on priorities and works to ensure that all stakeholders are aligned at each stage of the development lifecycle. The PO understands both the technical and business side of the product release and is ultimately responsible for representing the end user’s needs.

Core Responsibilities

• Roadmap Execution & Delivery
  • Own execution of the product roadmap established by Product Manager for a specific focus area or product line.
  • Translate strategic direction from Product Managers into clear, actionable development plans.
  • Partner with Development Managers to manage sprint planning, backlog prioritization, and release scope.
• Customer-Back Innovation (CBI)
  • Apply ITW’s Customer-Back Innovation (CBI) framework to identify and prioritize customer pain points.
  • Translate insights into product requirements and features.
  • Validate concepts directly with users and iterate based on feedback.
• Backlog & Requirements Management
  • Create and maintain clear, concise user stories with well-defined acceptance criteria.
  • Ensure the backlog remains prioritized, refined, and ahead of development needs.
  • Collaborate with UX/UI teams to align designs with user needs and business objectives.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Work closely with Product Management, Engineering, QA, Development, and UI/UX Design teams on a daily basis.
  • Facilitate agile events (standups, sprint planning, reviews, retrospectives).
  • Coordinate with support and implementation teams to ensure successful releases.
• Domain & Industry Expertise
  • Develop subject matter expertise in component manufacturing workflows.
  • Gain hands-on understanding of how customers use Alpine tools (e.g., design software, manufacturing software, and manufacturing equipment).
  • Observe real-world usage to inform product decisions.
• Quality & Delivery Assurance
  • Ensure delivered features meet acceptance criteria and customer expectations.
  • Support user acceptance testing (UAT), documentation, and release readiness.
  • Oversee beta trials with customers to validate product value and usability.
• Communication & Advocacy
  • Communicate progress, risks, and dependencies to the organization by presenting at monthly CBI gate meetings.
  • Advocate for the customer within development teams.
  • Maintain transparency into sprint outcomes, priorities, and roadmap progress.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business, Marketing, or a comparable discipline; an MBA is a plus.
• 4+ years’ experience working as a Product Owner or similar role with a development team.
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) is preferred.
• Software Product strategy and management experience with demonstrated value delivery.
• Experience with complex customer environments and/or relevant industry experience.
• Experience leading software product development in an Agile environment leveraging frameworks such as Scrum and SAFe.
• Strong team/project management, communication, and presentation skills.
• Self-motivated, energetic and can work both autonomously and as part of the team.
• Ability to be flexible and adaptable in a changing environment.
• Up to 25% travel.

Compensation Information

$80,000 - $125,000 (high level of experience). This compensation range is provided as a reasonable estimate of the current salary range for this role. Compensation depends on relevant experience and/or education, specific skills, market level, other job-related factors, geographic location, and other factors as applicable by law. In addition, our benefits include paid vacation, sick, holiday, and parental leave.

Equal Employment Opportunity

ITW is an equal opportunity employer. We value our colleagues’ unique perspectives, experiences and ideas and create workplaces where everyone can develop their careers and perform to their full potential. As an equal employment opportunity employer, ITW is committed to equal employment opportunity and fair treatment for employees, beginning with the hiring process and continuing through all aspects of the employment relationship. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected Veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.