Job Description
Our client, an organization dedicated to advancing education technology, is seeking a Product Owner (Data & AI) to lead their Data & AI Team to support data-driven initiatives across the institution. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong leadership, excellent communication skills, and a strategic mindset, which will align successfully in the organization.
As a Product Owner you will be an integral member of the Enterprise Data & AI Team, working daily with teams of business stakeholders, application developers, QA testers, and Scrum Masters to deliver business value through innovative software solutions. The Product Owner is the primary product specialist for the development scrum team, manages the team's backlog, participates actively in all phases of development, and is a key stakeholder in product related decisions and release planning.
Job Title: Product Owner - Data & AI
Location: Adelphi, Maryland (Remote)
Pay Range: $70/hr - $75/hr
Job Type: Contract
What's the Job? Product Vision & Strategy - Define and maintain the product backlog for the Data & AI platform, ensuring alignment with the university's long-term strategic plan and near-term priorities.
- Translate institutional goals (student success, research advancement, operational efficiency) into actionable product objectives.
Stakeholder Engagement - Collaborate with faculty, researchers, administrators, and IT leaders to gather requirements and identify high-value data and AI use cases.
- Serve as the primary liaison between business stakeholders and the technical development team.
Backlog & Prioritization - Create, refine, and prioritize the product backlog based on business value, compliance requirements, and technical feasibility.
- Define acceptance criteria and ensure clarity for data, AI, and integration-related user stories.
Delivery & Execution - Collaborate with data engineers, AI/ML specialists, developers, and architects to deliver platform features and enhancements.
- Support Agile ceremonies (sprint planning, standups, reviews, retrospectives) and ensure the team has a clear understanding of the overall vision and business value of priorities.
Governance & Data Stewardship - Partner with institutional data governance groups to enforce data security, compliance, and stewardship and quality standards and processes.
- Ensure AI applications comply with ethical and responsible AI guidelines in higher education.
Analytics & AI Enablement - Guide the development of AI/BI apps, BI apps, self-service analytics, and AI-powered insights for faculty, staff, and leadership.
- Identify opportunities to embed AI/ML models (e.g., student retention predictions, enrollment forecasting, research analytics).
Change Management & Adoption - Communicate platform benefits, features, and updates to stakeholders.
- Drive adoption through demonstrations, training, and user enablement activities.
- Help guide value creation, realization, and measurement through Data & AI products
Continuous Improvement - Monitor product performance, collect feedback, and adjust priorities based on evolving institutional needs.
- Stay current on data & AI/ML trends and recommend platform innovations.
What's Needed? Education & Experience: - Bachelor's degree in Information Science, Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Science, Business Administration, or a related field (Master's preferred).
- 5+ years of experience in product ownership, business analysis, or project management with a proven track record of helping deliver enterprise grade data & AI platforms and products within SAFe Agile environments.
- Experience working in higher education, research, or public sector environments is highly desirable.
Technical Knowledge: - Strong understanding of data & AI platforms, data lakes/warehouses, ETL pipelines, APIs, and cloud environments (e.g., Databricks, AWS, Azure, GCP, Salesforce Data Cloud).
- Working knowledge of Data Governance (e.g. Purview) and Master Data Management (e.g. Profisee) tools.
- Familiarity with AI/ML concepts, predictive analytics, and responsible AI frameworks.
- Working knowledge of BI/analytics tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Salesforce CRM Analytics, Looker).
- Experience with data governance, privacy, and compliance (FERPA, HIPAA, GDPR, etc.).
Skills & Competencies: - Strong product management skills: backlog prioritization, user story creation, acceptance criteria.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills-able to translate technical concepts into business value.
- Strategic thinker with ability to align platform initiatives to institutional goals (student success, research excellence, operational efficiency).
- Skilled in Agile/Scrum methodologies, Jira/Azure DevOps or similar tools.
- Strong problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills.
What's in it for me? - Opportunity to lead innovative data & AI initiatives in a dynamic educational environment.
- Collaborate with a diverse and talented team committed to impactful technological advancements.
- Engage in continuous learning and professional development within a forward-thinking organization.
- Contribute to projects that directly support student success, research, and operational excellence.
- Be part of a mission-driven organization that values diversity, inclusion, and ethical AI practices.
Upon completion of waiting period consultants are eligible for: - Medical and Prescription Drug Plans
- Dental Plan
- Vision Plan
- Health Savings Account
- Health Flexible Spending Account
- Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
- Supplemental Life Insurance
- Short Term and Long Term Disability Insurance
- Business Travel Insurance
- 401(k), Plus Match
- Weekly Pay
If this is a role that interests you and you'd like to learn more, click apply now and a recruiter will be in touch with you to discuss this great opportunity. We look forward to speaking with you!
About ManpowerGroup, Parent Company of: Manpower, Experis, Talent Solutions, and Jefferson Wells. ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN), the leading global workforce solutions company, helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing, and managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for hundreds of thousands of organizations every year, providing them with skilled talent while finding meaningful, sustainable employment for millions of people across a wide range of industries and skills. Our expert family of brands -
Manpower, Experis, Talent Solutions, and Jefferson Wells - creates substantial value for candidates and clients across more than 75 countries and territories and has done so for over 70 years. We are recognized consistently for our diversity - as a best place to work for Women, Inclusion, Equality and Disability and in 2023 ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the 14th year - all confirming our position as the brand of choice for in-demand talent.
Job Tags
Weekly pay, Contract work, Temporary work, Flexible hours