Product Owner

**Career Area**:
Engineering

**Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.**

When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do - but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here - we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

Role Definition

Product owner acts as the voice of the customer, ensuring that the development team understands the needs and preferences of end-users. This involves gathering feedback and clarifying requirements with stakeholders. product owner works closely with various stakeholders, including customers, business leaders, and team members, to gather insights, clarify requirements, and ensure alignment with business objectives..

**Responsibilities**:

- Responsible for creating and defining Features and user stories based on customer requirements. This involves understanding user needs and translating them into actionable tasks for the development team.
- Drive the development of technical specifications and ensure alignment with the overall product strategy.
- Provide technical guidance to the development team throughout the product lifecycle
- Work closely with the Technical Product Owner Manager to ensure timely and successful product delivery
- Responsible to manage and prioritize the product backlog, which is a prioritized list of features, user stories, and tasks
- Actively participate in product planning and roadmap discussions.
- Accountable for maximizing the value of the product developed by the team. This includes making decisions about what features to implement and ensuring that the product meets the strategic goals of the program.

Degree Requirement

Requires a degree in an accredited Engineering, Computer Science, or Materials Science curriculum.

Degree required

Skill Descriptors

Level Working Knowledge:

- Discusses industry-specific flagship products and services.
- Demonstrates current knowledge of the regulatory environment for industry segment.
- Describes the contribution of own function as it relates to the industry segment.
- Participates in major industry professional associations; subscribes to industry-specific publications.
- Currently works with a major industry segment and associated functions and features.

Level Working Knowledge:

- Identifies and documents specific problems and resolution alternatives.
- Examines a specific problem and understands the perspective of each involved stakeholder.
- Develops alternative techniques for assessing accuracy and relevance of information.
- Helps to analyze risks and benefits of alternative approaches and obtain decision on resolution.
- Uses fact-finding techniques and diagnostic tools to identify problems.

Software Development Life Cycle: Knowledge of software development life cycle; ability to use a structured methodology for delivering and managing new or enhanced software products to the marketplace.

Level Working Knowledge:

- Describes similarities and differences of life cycle for new product development vs. new release.
- Identifies common issues, problems, and considerations for each phase of the life cycle.
- Works with a formal life cycle methodology.
- Explains phases, activities, dependencies, deliverables, and key decision points.
- Interprets product development plans and functional documentation.

Software Product Testing: Knowledge of software product testing; ability to design, plan, and execute testing strategies and tactics to ensure software product quality and adherence to stated requirements.

Level Working Knowledge:

- Participates in test readiness reviews, functional, volume, and load testing.
- Describes key features and aspects of a specific testing discipline or methodology.
- Tests software components for compliance with functional requirements and design specifications.
- Explains procedures for documenting test activities and results (e.g. errors, non-conformance, etc.)
- Conducts functional and performance testing on aspects of assigned products.

Level Working Knowledge:

- Follows standards and guidelines for using locally available toolkits.
- Differentiates among tools used for diverse strategic development platforms.
- Works with most toolkit components, features and facilities.
- Discusses the capabilities, features and uses of all tools for a specific platform.

Level Basic Understanding:

- Explains the methodology and technologies of artificial intelligence.
- Describes the concepts, functions and features of artificial intelligence (AI).
- Locates relevant resources to obtain the latest information on artificial intelligence.
- Cites examples of successful implementation of AI technologies and systems.

Programming: Knowledge of relevant programming languages and tools;