IT Product Owner - Data Science at Costco in Issaquah, WA

Costco IT is responsible for the technical future of Costco Wholesale, the third largest retailer in the world with wholesale operations in fourteen countries. Despite our size and explosive international expansion, we continue to provide a family, employee centric atmosphere in which our employees thrive and succeed. As proof, Costco ranks eighth in Forbes “World’s Best Employers”.

This is an environment unlike anything in the high-tech world and the secret of Costco’s success is its culture. The value Costco puts on its employees is well documented in articles from a variety of publishers including Bloomberg and Forbes. Our employees and our members come FIRST. Costco is well known for its generosity and community service and has won many awards for its philanthropy. The company joins with its employees to take an active role in volunteering by sponsoring many opportunities to help others.

Come join the Costco Wholesale IT family. Costco IT is a dynamic, fast-paced environment, working through exciting transformation efforts. We are building the next generation retail environment where you will be surrounded by dedicated and highly professional employees.

Product Owners are responsible for defining requirements, assisting with the overall product roadmap /vision, and driving value at the scrum team level. Product Owners work closely with teams and are the “voice of the customer”, ensuring the needs of the end-user are incorporated into the product from design to deployment. Product owners are responsible for the authoring of functional user stories which are used to support the day to day development of new features and capabilities.

The Product Owner on the IT Data Science team will partner with Product Management Leads and stakeholders to translate product strategy and problem solving into a detailed, prioritized backlog of user stories. The Data Science team is responsible for Design, Development and Deployment of statistical, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to meet the ever-changing needs of customers. The Product Owner will collaborate with Business teams to implement, measure, and learn from the improvements they have made. The Product Owner manages execution of the value stream product features and delivery roadmap for Data Science projects that are aligned to KPI's that measure the objectives of both Costco’s IT Division and line of business stakeholders.

If you want to be a part of one of the worldwide BEST companies “to work for”, simply apply and let your career be reimagined.

ROLE

● Works continuously / daily with teams to provide answers, feedback and direction on work items, enablers, user stories, etc.

● Consults Product Managers for guidance and clarity on the product vision, roadmap, requirements, etc.

● Collaborates with Scrum Masters to ensure the work managed by teams achieves the highest value relative to needs / priority of the business.

● Collaborates with Scrum Masters and teams to define the sprint plan based on the priority outlined within the overall product vision and roadmap.

● Prioritizes the sprint backlog (as part of the sprint planning ceremony) based on the sequencing / ranking of features defined in the product roadmap.

● Refines product requirements based on the input obtained through sprint showcases / demos.

● Creates and authors user stories with detailed acceptance criteria written in the customers’ voice.

● Conducts the formal review and acceptance of user stories implemented by a team within a sprint.

● Drives the execution of user acceptance testing (UAT) activities with support from business and technology team members.

● Supports and participates in program level ceremonies including product increment (PI) planning sessions with input and consultation from the Product Manager.

● Performs functional reviews as part of sprint demos and showcases along with the Product Manager and Delivery Manager.

● Defines the Data Science Products/ Solutions/Initiatives Portfolio Roadmap with Business value prioritization.

● Develops a structured Business/Products Requirements Document (B/P RD) with clear feature level requirements.

● Defines and communicates the minimum viable product (MVP) for a given application / product and the supporting release plans.

● Collaborates with Product Managers and technology stakeholders (e.g., Systems Architects, Data Engineers) to define new and or enhanced product requirements and functionality.

● Ensures the work managed by teams achieves the highest value relative to the need’s priority of the business.

● Defines the sprint plan in ADO based on the priority outlined within the overall product vision and roadmap to present in Product Increment (PI) Planning sessions.

● Supports data science technology strategy by forming a backlog of features and user stories for use by the delivery team.

● Articulates requirements for each user story with detailed acceptance criteria.

● Uses data and insights from multiple sources that benefits the business and our members.

● Pursues incremental delivery by looking for ways to meet business goals and end users through frequent, measurable enhancements.

● Works collaboratively and uses best practices with the delivery team to support backlog refinement, sprint planning, and long-term release planning. Monitors and improves product health.

● Ensures completed stories meet acceptance criteria by reviewing test plans, the output of automated testing or, where necessary, contributing to manual testing efforts. Prioritizes and collaborates in resolution of issues and defects.

● Seeks and improves processes across the Business PM and delivery team by using retrospectives to inspect and adapt.

● Communicates with team members, stakeholders, and all levels of management.

● Works with stakeholders to identify solutions that support their business requirements.

REQUIRED

● 5+ years’ experience as a Product Owner or Product Manager.

● Technical experience and detailed understanding of Machine Learning and AI technologies.

● Proven experience in developing Business / Product proposal documents, and Portfolio Documents.

● Proven experience working on a Scrum and/or Agile team.

● Proven Experience with ML and AI (Narrow AI/ Gen AI) products/solutions to solve business problems.

● Proven experience with creating documentation for communication with varied audiences.

● Proven experience working within a complex software development environment.

● Deep understanding of business requirements elicitation pursuant to specific programs/projects involved.

● Proficient in creating and managing Epics, Features, User Story and Tasks in ADO for Data Science Portfolio.

● Having a strong Retail Industry Product/management experience would be an added advantage.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, health benefits - medical/dental/vision/hearing aid/pharmacy/behavioral health/employee assistance, health care reimbursement account, dependent care assistance plan, short-term disability and long-term disability insurance, AD&D insurance, life insurance, 401(k), stock purchase plan to eligible employees.

Costco is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Costco is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or any other legally protected status. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to IT-Recruiting@costco.com

If hired, you will be required to provide proof of authorization to work in the United States. Applicants and employees for this position will not be sponsored for work authorization, including, but not limited to H1-B visas.

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