Lead Product Owner

Sapiens; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 2,000,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Sapiens is looking for a Lead Product Owner to drive complex product initiatives while mentoring a team of Product Owners and Analysts. This role involves establishing delivery standards and supporting customer escalations while leveraging AI-enabled delivery models to enhance consistency and quality.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in insurance and strong leadership skills. Key responsibilities also include conducting workshops to elicit requirements and guiding teams in AI adoption.

Qualifications

• 8–12 years of relevant experience.
• Insurance or BFSI experience is a must.
• Experience working in implementation projects.

Responsibilities

• Drive complex product initiatives across insurance functions.
• Mentor Product Owners and Analysts.
• Conduct User Forums and stakeholder workshops.

Skills

Deep insurance domain expertise

Strong product ownership experience

Agile delivery methodologies

Advanced SQL and data modeling skills

Excellent analytical skills

Strong stakeholder management

Techno-functional capability

Ability to leverage AI-enabled tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering (CS/IT preferred)

MBA preferred

Job description

Role Summary

The Lead Product Owner drives complex product initiatives, mentors Product Owners and Analysts, and establishes delivery standards across functional domains. The role is expected to lead adoption of AI-enabled delivery operating models and drive consistency, scalability, and quality across teams. The Lead Product Owner is a member of the Product Management team of IDIT R&D, responsible for managing a team of Product Owners. The candidate should be able to run workshops with domain managers, Product Managers, and customers to elicit requirements, present solution designs, and take requirements through to implementation.

Pre-requisites

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (CS/IT preferred) or equivalent qualification.
• MBA preferred.

Experience

• 8–12 years of relevant experience.
• Should have some technical experience before transitioning to a BA/Product role.
• Insurance or BFSI experience is a must.
• Prior knowledge of Core Insurance is a must.
• Experience of having worked in at least two implementation projects.
• Led end-to-end requirements across multiple domains and modules.

Key Responsibilities

Functional Leadership Responsibilities

• Drive large and complex product initiatives across insurance functions.
• Lead solution alignment across Product, Engineering, Architecture, QA, and Delivery teams.
• Define product execution standards and governance practices.
• Drive backlog prioritization aligned to strategic objectives.
• Mentor Product Owners and Analysts; conduct training sessions for team members.
• Support customer escalations and strategic initiatives.
• Ensure consistency across functional deliverables and delivery practices.
• Conduct User Forums and stakeholder workshops.
• Work as a senior representative to project teams as needed.
• Analysis and solution design using AI-assisted tools and frameworks.

AI-Enabled Leadership Responsibilities

• Define AI-enabled delivery standards and best practices.
• Establish reusable AI-assisted delivery patterns and knowledge frameworks.
• Drive AI-assisted requirement quality and traceability standards.
• Guide teams on responsible AI adoption.
• Define review and validation mechanisms for AI-generated artifacts.
• Identify opportunities for delivery acceleration using AI-assisted workflows.
• Drive adoption of AI-enabled operating models across teams.

Mandatory Skills

• Deep insurance domain expertise; strong understanding of insurance processes and core insurance systems.
• Strong product ownership and solution leadership experience.
• Experience in Product Ownership, Business Analysis, or Solution Design.
• Ability to manage complex cross-functional requirements.
• Strong stakeholder management and workshop facilitation skills.
• Strong systems thinking and enterprise understanding.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and initiatives.
• Experience with Agile delivery methodologies.
• Strong analytical and prioritization capabilities.
• Working knowledge of APIs, integrations, and enterprise systems.
• Excellent analytical skills and good design skills.
• Advanced SQL and data modelling skills (mandatory).
• Understanding of SDLC and Agile concepts (mandatory).
• Very good verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to document business requirements as user stories; break large epics into smaller features and stories and document them in SDS.
• Ability to conduct demos and walkthroughs with POs and business users.
• Techno-functional and business solutioning capability.
• Ability to effectively leverage AI-enabled delivery tools.
• Strong understanding of AI-enabled delivery practices.
• Experience with AI-enabled delivery platforms and workflows.
• Exposure to prompt engineering and AI-assisted analysis.
• Experience in modernization or transformation programs.
• Exposure to AI governance and AI operating models.
• Experience building reusable delivery frameworks.
• Experience in using AI agents to elicit requirements and generate documentation.

Good-to-Have Skills

• Exposure to Agentic AI concepts and orchestration-based workflows.
• Exposure to digital transformation initiatives.

Key Characteristics

• Strategic thinking.
• Strong leadership and mentoring capability.
• High ownership and accountability.
• Ability to drive organizational change.
• Ability to balance speed with quality and governance.
• Systems thinking and cross-domain understanding.