Technical Product Owner - Biometric Devices (Open also to Protected Categories, Law 68/99)

Thales; Grugliasco; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Thales in Italy is seeking a Senior Product Owner for Biometric Devices to own end-to-end technical realization and lifecycle, translating strategy into executable plans across Mechanics, Optics, Electronics, and SDK domains.

You will lead technical product backlogs, manage lifecycle from concept to end-of-life, and coordinate cross-domain delivery with Domain Managers and Product Architect. International R&D exposure is a plus.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in complex product development (architect/PO/lead roles).
• Hands-on engineering in mechanics, optics, electronics, or embedded software.
• Experience with HW/SW integration, interface specs, verification, and system-level troubleshooting.
• Proven experience in development, industrialization, or deployment of complex electronic/electro-mechanical products.
• Biometric technologies experience (fingerprint/iris) required.
• Experience working in international or distributed R&D environments is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical product plan and backlog, translating priorities into structured work and development sequencing.
• Manage the product lifecycle from concept through release, maintenance, evolution, and end-of-life.
• Lead new product development projects, defining integrated plans, milestones, dependencies, and risks.
• Make and document product-level technical decisions and trade-offs within business priorities.
• Ensure interfaces and deliverables are coherent across domain teams (Electronics, Mechanics, Optics, SDK).
• Act as primary interface between Product Line and R&D, providing feedback on feasibility and delivery implications.
• Maintain a product-level view of risks and dependencies across the full lifecycle and drive resolution.
• Drive product readiness through technical reviews and validation criteria.
• Coordinate with Quality & Process to ensure compliance with requirements.
• Contribute to long-term technical evolution of Biometric Devices.

Skills

Biometric devices

Product ownership

Cross-domain coordination

HW/SW integration

Embedded software

International R&D

Job description

Thales people architect identity management and data protection solutions at the heart of digital security. Business and governments rely on us to bring trust to the billions of digital interactions they have with people. Our technologies and services help banks exchange funds, people cross borders, energy become smarter and much more. More than 30,000 organizations already rely on us to verify the identities of people and things, grant access to digital services, analyze vast quantities of information and encrypt data to make the connected world more secure.

MAIN MISSION :

• Own the end-to-end technical realization and lifecycle of the Biometric Devices product family, translating product strategy and business priorities defined by the Product Line Manager into an executable technical product and development plan.
• Act as the single point of technical product ownership, ensuring product integrity, cross-domain alignment, and delivery across Mechanics, Optics, Electronics, and SDK domain s

RESPONSIBILITIES :

• Own the technical product plan and backlog, translating business priorities and product requirements into structured technical work, priorities, and development sequencing
• Manage the technical product lifecycle from concept through development, industrialization, release, maintenance, evolution, and end-of-life
• Lead new product development projects at product level, defining and maintainingthe integrated project plan, key milestones, cross-domain dependencies, risks, and overall delivery status while the Domain Managers own detailed execution and resource allocation within their respective domains
• Make and document product-level technical decisions and trade-offs across scope, schedule, cost, performance, quality, and risk, within agreed business priorities
• Ensure technical product integration and consistency of interfaces and domain deliverables, working closely with the Domain Managers (Electronics, Mechanics, Optics, and SDK) and the Product Architect
• Own product-level technical decisions and their rationale; rely on the Product Architect and Domain Managers for technical depth and recommendations, without overriding domain expertise or substituting for it
• Act as the primary interface between Product Line and R&D, providing clear feedback on feasibility, effort, constraints, dependencies, risks, and delivery implications,
• Maintain a product-level view of risks and dependencies across the full lifecycle, beyond individual projects, driving their resolution or escalation
• Drive product readiness through technical reviews and agreed validation, industrialization, and release criteria
• Partner with Quality & Process functions to ensure compliance with applicable quality, regulatory, certification, and internal process requirements
• Coordinate the technical assessment of significant post-release, manufacturing, support, and customer issues and drive appropriate product improvement actions
• Provide technical product expertise during customer discussions, RFPs, and strategic reviews
• Contribute to the long-term technical evolution of the Biometric Devices
• The role has no direct reports; the Product Owner leads through product ownership and cross-domain influence, with Domain Managers owning line management and resource allocation within their domains

EXPERIENCE :

• 12+ years of experience in complex product development, including roles such as Product Architect, Technical Product Owner, System Engineer, IVVQ Engineer, or Technical Project Lead
• Hands-on engineering experience in at least one of mechanics, optics, electronics, or embedded software - including direct contribution to design, integration, or verification
• Experience with HW/SW integration, interface specifications, verification, validation, and system-level troubleshooting
• Proven experience in the development, industrialization, or deployment of complex electronic or electro-mechanical products
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multidisciplinary engineering activities across mechanics, optics, electronics, and embedded software domains
• Proven experience leading technical product development projects, includingplanning, milestones, dependencies, risks, and technical trade-off
• Experience with biometric technologies and products, including fingerprint and iris is a must
• Experience working in international or geographically distributed R&D environments is an advantage

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.