Product Owner/Associate (foreUP)

Foreup; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Xplor Technologies is seeking a Product Owner/Associate to guide product vision, strategy, and backlog for our software offerings. You will partner with product, engineering, and data teams to translate business needs into actionable user stories and prioritize work to maximize value for customers and internal stakeholders.

You will drive AI-enabled initiatives, participate in Scrum ceremonies, and help communicate product capabilities and trade-offs to clients and teams.

Qualifications

• BS/MS degree in Business, Engineering, or related field.
• 3+ years’ work experience as product owner, business analyst or subject matter expert in SaaS software applications preferred.
• Excellent oral and written communicator up, down, across and outside the organization.
• Strong critical thinking, analytical and data-driven decision-making skills.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with a strong sense of urgency and accountability.
• Experience with bug/issue/enhancement tracking, project management software.
• Experience defining or shipping AI-powered product features, or working closely with data science/ML teams, a plus.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Owner of the products; ensure products meet customer needs and expand addressable market.
• Maintain focus on technological trends and competitive landscape to drive innovation.
• Identify opportunities to apply AI and automation within the product to improve efficiency and decision-making.
• Own the creation and grooming of the product backlog by writing and refining user stories.
• Gatekeeper of the product backlog and primary feedback loop owner.

Skills

Product ownership

Stakeholder management

Agile / Scrum

Communication

Data-driven decisions

AI/ML awareness

Education

BS/MS degree in Business, Engineering, or related field

Tools

JIRA

Productboard

Pendo

Figma

Job description

Xplor Technologies powers the experiences at the heart of everyday life. Through modern vertical software, embedded payments, and AI-powered capabilities, we help businesses in fitness, recreation, golf and club, field services, laundry, education, and othermembership-based andservice-basedindustriessimplify operations, uncover insights, and elevate customer and member experiences.

We unite popular brands such as Clubessential , foreUP , myFitApp , Vermont Systems , Momence , Exerp , and many more.

Product Owner/Associate will work closely with the foreUP product and development teams, as well as with clients and other internal and external stakeholders, to support the direction and strategy for our products.

They will be in charge of informing the group of engineers, designer, and QA testers about the product vision, strategy, and direction. They act as the primary line of communication between the business stakeholders and the delivery teams, who will design, build, and test our products.

The Product Owner/Associate also will need to be able to communicate to comprehend our business prospects, translate them into a polished and manageable backlog, and manage the team’s deliverables.

As AI becomes a bigger part of how we build products, the Product Owner/Associate will also help identify where AI and automation can create real value for our customers, and work closely with engineering and data teams to bring those capabilities to life responsibly.

RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

• Serve as Owner of the products; ensure products are meeting and exceeding the needs of external customers and prospects to expand addressable market and reduce/eliminate churn as well as internal stakeholders to allow for ease of implementation and support.
• Maintain focus on technological trends and competitive landscape to drive innovation.
• Identify opportunities to apply AI and automation within the product to improve efficiency, personalization, and decision-making for customers and internal users.
• Own the creation and grooming of the product backlog by writing and refining user stories that support sprint goals and align with product strategy.
• Serve as the Gatekeeper of the product backlog and primary feedback loop owner regarding product enhancements, issues, bugs and/or tasks related to the products.
• Escalate and timely communicate issues, related updates, and resolutions to internal stakeholders as appropriate.
• Share and contribute meaningful ideas to achieve overall product success, while balancing needs of external customers, expansion of addressable market, ease to support and implement, and churn reduction in mind.
• Coordinate with product leadership, customers, and team to complete research, develop specifications and user stories for the developers that satisfy business requirements and align with the business value.
• Partner with engineering and data teams to define requirements, success metrics, and guardrails for AI-powered features, and communicate what those capabilities can and can't do to internal stakeholders and customers.
• Provide timely feedback to internal stakeholders on plan for resolution; as appropriate, identify which bugs or enhancements will be worked and/or will not be prioritized.
• Play an active role in mitigating impediments impacting successful team completion of
  Release/Goals; participate in testing and release readiness as required.
• Assist with configuration and communicate availability of new features in demo environments.
• Act as the go to person/liaison for answering questions the development team has about business rules and product behaviors, and/or other internal stakeholders regarding the respective products.
• Assist in Rollout/Management/Feedback gathering where applicable.
• Assist in reviewing educational and marketing materials pertaining to the product lines.
• Deliver product releases and assist with release note creation/educational efforts with quick time-to-market and optimal resources.
• Develop successful launch plans working directly with implementation, project management and support services, marketing, sales, and our customers.
• Participate (when appropriate) in additional activities to support the education, marketing and/or success of the product such as webinars, shows, monthly/quarterly update meetings, and/or other activities as applicable.
• Lead/Assist/Participate (as applicable) in all Scrum ceremonies.
• Perform other responsibilities pertaining to the product, as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• BS/MS degree in Business, Engineering, or related field preferred
• 3+ years’ work experience as product owner, business analyst or subject matter expert in SaaS software applications preferred
• Excellent oral and written communicator up, down, across and outside the organization.
• Strong critical thinking, analytical and data-driven decision-making skills.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with a strong sense of urgency and
  accountability
• Experience with bug/issue/enhancement tracking, project management software
• Excels in ability to prioritize, influence decisions/decision makers, and handle objections
• Excellent active listening, negotiation, communication, and presentation skills
• Ability to manage numerous diverse projects and multi-task with ease
• Experience with JIRA, Productboard, Pendo, and/or Figma a plus
• Experience defining or shipping AI-powered product features, or working closely with data science/ML teams, a plus
• Comfortable evaluating AI tools and vendors, weighing their capabilities and limitations, and translating them into clear customer value
• Hands-on experience writing AI skills, skill chains, or agentic workflows to streamline day-to-day work such as research, spec writing, and backlog grooming a plus

At Xplor, we believe that the best innovation and ideas happen at the intersections of our differences - people of diverse cultures, generations, disciplines, and lived experiences. So even if you think you do not tick all the boxes, we still encourage you to apply.

Values and Life at Xplor

Our five core values guide us from how we hire and recognise our team members to how we interact with our customers day to day:

• Find a better way
• Do the right thing
• Say it straight
• Win together
• Own the outcome

If these values sound like you and describe people you want to work with, you will thrive at Xplor.

As an Xplorer, you will be part of a global network of talented colleagues who will support your success. We look for commonalities and shared passions and give people the tools they need to deliver great work and grow at speed.