Product Owner, Offensive Cyber Operations

Shadow Strategies LLC; Columbia (MD); Hybrid; USD 185,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully covered health insurance

Parity between mission and engineering

Job summary

Shadow Strategies LLC in Columbia, MD seeks an experienced product leader with deep understanding of offensive cyber operations to translate mission needs into a clear software roadmap and actionable features.

You will work with mission stakeholders, Government product leadership, engineers, and designers to deliver declarative workflow capabilities for cyber operators, aligning with program objectives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and extensive product ownership experience
• Experience translating mission needs into software roadmaps
• Familiarity with SAFe, agile ceremonies, and stakeholder collaboration

Responsibilities

• Define and prioritize user stories in the team backlog based on operational value and program objectives
• Decompose features into implementable stories with clear acceptance criteria
• Refine the backlog at least bi-weekly with the development team and mission stakeholders
• Collaborate with the Government/SETA Product Manager to define features and guide product direction
• Translate operational needs gathered from mission stakeholders into epics, features, and actionable user stories
• Maintain a product roadmap aligned with mission priorities and program objectives
• Participate in SAFe ceremonies, including PI Planning, iteration planning, and reviews
• Accept or reject completed work against the Definition of Done and agreed acceptance criteria
• Coordinate cross-team dependencies and validate delivered capabilities with mission users

Skills

Product ownership

Backlog prioritization

Roadmap development

SAFe agile

Jira/Confluence

Stakeholder communication

System architecture

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Confluence

Job description

This position is fully funded and ready for impact

Location: Columbia, MD

Telework: Hybrid, with telework availability determined by customer needs and mission requirements

Clearance Required: Active TS/SCI

Salary Range: $185,000 to $205,000

At Shadow Strategies, you will join a culture defined by innovation, purpose, and meaningful impact. We seek an experienced product leader who understands offensive cyber operations and can turn mission needs into clear priorities for software development. If you are inspired by complexity, motivated by clarity, and committed to excellence, we invite you to become part of something exceptional.

This role supports development of a new declarative workflow capability for offensive cyber operations. You will work directly with mission stakeholders, Government product leadership, engineers, and designers to translate operational needs into a roadmap and deliverable software features. The capability will help cyber operators manage complex mission workflows and turn operational judgment into effective action.

What You’ll Do

• Define and prioritize user stories in the team backlog based on operational value and program objectives
• Decompose features into implementable stories with clear acceptance criteria
• Refine the backlog at least bi-weekly with the development team and mission stakeholders
• Collaborate with the Government/SETA Product Manager to define features and guide product direction
• Translate operational needs gathered from mission stakeholders into epics, features, and actionable user stories
• Maintain a product roadmap aligned with mission priorities and program objectives
• Participate in SAFe ceremonies, including PI Planning, iteration planning, and reviews
• Accept or reject completed work against the Definition of Done and agreed acceptance criteria
• Coordinate cross-team dependencies and validate delivered capabilities with mission users

Who This Might Be a Fit For

• You have guided software products in environments where mission needs and technical constraints both matter
• You are comfortable making priority decisions when operational requirements evolve
• You understand how offensive cyber missions, software systems, and operator workflows intersect
• You prefer clarity over cleverness and durable solutions over quick fixes
• You communicate effectively with operators, Government stakeholders, and technical teams
• You take ownership of product direction while working closely with the people building the capability

Required Skills

• Understanding of offensive cyber operations and mission requirements
• Product ownership, backlog prioritization, and roadmap development
• Agile development and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
• SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM) certification or willingness to obtain within 90 days
• Jira, Confluence, or comparable Agile management tools
• Technical understanding of system architecture and software development constraints
• Stakeholder communication and coordination across mission and engineering teams

Helpful Experience Areas

• Direct experience supporting USCYBERCOM or Service Cyber Components
• Offensive cyber operational planning and mission execution workflows
• Development of mission-critical cyber capabilities
• DevSecOps and multidisciplinary systems engineering environments
• Declarative workflow systems and operational decision-support tools

Years of Experience and Degree Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 14 years of relevant professional experience, including at least 5 years as a Product Owner or in a comparable role

Work Environment

Based in Columbia, Maryland

Hybrid work, with telework arrangements determined by mission needs and customer tasking

Travel to meet with mission stakeholders and operational users is anticipated

Work within a multidisciplinary team alongside cyber operators, software engineers, systems engineers, and designers

Exercise substantial ownership of product priorities, roadmap decisions, and delivery acceptance

What Comes With It

You will have what you need to do your best work:

• Fully covered health insurance for medical, dental, and vision
• Paid parental leave: 16 weeks if you give birth, 4 weeks if your partner does
• Flexible leave: 36 days total each year, including 25 days of PTO and 11 paid holidays
• 401(k) for your future
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Annual health stipend if you opt out of our insurance

The Extras? They’re Built In.

No points systems. No bean bags. Just clarity, autonomy, and a mission that matters.

Shadow invests in exceptional people because demanding work requires more than a paycheck. Our benefits are designed to provide meaningful support inside and outside the mission.

See our benefit plan at: https://www.shadowstrategies.io/benefits

Shadow Strategies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a workplace that values diversity and fosters inclusion. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, the individual’s particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract‑specific affordability and organizational requirements.