Senior Empower Portals Product Owner

City National Bank; Frankfort (KY); On-site; USD 101,000 - 172,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

401(k) matching

Tuition reimbursement

Vacation & leave

Fertility benefits

Career mobility support

Job summary

City National Bank seeks a Senior Product Owner to bridge vision and delivery for our loan origination platform. You will own the product roadmap, translate complex business needs into actionable requirements, and ensure features deliver customer value while meeting organizational goals.

You’ll capture stakeholder feedback, document BRDs, define clear acceptance criteria, and drive UAT sign-off to ensure traceability from idea to release.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
• 5 years of hands-on experience with Empower Mortgage/HELOC loan origination systems and its vendor ecosystem.
• Proven ability to prioritize and manage backlogs for loan origination systems.
• Deep understanding of mortgage/HELOC workflows, compliance requirements, and integration points with downstream systems.

Responsibilities

• Translate strategy into actionable product features and epics.
• Define, maintain, and communicate a clear product vision to configuration teams and development vendors.
• Maintain and prioritize a detailed backlog of user stories, features, technical tasks, and enhancements to maximize ROI and speed to market.
• Ensure stories have clear acceptance criteria and can be effectively implemented by configuration teams and vendors.
• Lead backlog refinement, coordinate with sprint planning leader, and other agile ceremonies to ensure development flows efficiently.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for clarifying requirements and prioritization within development and configuration teams.
• Protect the team from scope creep while negotiating what gets delivered per sprint.
• Promote adherence to Agile principles across teams and mentor junior product owners on best practices.
• Act as the face of the product to stakeholders, translating business needs into executable backlog items.
• Gather and synthesize feedback from multiple business lines to document clear, actionable BRDs.
• Ensure traceability between BRDs and downstream deliverables, including UAT test scripts and acceptance criteria.
• Document test scripts that are executable by business lines.
• Manage dependencies across multiple teams and products to ensure smooth delivery.
• Facilitate communication across tech and business teams.
• Validate priorities and backlog items with input from technical leads and business stakeholders.
• Conduct competitive analysis, market research, and user feedback studies to inform backlog priorities and product enhancements.
• Advocate for the end‑user by incorporating usability and customer experience insights into the backlog and sprints.
• Interpret analytics and KPIs to guide iterative backlog decisions, including adoption, engagement, and retention metrics.
• Track development progress and ensure backlog commitments are delivered on time and according to specifications.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks related to delivery timelines, scope, and quality.
• Create and coordinate line‑of‑business User Acceptance Testing (UAT) test scripts, ensuring full traceability to BRDs and alignment with business objectives.
• Partner with QA and business stakeholders to oversee UAT execution and sign‑off prior to release.

Skills

Backlog management

Agile ceremonies

Stakeholder communication

BRD drafting

UAT execution

Analytics & KPIs

Mentoring juniors

Requirements translation

Vendor collaboration

Prioritization

Education

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent

Tools

Empower Mortgage/HELOC

Dark Matter exchange interfaces

Docutech document generation

Job description

SENIOR PRODUCT OWNER

WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY?

As our Senior Product Owner, you'll be the strategic link between vision and delivery. You'll own the product roadmap, translate complex business needs into actionable requirements, and ensure every feature we deliver is aligned with both customer value and organizational goals. You'll also play a critical role in capturing business line feedback, documenting precise requirements, and ensuring every deliverable is validated through rigorous UAT - so nothing gets lost between idea and execution.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

• Translate organizational strategy into actionable product features and epics.
• Define, maintain, and communicate a clear product vision to configuration teams and development vendors.
• Maintain and prioritize a detailed backlog of user stories, features, technical tasks, and enhancements to maximize ROI and speed to market.
• Ensure stories have clear acceptance criteria and can be effectively implemented by configuration teams and vendors.
• Lead backlog refinement, coordinate with sprint planning leader, and other agile ceremonies to ensure development flows efficiently.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for clarifying requirements and prioritization within development and configuration teams.
• Protect the team from scope creep while negotiating what gets delivered per sprint.
• Promote adherence to Agile principles across teams and mentor junior product owners on best practices.
• Act as the face of the product to stakeholders, translating business needs into executable backlog items.
• Gather and synthesize feedback from multiple business lines to document clear, actionable Business Requirements Documents (BRDs).
• Ensure traceability between BRDs and downstream deliverables, including UAT test scripts and acceptance criteria. Document test scripts that are executable by business lines.
• Manage dependencies across multiple teams and products to ensure smooth delivery.
• Facilitate communication across tech and business teams.
• Validate priorities and backlog items with input from technical leads and business stakeholders.
• Conduct competitive analysis, market research, and user feedback studies to inform backlog priorities and product enhancements.
• Advocate for the end‑user by incorporating usability and customer experience insights into the backlog and sprints.
• Interpret analytics and KPIs to guide iterative backlog decisions, including adoption, engagement, and retention metrics.
• Track development progress and ensure backlog commitments are delivered on time and according to specifications.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks related to delivery timelines, scope, and quality.
• Create and coordinate line‑of‑business User Acceptance Testing (UAT) test scripts, ensuring full traceability to BRDs and alignment with business objectives.
• Partner with QA and business stakeholders to oversee UAT execution and sign‑off prior to release.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO SUCCEED?

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent
• 5 years of hands‑on experience with Empower Mortgage/HELOC loan origination systems and its vendor ecosystem (e.g., Dark Matter exchange interfaces, Docutech document generation).
• Proven ability to prioritize and manage backlogs for loan origination systems, including vendor collaboration and scope negotiation.
• Deep understanding of mortgage/HELOC workflows, compliance requirements, and integration points with downstream systems.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

Starting base salary: $101,231 - $172,355 per year. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location. This job is eligible for bonus and/or commissions.

BENEFITS AND PERKS

• Comprehensive healthcare coverage, including Medical, Dental and Vision plans, available the first of the month following start date
• Generous 401(k) company matching contribution
• Career Development through Tuition Reimbursement and other internal upskilling and training resources
• Valued Time Away benefits including vacation, sick and volunteer time
• Specialized health and family planning benefits including fertility benefits, and cancer, diabetes and musculoskeletal support programs
• Career Mobility support from a dedicated recruitment team
• Colleague Resource Groups to support networking and community engagement

Get a more detailed look at our Benefits and Perks.

ABOUT US

Since day one we’ve always gone further than the competition to help our clients, colleagues and communities flourish. City National Bank was founded in 1954 by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and that legacy of integrity, community and unparalleled client relationships continues today. City National is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies. To learn more about City National and our dynamic company culture, visit us at About Us.

INCLUSION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT

City National Bank fosters an inclusive environment where all forms of diversity are valued and leveraged to make us a better company and employer. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other basis protected by law.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Represents basic qualifications for the position. To be considered for this position, you must at least meet the required qualifications.

Unless otherwise indicated as fully remote, reporting into a designated City National location is an essential function of the job.