Senior Product Owner

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina; Durham (NC); Hybrid; USD 108,000 - 173,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Parental leave and adoption support

401k match and company contribution

Tuition reimbursement and career dev

Job summary

Blue Cross NC is seeking a Senior Product Owner to own and prioritize the product backlog, translating vision into actionable user stories and sprint priorities. You will partner with Product Managers and stakeholders to ensure aligned priorities and outcomes across complex products.

In a Hybrid-Flex environment, you’ll collaborate with cross-functional teams, mentor others, and maintain deep domain knowledge, contributing to a high-value health care delivery roadmap in the Durham area.

Qualifications

• Experience as Product Owner or similar in agile
• Strong backlog management and sprint planning
• Ability to translate strategy into user stories and deliverables
• Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple products

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the product and sprint backlog, aligning priorities with customer needs and business goals
• Partner with Product Managers and stakeholders to translate vision into user stories and features
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define and deliver user stories that drive outcomes
• Decompose complex features into smaller, well-defined work items for efficient execution
• Serve as the primary liaison between business, customers, and delivery teams
• Ensure priorities are communicated and understood across stakeholders
• Guide team members in writing effective user stories and acceptance criteria
• Maintain deep business knowledge for assigned products or domains
• Drive alignment across stakeholders on goals and expectations
• Mentor and coach team members to strengthen agile practices and product ownership

Skills

Product Owner experience

Agile methodologies

User stories

Backlog management

Stakeholder management

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring

Job description

Job Description

The Senior Product Owner is responsible for owning and prioritizing the product backlog to deliver high-value outcomes aligned with customer needs, business objectives, and product strategy. This role serves as a critical bridge between business stakeholders, customers, and delivery teams, translating product vision into actionable user stories and sprint priorities. Working with minimal oversight, the Senior Product Owner collaborates closely with Product Managers, cross-functional partners, and agile delivery teams to ensure efficient execution of product roadmaps across complex or multiple products. This role also provides mentorship to team members and contributes to building strong domain knowledge for assigned business areas.

What You’ll Do

• Own and manage the product and sprint backlog, ensuring priorities align with customer needs and business goals
• Partner with Product Managers and stakeholders to translate product vision into actionable user stories and features
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define, refine, and deliver user stories that drive product outcomes
• Decompose complex features into smaller, well-defined work items to enable efficient team execution
• Serve as the primary liaison between business stakeholders, customers, and delivery teams
• Ensure product priorities are clearly communicated and understood across all stakeholder groups
• Support and guide team members in writing effective user stories and acceptance criteria
• Maintain deep business and domain knowledge for assigned products or functional areas
• Drive alignment across stakeholders to ensure consistent understanding of goals and expectations
• Mentor and coach team members to strengthen agile practices and product ownership capabilities

What You Bring

• Proven experience as a Product Owner or similar role within an agile environment
• Strong understanding of agile methodologies, including backlog management and sprint planning
• Experience translating product strategy and business needs into user stories and deliverables
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities across complex or multiple products
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across technical and non-technical audiences
• Ability to break down complex problems into actionable solutions that enable delivery
• Strong collaboration skills with cross-functional teams, including Product Management and Engineering
• Experience mentoring or coaching team members

Bonus Points (Hiring Preferences Bulleted List – no more than 5)

• Experience working within healthcare or regulated industries
• Bachelor's degree or advanced degree (where required)
• 5+ years of experience in related field
• In lieu of degree, 7+ years of experience in related field
• Product Owner certification preferred (Scrum Alliance or Agile SAFe)

What You’ll Get

• The opportunity to work at the cutting edge of health care delivery with a team that’s deeply invested in the community
• Work-life balance, flexibility, and the autonomy to do great work
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage along with numerous health and wellness programs
• Parental leave and support plus adoption and surrogacy assistance
• Career development programs and tuition reimbursement for continued education
• 401k match including an annual company contribution
• Learn more

Where You’ll Work

Our Hybrid Flex approach is built on presence with a purpose – giving you flexibility to work remotely with intentional in-person connection – that supports a workplace that’s flexible, connected, and future focused.

In a Hybrid-Flex role, you’ll work in the office at least two days a week for collaboration and connection. In a Remote Flex role, you’ll work virtually, with a few in-office visits each year for meaningful moments that matter.

Whether your role is Hybrid Flex or Remote Flex depends on the nature of the work and distance from our Durham headquarters. We welcome candidates from outside the local area and in any states listed on this job posting. Onsite expectations will be discussed during the interview process.

Salary Range

At Blue Cross NC, we take great pride in a fair and equitable compensation package that reflects market-price and our starting salaries are typically planned near the middle of the range listed. Compensation decisions are driven by factors including experience and training, specialized skill sets, licensure and certifications and other business and organizational needs. Our base salary is part of a robust Total Rewards package that includes an Annual Incentive Bonus*, 401(k) with employer match, Paid Time Off (PTO), and competitive health benefits and wellness programs.

*Based on annual corporate goal achievement and individual performance.

$107,901.00 - $172,642.00

Skills

Agile Methodology, Business Competence, Product Consulting, Product Management, Product Roadmap, Product Roadmapping, Roadmap Development, Scrum (Agile), Software Team Management, Sprint Backlog