Technical Product Owner

A1L Digital; Midrand; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Part time

Job summary

A1L Digital in South Africa is seeking a Technical Product Owner for a 6-month contract in the telecom space. You will bridge business objectives and technical delivery, owning the backlog, writing clear technical user stories, and acting as the voice of the customer for engineering teams.

You will work with architects, developers and stakeholders to deliver a scalable, secure AWS-based platform compliant with Twin Peaks and POPIA, leveraging data-driven insights and AI-assisted SDLC practices.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years’ relevant experience, with at least 3-5 years as Technical Product Owner or Product Manager in software
• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or related field (or equivalent)
• Proven track record delivering complex, scalable enterprise applications in financial services or long-term insurance within SA

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the product backlog and write actionable user stories.
• Collaborate with architects, developers and stakeholders to align roadmaps and delivery.
• Ensure AWS-based platform adheres to Twin Peaks, POPIA and other SA regulations and security practices.

Skills

Insurance Domain

Regulatory Knowledge

Product Management

Architecture & Cloud

Data & Integration

AI in the SDLC

Delivery tooling

Education

Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business or related field

Job description

Our client in the telecommunications sector is seeking a Technical Product Owner on a contract duration of 6 months.

Purpose of the role

We are looking for an experienced Technical Product Owner to bridge the gap between our business objectives and technical execution. The ideal candidate will possess deep domain expertise in building modern, long-term life and funeral insurance systems, combined with a strong technical foundation in cloud-native microservices architectures and South African insurance regulations. As a senior member of the IT Insurance team, you will own the product backlog, act as the 'voice of the customer' for our engineering teams, and translate complex long-term insurance requirements into clear, actionable technical user stories. You will collaborate closely with architects, developers, and business stakeholders to ensure the delivery of a highly scalable, secure, and resilient platform deployed on AWS that strictly adheres to the Twin Peaks regulatory model.

Technical skills and experience

The successful candidate will bring deep, hands-on experience across the following areas:

• Insurance Domain
• Deep understanding of Life and Funeral insurance policies, risk insurance, policy administration, waiting periods, beneficiary verification, and claims payouts.
• Regulatory Knowledge
• Twin Peaks model, FSCA/PA mandates, COFI Bill, Policyholder Protection Rules (PPRs), TCF principles, and POPIA (especially relating to health information).
• Product Management
• Backlog management, user story writing, roadmap definition, stakeholder alignment.
• Architecture & Cloud
• Understanding of API-first design, microservices, containerization, and AWS.
• Data & Integration
• Familiarity with data models, system integrations, and sequence diagrams.
• AI in the SDLC
• AI-assisted requirement drafting, analysis, and process optimization.
• Delivery tooling

Essential technical requirements

• Life & Funeral Insurance Systems: Demonstrable, hands-on experience as a Product Owner or Technical Business Analyst building or integrating core life and funeral insurance platforms. Deep domain knowledge spanning policy administration, premium collection, beneficiary verification, waiting period rules, and claims payout processes.
• South African Regulatory Context: Proven track record of building systems that comply with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and Prudential Authority (PA) requirements. Deep understanding of the Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) outcomes and how to embed them into digital platforms.
• Technical Aptitude: Strong understanding of API-based architectures, integrations, and cloud platforms (AWS). Ability to engage in technical design discussions with engineers.
• Architecture Context: Proven experience working within microservices-based environments, understanding the trade-offs and dependencies inherent in distributed systems.
• Engineering Practice: Solid grasp of the software development lifecycle, continuous delivery (CI/CD), and secure-by-design principles (including POPIA compliance).

AI in the software development lifecycle

AI-assisted workflows are increasingly embedded across the full lifecycle from requirements and design to maintenance.

• Practical experience using AI tools to accelerate the creation of user stories, acceptance criteria, and documentation.
• Data & Insights leveraging AI to query product metrics and optimize user journeys.
• Sound judgement and a human-in-the-loop mindsetvalidating AI output for correctness, security, and quality.

Qualifications and experience

• Minimum 8 years’ relevant experience, with at least 3-5 years acting as a Technical Product Owner or Product Manager in a software engineering environment.
• A degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or a related field (or an equivalent combination of qualification and demonstrable experience).
• A proven track record of delivering complex, scalable enterprise applications, specifically within the financial services or long-term insurance sectors in South Africa.