IT Product Owner - Payment Services

About the Role

Costco IT is responsible for the technical future of Costco Wholesale, the third largest retailer in the world with wholesale operations in fourteen countries. Despite our size and explosive international expansion, we continue to provide a family, employee-centric atmosphere in which our employees thrive and succeed. This is an environment unlike anything in the high-tech world and the secret of Costco’s success is its culture. Product Owners are responsible for defining requirements, assisting with the overall product roadmap/vision, and driving value at the scrum team level. Product Owners work closely with teams and are the “voice of the customer,” ensuring the needs of the end-user are incorporated into the product from design to deployment.

Product Owners author functional user stories used to support the day-to-day development of new features and capabilities. This role partners with Costco’s Payments Committee and other business stakeholders to translate product strategy and problem-solving into a detailed, prioritized backlog of user stories. The Product Owner collaborates with an agile delivery team to implement, measure, and learn from improvements. They manage execution of the portfolio’s product features and delivery roadmap aligned to KPIs that integrate both internal and external stakeholder requirements.

Responsibilities

• Defines and communicates the minimum viable product (MVP) for a given application/product and the supporting release plans.
• Prioritizes the sprint backlog (as part of the sprint planning ceremony) based on the sequencing and ranking of features defined in the product roadmap.
• Defines and prioritizes product requirements based on market insights, customer feedback, and business objectives.
• Collaborates on a detailed product roadmap, outlining the strategic direction for retail payment solutions in partnership with the Treasury Payments team and the Payments Committee.
• Collaborates with engineering and design teams to translate product requirements into functional specifications, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality solutions.
• Works closely with stakeholders to gather feedback, validate product concepts, and iterate on designs to achieve optimal user experience and product usability.
• Monitors and analyzes product performance, conducts user testing, and gathers data-driven insights to drive continuous improvement and optimize product features.
• Stays up to date with industry trends and emerging technologies related to retail payments, keeping the company at the forefront of innovation.
• Collaborates with Product Managers and Systems Architects to define new and/or enhanced product requirements and functionality.
• Consults with the Payments Committee, the Treasury Payments team, and other stakeholders for guidance and clarity on the product vision, roadmap, and requirements.
• Collaborates with team members to ensure the work managed by teams achieves the highest value relative to the needs and priority of the business.
• Collaborates with team members to define the sprint plan based on the priority outlined within the overall product vision and roadmap.
• Refines product requirements based on input obtained through sprint showcases and demos.
• Performs functional reviews as part of sprint demos and showcases along with the Product Managers and Delivery Manager.
• Creates and authors user stories with detailed acceptance criteria written in the customers’ voice.
• Conducts the formal review and acceptance of user stories implemented by a team within a sprint.
• Drives the execution of user acceptance testing (UAT) activities with support from business and technology team members.
• Supports and participates in program-level ceremonies including product increment (PI) planning sessions with input and consultation from the Payments Committee and the Treasury Payments team.
• Ensures completed stories meet acceptance criteria by reviewing test plans, the output of automated testing, or, where necessary, contributing to manual testing efforts.
• Monitors and improves product health.
• Creates a seamless and secure payment experience for our members while maximizing revenue and minimizing risk.
• Provides payments expertise to support the growth and changing needs of the business.
• Prioritizes resolution of issues and defects.
• Communicates with team members, stakeholders, and all levels of management.

Requirements

• 3+ years’ current experience in the retail payments industry, with a track record of successfully launching and managing payment products.
• Deep understanding of retail payment technologies, including mobile payments, contactless payments, digital, point-of-sale (POS) systems, and emerging payment trends.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to gather and interpret data, identify market opportunities, and make informed product decisions.
• Excellent project management skills, with a focus on delivering products within set timelines and budgets.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to effectively work with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
• Creative problem-solving mindset, coupled with a customer-centric approach to product development.
• Familiarity with agile development methodologies and experience working in fast-paced, dynamic environments.
• 5+ years’ experience with creating documentation for communication with varied audiences.
• Deep understanding of business requirements elicitation pursuant to specific programs/projects involved.
• Proficient in business modeling, project scoping, and use case creation.
• Expertise in utilizing standard documentation and backlog management tools/utilities.
• 5+ years’ current experience working within a complex software development environment.
• Strong work ethic; demonstrated attention to detail; excellent time management and organizational skills.
• Ability to work both independently and within a close team environment.
• Ability to listen to and understand business needs.
• Proficient in Google Workspace applications, including Sheets, Docs, Slides, and Gmail.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Computer Science, or a related field; MBA preferred.
• Deadline-oriented and capable of self-management.

Pay

• Level 1 - $90,000 - $115,000
• Level 2 - $105,000 - $135,000
• Level 3 - $130,000 - $160,000
• Level 4 - $140,000 - $200,000

Benefits

• Paid time off
• Health benefits (medical, dental, vision, hearing aid, pharmacy, behavioral health, employee assistance)
• Health care reimbursement account
• Dependent care assistance plan
• Short-term disability and long-term disability insurance
• AD&D insurance
• Life insurance
• 401(k)
• Stock purchase plan (for eligible employees)