Product Owner I

About Gesa Credit Union

At Gesa, we believe in the power of our people. Coming from all walks of life, our team members’ individual stories and unique experiences are our most valuable asset. It’s how we come together—igniting our collective compassion and commitment to empowering our communities—that makes us succeed. Here you can join a team passionate about serving others, with a desire to do good and a deep love of people. You can engage in meaningful work that impacts your community, challenge yourself, grow in your career, and rest assured that your wellbeing and prosperity are our priority.

About the Role

The Product Owner I is responsible for the technical lifecycle of assigned products, including coordinating development efforts, configuration changes, and support. This role involves documenting technical requirements, building product roadmaps, and budgeting. The Product Owner I collaborates with internal stakeholders, developers, and vendors to deliver new products and enhance existing ones that meet documented business objectives, coordinating the product lifecycle through Agile practices.

Responsibilities

• Understand business and end-user needs; identify and prioritize features to meet those needs.
• Actively participate in Agile ceremonies to ensure development efforts align with business objectives, product vision, and user needs.
• Demonstrate accountability by facilitating stakeholders’ inspection and reviews of delivered functionality, leading planning sessions, and maintaining transparent communication.
• Negotiate deliverables based on team capacity and adapt plans iteratively to reflect evolving priorities and validated outcomes.
• Develop near-term rolling-wave product roadmaps in collaboration with business owners, refining them based on stakeholder input, delivery data, and validated learnings.
• Define and track key product success metrics to evaluate value delivery, inform prioritization, and communicate outcomes to stakeholders.
• Leverage understanding of product strengths and weaknesses to maximize value delivery and identify opportunities for enhancement.
• Analyze end-user feedback and operational metrics to identify and understand product needs.
• Direct and oversee the lifecycle of one or more products by independently managing and prioritizing product backlogs in collaboration with business owners and technical stakeholders.
• Operate with oversight to ensure a steady flow of user stories ready for development one to two weeks in advance.
• Collaborate with business owners and technical stakeholders to develop and document user stories from the user’s perspective.
• Define features and epics to communicate alignment with business objectives and establish development scope.
• Collect and understand technical requirements for new implementations and enhancements to ensure technical runway, minimize technical debt, and maintain product relevance and stability.
• Proactively prioritize non-functional backlog items—such as performance, scalability, and maintainability—to support sustainable development and long-term product health.
• Manage vendor relationships, including assisting with contract reviews alongside business stakeholders.
• Ensure respective products comply with regulatory and security requirements.
• Plan and complete upgrades while maintaining compliance with standards and control procedures.

Requirements

• Minimum of one (1) year of product ownership/management experience in an Agile environment. Three (3) years of business management experience may substitute for product owner experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or a related field, or equivalent specialized courses, training, and/or experience. High school diploma required.
• Knowledge of the financial industry, products, and services; credit union experience preferred.
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I), or equivalent foundational-level certification (preferred).

Skills

• Ability to understand complex business problems and identify and interpret business needs.
• Ability to create a product strategy that aligns with measurable business outcomes.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical information concisely to various stakeholders verbally and in writing.
• Demonstrated facilitation and influencing skills to drive decision-making among stakeholders with diverse perspectives.
• Experience working in an Agile environment (Kanban or Scrum).
• Strong organizational skills and ability to complete tasks effectively both independently and collaboratively.
• Knowledge of product management tools like Azure DevOps or Jira.
• Ability to travel to complete assigned responsibilities and attend professional seminars and education as approved.

Benefits

• Competitive pay.
• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance.
• 20 days/year of paid time off plus 10 paid holidays.
• 401(k) match.
• Incentive program.
• Tuition assistance and student loan repayment.
• Commuter benefits.
• Paid time off to volunteer in the community.
• Product discounts.
• Engaging work environment.
• Rewards and recognition programs.

Pay

Full salary range:

• Richland, WA: $80,168.40–$119,957.52
• Spokane, WA: $80,168.40–$119,957.52
• Renton, WA: $87,023.73–$145,039.55

Most new team members typically start between the minimum and midpoint based on experience and qualifications.