Product Owner

Excel Nearshore is seeking an experienced Product Owner to support the technical sustainability of current life insurance systems while advancing modernization solutions that eliminate reliance on legacy mainframe administration platforms. The role connects business objectives with technical execution through clear requirements, value-based backlog management and cross-functional collaboration. This is a fully remote and full-time position from Costa Rica, in payroll with benefits.
Responsibilities
Partner with the Product Manager to define and communicate a product vision and roadmap aligned to business goals, technical sustainability and modernization outcomes.
Independently prioritize and manage the backlog, including features, user stories and acceptance criteria, balancing operational needs, technical debt, dependencies, constraints and business value.
Translate business needs into actionable requirements; partner with stakeholders, engineering and architecture to improve current-system supportability, address technology risks and align modernization scope, feasibility and outcomes.
Support life insurance conversion and modernization requirements, dependencies and acceptance criteria for transitions from legacy mainframes to current administration systems; coordinate validation, testing and operational readiness with attention to policy data, downstream impacts and service continuity.
Lead backlog refinement and requirements discussions; guide sprint planning and participate in Agile ceremonies to clarify priorities and support delivery.
Use data and success metrics to evaluate outcomes, communicate progress, identify gaps, escalate risks and adjust priorities.
Collaborate with UX/UI and engineering teams on usable, technically viable solutions; advocate for continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) principles to improve delivery and product quality.
Build strong partnerships, mentor team members, share knowledge and contribute to continuous team improvement.
Qualifications
Experience working closely with technical teams and applying an understanding of technical requirements and constraints.
Experience translating business needs into strategy and actionable tasks to deliver expected outcomes.
Demonstrated Agile and Scrum knowledge, including backlog prioritization, user stories, acceptance criteria and sprint planning.
Technical knowledge relevant to the product domain, including software development lifecycle and UX/UI considerations.
Strong organization and accountability in managing competing priorities and complex initiatives.
Effective communication, stakeholder negotiation and cross-functional collaboration; ability to influence without direct authority.
Data-driven decision making, problem solving and a commitment to continuous learning and improvement.
Preferred Qualifications
5+ years of product ownership in a Scaled Agile development environment, with a proven track record of delivering products that meet customer needs.
Life insurance conversion experience moving policies from legacy mainframe platforms to current administration systems, including requirements, data mapping and reconciliation, testing, cutover and post-conversion stabilization.
Experience supporting technical sustainability, modernization and legacy system retirement while maintaining business continuity.
Financial services experience and knowledge of life insurance administration.
Experience in scaled Agile framework environments and with Azure DevOps or similar tools.
Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Business Administration or a related field; Product Owner certification.

Work arrangement
Yes