Product Owner III

Benefits: Competitive salary Opportunity for advancement Training & development Role: Product Owner III Location: Peoria, IL (Hybrid — approximately 3 days onsite per week) Let’s create our future together at The AES Group! About The AES Group: The AES Group is a premier technology and engineering company that has been bringing businesses and talent together for over 20 years to deliver innovative solutions that have the greatest positive impact on society. AES has helped over 40 business enterprises, including Fortune 500 companies, engage their customers, empower their employees, and transform their business operations with the power of cloud, data, AI, engineering, and other emerging technologies. What This Role Offers Competitive pay rate Opportunity to support a high-visibility enterprise AI assistant initiative Exposure to Generative AI, LLMs, and cloud technologies Collaboration across multiple Agile Scrum teams Long-term engagement in a hybrid work environment Position Overview We are seeking an experienced Technical Product Owner to manage product backlogs, Agile delivery, stakeholder communication, software enhancements, and User Acceptance Testing for enterprise software and AI-enabled products. The ideal candidate has experience leading Scrum teams, prioritizing backlogs, facilitating sprint planning and refinement, writing user stories, managing software change requests, and coordinating work across engineering, QA, support, and business teams. Experience with Generative AI, AI platforms, data engineering, or enterprise cloud software is highly preferred. A previous Python development background is an added advantage. Key Responsibilities Own and prioritize product backlogs based on business value, dependencies, risks, and delivery timelines. Lead sprint planning, backlog refinement, grooming, release planning, and Agile ceremonies. Translate business needs into user stories, acceptance criteria, and technical requirements. Coordinate priorities across three product teams and approximately 15 team members. Partner with engineering teams on product design, development, maintenance, and enhancements. Manage software defects, reliability issues, enhancement requests, and change requests. Participate in UAT and validate deliverables against requirements and acceptance criteria. Track product risks, dependencies, issue resolution, and delivery status. Support product implementation, integration, adoption, and continuous improvement. Communicate clearly with engineering, QA, support, and business stakeholders. Required Qualifications Bachelor’s degree with 5–7 years of relevant experience. An equivalent combination of education and 8–10 years of experience may be considered. Experience as a Product Owner, Technical Product Owner, Business Analyst, or Software Product Manager. Strong knowledge of Agile Scrum, backlog management, sprint planning, UAT, and SDLC. Experience supporting enterprise software, cloud applications, or large-scale IT products. Strong stakeholder management, analytical, decision-making, and communication skills. Ability to coordinate multiple Scrum teams and competing priorities. Stable employment history with demonstrated long-term contributions. Preferred Qualifications Generative AI products AI/ML platforms and LLMs Azure OpenAI or OpenAI technologies Amazon Bedrock or Google Vertex AI AI product management Data engineering Python development Enterprise cloud software Product lifecycle management Work Requirements Candidates must be available to work onsite in Peoria, Illinois, approximately three days per week. Candidates outside the area must be willing to relocate and begin onsite work from the first day. Ready to make an impact? Apply now and join us on our journey! Flexible work from home options available. Compensation: $60.00 - $65.00 per hour AES is a premier technology consulting company that brings together businesses and talent to deliver the most innovative technology solutions that create the most positive impact to society. In the last 20 years, we have developed innovative best-in-class technology solutions to the world’s forward-thinking companies on four key service areas: - Customer Experience: engaging customers with differentiating digital experiences to sustain business relevance - Employee Experience: enabling employees to learn, collaborate, and grow to sustain business performance - Business Solutions: transforming and optimizing business operations to sustain business resilience - Emerging Technology: exploring and adopting emerging technology to transform business model Our team ensures that your favorite coffee shop has the right amount of people serving you at any given time. Our team ensures that the governance board of a global company has the right ESG insights to make the most sensible actions for the world. The list goes on and on. At the core of what we do is creating the future that is right for everyone, with the right technology, and with the right talent.