Product & Delivery Operations Lead

Senior Product & Delivery Operations Lead

Location: Dallas, TX (On-site 3 days per week)

Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced Product & Delivery Operations Lead to partner with Product, Engineering, QA, Infrastructure, and Business stakeholders to improve delivery predictability, product execution, operational efficiency, and data-driven decision making.

This role is focused on improving how teams work across the product development lifecycle—from idea intake and prioritization through development, testing, release, and adoption. The individual in this role will identify systemic delivery challenges, remove bottlenecks, establish meaningful performance metrics, improve Product-Engineering-QA cohesion, and drive continuous operational improvement across multiple product teams.

This is not a traditional Business Analyst, Project Manager, Scrum Master, or Product Manager role . We are looking for a highly proactive, self-directed leader who thrives in ambiguity, identifies problems before they become visible to others, and drives organizational improvements through influence rather than authority.

Success in this role will be measured by improved delivery predictability, stronger cross-functional alignment, healthier backlogs, better release outcomes, meaningful KPI adoption, and increased team effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

Delivery Excellence & Predictability

• Assess current product delivery processes and identify systemic bottlenecks impacting velocity, quality, predictability, and business outcomes.
• Establish visibility into delivery performance through measurement of lead time, cycle time, throughput, release frequency, defect trends, and delivery predictability.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and QA leaders to improve planning, execution, release readiness, and delivery forecasting.
• Develop and implement operational improvements that increase delivery reliability and reduce friction across teams.
• Analyze delivery risks, dependencies, and escalating issues to proactively address obstacles before they impact commitments.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on efficiency, quality, and predictable execution.

Product-Engineering-QA Alignment

• Evaluate and improve collaboration models between Product Management, Engineering, QA, Infrastructure, and business stakeholders.
• Identify gaps in planning, requirements readiness, testing strategies, release preparation, and cross-team communication.
• Establish best practices that improve handoffs, reduce rework, and create greater alignment throughout the delivery lifecycle.
• Promote clear Definition of Ready, Definition of Done, release governance, and quality standards across teams.
• Facilitate working sessions that drive alignment, clarity, accountability, and shared ownership of outcomes.
• Improve overall product development cohesion by creating repeatable, scalable operating practices.

Product Metrics & KPI Development

• Define, implement, and maintain product, delivery, quality, and operational performance metrics.
• Establish KPI frameworks that enable data-driven product and delivery decisions.
• Develop reporting mechanisms and executive dashboards that provide visibility into team performance and business outcomes.
• Track product adoption, release effectiveness, delivery performance, quality trends, and operational health indicators.
• Identify opportunities and risks through analysis of delivery and product data.
• Present actionable insights and recommendations to leadership teams.

Backlog Governance & Prioritization Discipline

• Audit product backlogs to ensure alignment with business objectives, strategic priorities, and team capacity.
• Improve backlog quality through standardized requirements, story-writing practices, acceptance criteria, and readiness standards.
• Partner with Product Managers and Product Owners to ensure work is prioritized according to business value and customer impact.
• Establish governance processes that improve transparency, prioritization consistency, and execution readiness.
• Ensure dependencies, risks, and technical considerations are appropriately captured and addressed during planning.
• Drive continuous improvement in backlog health, prioritization, and delivery planning practices.

Cross-Functional Operations & Leadership

• Serve as a trusted strategic partner to Product, Engineering, QA, Infrastructure, and Business leadership.
• Facilitate alignment across multiple product teams and development pods.
• Coordinate operational initiatives that improve delivery performance and organizational effectiveness.
• Identify organizational gaps, process inefficiencies, and operational risks impacting team success.
• Influence change across teams without direct authority through strong communication, collaboration, and data-driven recommendations.
• Build credibility as a go-to leader for delivery excellence, operational effectiveness, and execution improvement.

Product & Delivery Support

• Support teams with requirements clarification, release readiness planning, delivery coordination, and operational improvements.
• Partner with leaders to implement scalable processes supporting future growth.
• Drive adoption of delivery best practices, continuous improvement methodologies, and Agile principles.
• Facilitate retrospectives, improvement workshops, and operational reviews that lead to measurable outcomes.
• Ensure teams have the tools, processes, and visibility needed to execute successfully.
• Champion a culture of accountability, transparency, ownership, and continuous learning.

Required Qualifications

• Experience in Product Operations, Delivery Management, Program Management, Technical Program Management, Product Management, Agile Transformation, Engineering Operations, Consulting, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated success improving delivery predictability, team performance, and operational effectiveness in software product organizations.
• Experience working closely with Product, Engineering, QA, and business stakeholders in Agile delivery environments.
• Proven ability to identify bottlenecks, diagnose root causes, and implement sustainable process improvements.
• Experience establishing and managing KPIs, OKRs, operational metrics, and executive reporting frameworks.
• Strong understanding of product development lifecycles, release management, Agile delivery, and quality practices.
• Experience influencing stakeholders and driving organizational change without direct authority.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, analytical, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong systems-thinking mindset with the ability to connect operational improvements to business outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to operate independently in ambiguous environments and drive initiatives from concept through implementation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in SaaS, FinTech, software product development, or technology-driven organizations.
• Experience leading Agile transformation, delivery transformation, or operational excellence initiatives.
• Knowledge of Scrum, Kanban, Lean, SAFe, DevOps, and modern product operating models.
• Experience with Jira, Azure DevOps, Confluence, Miro, Power BI, Tableau, or similar platforms.
• Technical understanding of software architecture, APIs, QA processes, CI/CD, release management, and platform dependencies.
• Experience creating executive dashboards, performance scorecards, and KPI reporting frameworks.
• Background in Product Operations, Product Development Operations, Delivery Excellence, or Engineering Operations functions.