Product Owner — AI Reliability Engineering

Role Description

• What You'll Own:
  • The backlog: Define, prioritize, and maintain the pod's work backlog based on business value, stakeholder input, and technical feasibility. Every item has a clear definition of done.
  • The value case: Articulate why each initiative matters — cost savings, efficiency gains, risk reduction, user impact. You quantify value, not just describe it.
  • Stakeholder alignment: Manage expectations across executive leadership, functional organizations, and the pod team. When priorities conflict, you make the call and own the decision.
  • Risks and milestones: Identify risks early, escalate what you can't resolve, and ensure the pod hits its commitments. You track progress through outcomes delivered, not activities completed.
  • Acceptance and validation: You are the final voice on whether what the pod builds meets the business need. You work with Domain SMEs to validate but the decision is yours.
• What You Won't Own:
  • Technical architecture or engineering decisions — that's the Lead Architect's job.
  • Day-to-day task management or sprint mechanics — the team self-organizes.
  • People management, performance reviews, or HR administration.
• What Makes This Role Different:
  • You are not a proxy or a facilitator. You have real decision authority over what the pod builds and in what order.
  • You are working on enterprise-scale AI modernization — replacing legacy ERP, HRM, CRM, and manufacturing systems with AI-native applications. These are hard, consequential problems.
  • You will work directly with ELT-level stakeholders and have the backing of the CDAIO organization.
  • The pod model is new. You will help define how it works, not just operate within a playbook someone else wrote.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree plus 8 years of experience in product ownership, product management, or business analysis in a technology-driven environment.
• Demonstrated experience owning a product backlog and making prioritization decisions — not just writing user stories for someone else to prioritize.
• Experience working directly with engineering teams on software delivery — you understand what it takes to ship software and can have credible conversations with engineers.
• Strong communication skills — you can present to executives and translate between business needs and technical reality without losing fidelity in either direction.
• Experience with enterprise systems (ERP, CRM, HRM, MES, or similar) — you understand the complexity of business processes these systems support.
• U.S. citizenship required. Department of Defense Secret security clearance is required at time of hire.

Requirements

• Experience in a product owner or product manager role during a system modernization or legacy replacement effort.
• Familiarity with AI/ML concepts — you don't need to build models, but you should understand what AI can and cannot do so you can make informed trade-off decisions.
• Experience in manufacturing, defense, or complex enterprise environments where process compliance and change management matter.
• Track record of managing stakeholders who have competing priorities — you have made unpopular decisions and stood behind them.

Benefits

• Remote — 100% telework.
• 9/80 schedule.
• Defense industry experience is not required.

Company Description

General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) engineers a diverse portfolio of high technology solutions, products and services that enable customers to successfully execute missions across all domains of operation. With a global team of 12,000+ top professionals, we partner with the best in industry to expand the bounds of innovation in the defense and scientific arenas. Given the nature of our work and who we are, we value trust, honesty, alignment and transparency. We offer highly competitive benefits and pride ourselves in being a great place to work with a shared sense of purpose. You will also enjoy a flexible work environment where contributions are recognized and rewarded. If who we are and what we do resonates with you, we invite you to join our high-performance team!