Expert, Product Management - Transportation Safety & Solutions Job Summary
The incumbent is responsible for defining and managing the strategy, roadmap, investment priorities and value realization of critical transportation solutions within CN's I&T organization. The role leads the end-to-end product lifecycle by translating complex business needs into scalable, reliable, user-centred and AI-enabled digital products that support transportation operations and enterprise priorities. The incumbent works closely with business partners, Product Owners, Delivery Managers, Architects, Engineering, Security, Data, Finance, vendors and other stakeholders to align product direction with operational realities, technology investments, safety requirements and measurable outcomes. The role also identifies opportunities to use AI, automation, analytics, copilots, agents and agentic workflows to improve productivity, decision-making, adoption and operational efficiency.
Main Responsibilities
Product Strategy, Vision and Roadmap
- Define and evolve product vision, strategy,
- roadmap and value proposition in alignment with business objectives, operational priorities, funding priorities and enterprise outcomes
- Lead discovery activities, including customer research, operational analysis, benchmarking and market evaluation, to identify opportunities for digital transformation, automation, analytics and AI-enabled improvement
- Own and maintain Agile Release Train (ART) product backlog priorities, ensuring alignment between roadmap objectives, Program Increment commitments, release objectives and strategic initiatives
- Use product analytics, operational metrics, customer feedback and business outcomes to evaluate performance and inform investment, roadmap and prioritization decisions
Product Definition, Business Analysis and AI Innovation
- Lead stakeholder engagement, business analysis, requirements discovery and value stream mapping to translate business needs into capabilities, epics,
- features and product outcomes
- Partner with Product Owners, Business Analysts, IT Business Partners, Architects and operational stakeholders to decompose strategic initiatives into executable work and maintain traceability between goals, delivery outcomes and realized value
- Leverage AI tools to accelerate research, requirements generation, process analysis, documentation, prototyping, mockups, user journeys, decision support and strategic planning
- Identify AI-enabled products, copilots, agents, agentic workflows, workflow automation and intelligent decision-support opportunities while partnering with Engineering, Architecture, Security and Data teams to support Responsible AI principles
Delivery Execution and Business Adoption
- Serve as the primary Product Management representative within the ART and
- participate in ceremonies, governance forums, backlog reviews and release planning activities
- Partner with Product Owners and Delivery Managers to maintain backlog readiness, monitor delivery progress, balance delivery constraints and support release and deployment planning
- Develop business readiness and adoption strategies with Change Management, Communications, Operations and Training teams to prepare users and stakeholders for new capabilities
- Define adoption objectives, readiness criteria, success measures and value realization targets, and drive corrective actions when adoption or business outcomes are not achieved
Financial Management and Value Realization
- Own product financial planning, funding strategies, business cases, investment requests and funding proposals
- Perform ROI, cost-benefit and value realization analysis while partnering with Finance and business leadership on investment decisions
- Manage budgets, monitor product investments and define measurable business outcomes
- Balance prioritization across business value, cost, risk, technical feasibility, AI readiness, operational impact and compliance requirements
Service Lifecycle, Product Health and Risk Governance
- Partner with Service Managers, Operations, Engineering,
- Architects and vendors to assess product health, service sustainability, technical debt, operational risks, supportability and technology currency
- Review lifecycle management activities and health assessment findings, and ensure sustainment, modernization, risk reduction and compliance activities are incorporated into roadmaps and ART backlogs
- Lead periodic Product Health Reviews and balance investments between innovation, sustainment, modernization, risk reduction, compliance and operational excellence
- Ensure product decisions support cybersecurity standards, safety requirements, regulatory obligations, data governance standards and Responsible AI principles
Stakeholder, Vendor and Partner Management
- Serve as a trusted advisor to business and technology leaders by
- facilitating planning workshops, decision-making forums and alignment across Product Owners, Service Managers, Delivery Managers, Architects, vendors and business stakeholders
- Manage relationships with vendors, consultants and strategic partners, including scope, performance, service expectations, contractual alignment, escalations and support transitions
- Coach Product Owners, Business Analysts and stakeholders on product management practices, prioritization frameworks, value-based delivery and AI-enabled product management
Requirements
Experience
- Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in Product Management, Product Ownership, Business Analysis, Product Strategy, Technology Delivery or Operational Transformation
- Experience leading enterprise-scale products, strategic business initiatives, digital transformation or operational improvement initiatives
- Experience operating within SAFe Agile Release Trains, including Program Increment Planning, ART backlog management and cross-team coordination
- Experience developing business cases, funding proposals, value realization frameworks and product investment recommendations
- Experience defining, delivering or enabling AI-enabled solutions, workflow automation, copilots, agents or agentic workflows
- Experience managing vendors, strategic partners and stakeholders in a complex operational or safety-critical environment
Competencies
- Communicate effectively with technical,
- operational and executive audiences
- Build collaborative relationships and influence stakeholders without direct authority
- Demonstrate strategic thinking, business acumen and sound judgment
- Make informed and timely decisions using data, operational insight and business outcomes
- Innovate to create value without compromising safety, security, compliance or operational reliability
- Coach and support others through change, prioritization and product management practices
Technical Skills/Knowledge
- Product strategy, vision, lifecycle management, roadmap
- management and value realization
- SAFe Product Management, Program Increment Planning, ART backlog ownership, epic and feature management, and epic-to-feature decomposition
- Business analysis, value stream mapping, business readiness, adoption management and product health governance
- Financial planning, business case development, investment prioritization and vendor management
- AI-native product management, AI prototyping, prompt engineering, workflow automation, copilots, agents and agentic workflow design
- Advanced knowledge of Azure DevOps, Jira, ServiceNow, Agile, hybrid Agile and waterfall delivery models
Education/Certification/Designation- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
- Engineering, Business Administration, Information Systems, Operations Management or a related field
MBA, SAFe Product Manager/Product Owner certification, AI, Data Analytics or Product Management certification is an asset
