Product OwnerAbout the roleMakai Labs is seeking a Product Owner with a strong sense of ownership, urgency, and communication. You'll play a critical role translating business strategy into actionable development work - managing product backlogs, defining clear user stories, and ensuring that engineering and design teams have what they need to execute efficiently. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, thrives in fast-paced environments, and excels at keeping cross-functional teams aligned through crisp documentation and proactive communication.
The ideal candidate will be able to- Collaborate with stakeholders and Product Managers to define and prioritize product features and user stories.
- Write detailed specs, acceptance criteria, and documentation that remove ambiguity and guide development.
- Analyze and document business requirements, ensuring that technical teams understand the why behind every feature.
- Communicate proactively - especially through email and asynchronous channels - keeping teams aligned and informed.
- Identify opportunities for process improvement and efficiency across teams and workflows.
- Balance urgency with precision, ensuring high-quality execution under tight timelines.
Responsibilities- Own the product backlog and keep priorities clear, current, and actionable.
Facilitate Agile ceremonies: backlog grooming, sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives. - Track progress against goals, communicating updates clearly to stakeholders.
- Oversee testing and validation to ensure features meet acceptance criteria.
- Collaborate with UX/UI designers to align user experience with business intent.
- Document, analyze, and iterate based on user feedback and performance metrics.
Qualifications- 5+ years of direct Product Owner or similar experience.
- Strong understanding of Scrum and Agile product delivery.
- Proven success writing clear, detailed user stories and functional specs.
- Excellent communication and documentation skills - responsive and concise.
- Highly organized and proactive, with strong follow-through.
- Experience working cross-functionally in fast-moving or startup environments.
- Familiarity with Jira, Confluence, and Figma preferred.
Nice-to-haves- Experience with SaaS, AI, or ML
- Experience with product marketing and crafting go-to-market strategies
Core values for Makai employees- Be a flexible, innovative and creative thinker
- Be congenial and a team player
- Be self-sufficient
- Be self-driven with an ownership mentality
- Have a strong work ethic
Benefits- Fully remote role, Eastern time zone
- Opportunities to work in-person with local colleagues
- Generous PTO
- Flexible work schedule
- Free health insurance
- 401(k) matching
- Career growth & development opportunities
