Product Owner

The Product Owner will lead Bain & Company’s PEG Innovation PE due diligence platform from a product perspective, owning the area roadmap, backlog, discovery, and release readiness. This hybrid role in Chicago, IL collaborates with Engineering, Design, Platform Engineering, Data Platform, and AI squads to streamline PE analyst workflows.

Responsibilities

• Own the roadmap and backlog for a defined product area (for example Deal Screening, Due Diligence workflows, Portfolio Monitoring, or Report Builder); establish outcomes, milestones, and sequencing.
• Lead ongoing discovery with stakeholders including analysts, associates, and partners to surface high-value problems, validate hypotheses, and translate insights into delivery work.
• Write and maintain epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria to enable autonomous squad delivery; ensure work is testable, measurable, and aligned to user outcomes.
• Define success metrics and instrumentation requirements for features; ensure baselines exist and post-release measurement plans are in place.
• Balance prioritisation across scope, quality, risk, and time to keep the squad focused on the highest-impact outcomes.
• Collaborate with Engineering to shape feasible technical approaches and manage dependencies, including platform services, data contracts, and AI service integration.
• Work with Design to ensure UX quality, accessibility, and edge-case handling are addressed early; align on iterative delivery plans.
• Own release readiness for your scope, including stakeholder communications, enablement and training materials, change notes, and rollout strategy.
• Drive post-release learning by analysing adoption and performance, conducting outcome reviews, and iterating based on evidence.
• Lead squad ceremonies from a product standpoint, including refinement, planning input, review facilitation, and outcome-focused retrospectives.
• Serve as the primary interface for your product area to cross-functional partners (Security, Data Governance, Platform Engineering, Data Platform, Agent / AI); align on requirements and constraints early.
• Establish and maintain a clear Definition of Done for product outcomes with Engineering and QA, covering quality, observability, documentation, and operational readiness.
• Utilise AI tooling to accelerate PRD drafting, stakeholder synthesis, and prioritisation artifacts, applying editorial judgement and validating facts before sharing.
• Support hiring, interviewing, and mentoring of Product Analysts or Associate PMs where applicable; raise product practice standards through coaching and feedback.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 6+ years of experience in product management, product ownership, business analysis, consulting, or product strategy delivering software in production environments.
• Proven track record of owning a backlog and leading cross-functional delivery (Product/Design/Engineering), including prioritisation and dependency management.
• Ability to translate ambiguous stakeholder needs into well-scoped epics and stories with measurable outcomes and clear acceptance criteria.
• Experience using data to inform product decisions, including defining KPIs, interpreting dashboards, and driving iteration based on evidence.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, capable of communicating trade-offs, progress, and outcomes to senior business leaders.

Benefits

• Annual discretionary performance bonus
• 401(k) plan with an annual employer contribution based on years of service
• 4.5% 401(k) company contribution, increasing after 3 years of service and 100% vested upon start date
• Fully vested 401(k) company contribution
• Medical, dental, and vision premiums fully paid by Bain; comprehensive medical plan
• Premium coverage for medical, dental and vision
• Generous paid time off, including parental leave, sick leave, and paid holidays
• Paid Life and Long-Term Disability insurance
• Annual fitness reimbursements

U.S. Compensation Information

• Compensation for this role includes base salary, an annual discretionary performance bonus, a 401(k) plan with employer contributions based on years of service, and Bain’s comprehensive benefits package.
• Local salary ranges for this position are provided by city: Atlanta $140,875 – $153,750; Boston $162,000 – $176,750; Texas $147,625 – $161,250; Chicago $155,125 – $169,250. Placement within these ranges varies by experience, education, training, and skill level.
• In addition to base salary, the role may include a discretionary annual performance bonus and other discretionary compensation elements.
• 4.5% 401(k) company contribution, which increases after 3 years of service and is 100% vested at start date.
• Bain provides a best-in-class benefits and wellness program, including full premiums for medical, dental, and vision for employees.
• Generous paid time off, including parental leave, sick leave, and paid holidays.
• Fully vested 401(k) company contribution, paid Life and Long-Term Disability insurance, and annual fitness reimbursements.