Product Owner

      

The Product Owner, AI Products, works on a cross-functional team to create meaningful, intuitive AI-driven experiences for their product’s customers. They own direction-setting, discovery, and prioritization of customer wants and needs to solve enterprise-level problems at Thrivent using AI and ML capabilities. A PO-I typically is new to the role of Product Owner, and as such, likely manages AI-driven products with focused scope and limited impact while building foundational skills in product ownership and AI product delivery.
The Product Owner, AI Products role is highly collaborative, working closely with data science, engineering, analytics, and business partners to deliver products that leverage data science, machine learning, and generative AI capabilities. The Product Owner, AI Products, articulates, translates, and executes the Product Manager’s long-term strategy and vision of the AI and ML product through tactical strategies to drive necessary business outcomes. This requires the right alignment and regular, transparent communication to ensure both roles deliver on their goals.
Additionally, the AI Product Owner works closely with stakeholders, end users, and functional and technical team members to rapidly deliver quality, responsible AI/ML solutions to customers. They contribute to the development of AI products that enhance user experience, deliver business value, and align with Thrivent’s principles of ethical and responsible AI.

         

          

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Works as a key team member on a cross-functional team, responsible for continuous delivery of value to the customer through compelling and empowering customer experiences leveraging machine learning, data science, and generative AI.

• Collaborate with Product Manager and stakeholders to ensure work prioritization is aligned with Thrivent’s priorities, AI strategy, and overall product roadmap, as well as providing product development feedback and direction.

• Continuously innovates and evolves the AI-driven product in alignment with strategic priorities. Is responsible for creating, maintaining, and evolving the AI product roadmap.

• Maintain and refine product backlog: Create user stories and acceptance criteria and prioritize all stories to ensure work focuses on those with maximum business value that align with AI product strategy.

• Ensure stories clearly communicate the customer and stakeholder needs to meet key business objectives and strategies for the AI-driven product. Is available for consultation during agile team planning and grooming sessions as needed.

• Works with other product teams/owners to align product roadmaps and sprint plans, and to focus on delivering the maximum business value to the organization leveraging AI/ML capabilities.

• Working as a part of an agile AI team ensures the team is aligned around similar goals and objectives, and attending all team meetings.

• Engage with customers and users regularly to uncover implicit and explicit needs that require AI/ML capabilities.

• Develop and track key value drivers that measure effectiveness of AI product discovery and overall AI product performance and communicate these to stakeholders and business leaders regularly.

• Foster a sense of urgency to achieve goals and leverage resources to overcome unexpected obstacles.

• Support AI product governance and compliance, ensuring that AI models are properly monitored, explainable, and compliant with ethical AI principles, model governance standards, and regulatory requirements.

• Inspire others to achieve challenging goals and high standards of performance while committing to the organization’s direction (Product/Agile/DevOps).

• Model Thrivent’s leadership competencies – courage, collaboration, and commitment by demonstrating resiliency, working together to make the best decisions, and holding yourself and others accountable.

• Supports and/or develops an environment in which Thrivent employees and colleagues are focused on continuous improvement and AI experimentation, exceptional employee engagement, and an unwavering commitment to our clients. Ensuring that AI products evolve through iterative learning, data-driven insights, and responsible AI adoption. Shapes and/or supports a culture that represents the Thrivent purpose, promise, and values, ensuring that Thrivent’s trust and reputation remain strong with its clients.

• Stay at the forefront of AI industry trends, innovations, and best practices to ensure Thrivent remains competitive and leverages emerging AI/ML capabilities effectively.

• Acquire, maintain, and apply advanced knowledge of AI/ML product development, as well as business domain expertise, to drive AI-powered transformation.  

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS:  

 Required:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., Computer Science, Data Science, Business Analytics, Engineering, or a related discipline) or equivalent work experience.

• 4-6 years of relevant business experience in product ownership, business intelligence, data science, AI/ML, or similar analytical roles with a strong business impact.

• Understand fundamentals of iterative development, software development process and procedures.

• Familiarity with principles of Agile Product Management, stakeholder management, market and user research, technology management, and process design.

• High level of organization and attention to detail.

• Demonstrated expertise in AI-driven product ownership, including experience with machine learning, generative AI, recommendation systems, and AI/ML lifecycle management.

• Deep analytical acumen and experience translating data insights into business value, with a background in business intelligence, data science, or advanced analytics.

• Strong understanding of AI/ML fundamentals, including model governance, model monitoring, bias mitigation, explainability, and MLOps practices.

• Proven experience in project planning, execution, and cross-functional collaboration, ensuring AI/ML initiatives are successfully developed, deployed, and iterated upon.

• Passion and understanding for emerging AI technologies and ability to stay ahead of industry trends to drive AI innovation within product.

• Strong communication and collaboration abilities, with the ability to engage both technical teams (data scientists, engineers) and business stakeholders across levels or seniority and disciplines (executives, marketing, operations).

 Preferred: 

• Certified Product Owner or similar AI/ML product certification.

• Experience developing AI/ML business cases, roadmaps, product execution strategies.

• Advanced Data Analytics & Business Intelligence – Proficiency in tools like SQL, Python, Tableau, Power BI, or similar to extract insights and inform AI-driven product decisions.

• AI/ML Experience familiarity – While not expected to develop models, familiarity with AI/ML workflows, model deployment tools (e.g., Databricks, SageMaker, TensorFlow), and experimentation platforms is a plus.

• Ability to prioritize work against enterprise, division, and product strategies. Can effectively communicate rationale and impact for prioritization choices.

• Experience in defining high-quality business requirements and proficient in Agile story writing.

• Experience with foundational product management tools, techniques and principles across discovery, design, build, release, and measure cycle.

• Strong leadership skills to coordinate and motivate product teams, even outside direct reporting relationships.

• Demonstrated experience with user interface design and best practices for usability.

• Experience working in large, complex organizational initiatives.

• Advanced MS Office & Presentation Skills – Expertise in Excel (financial modeling, analytics) and PowerPoint (executive storytelling, AI strategy presentation).

              

Pay Transparency

 

Thrivent’s long-term growth depends on attracting, rewarding, and retaining people who are committed to helping others thrive with purpose. We accomplish this by offering a wide variety of market competitive compensation programs to attract, reward, and retain top talent. The applicable salary or hourly wage range for this full-time role is $112,481.00 - $152,180.00 per year, which factors in various geographic regions. The base pay actually offered will be determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, location, relevant experience, skills, and knowledge, business needs, market demand, and other factors Thrivent deems important.

 

Thrivent is unique in our commitment to helping people to be wise with money and live balanced and generous lives. That extends to our benefits.

 

The following benefits may be offered: various bonuses (including, for example, annual or long-term incentives); medical, dental, and vision insurance; health savings account; flexible spending account; 401k; pension; life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance; disability insurance; supplemental protection insurance; 20 days of Paid Time Off each year; Sick and Safe Time; 10 paid company holidays; Volunteer Time Off; paid parental leave; EAP; well-being benefits, and other employee benefits. Eligibility for receipt of these benefits is subject to the applicable plan/policy documents. Thrivent’s plans/policies are subject to change at any time at Thrivent’s discretion.

 

Thrivent provides Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, marital status, citizenship status, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. This policy applies to all employees and job applicants.

Thrivent is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected] or call 800-847-4836 and request Human Resources.