Product Owner

About Ascent

Ascent Global Logistics, headquartered in Belleville, Michigan, is a leading global provider of expedited, time-critical logistics solutions and other direct transportation services. The company connects customers to its extensive carrier network, internal ground fleet and airline via its proprietary, digital PEAK freight marketplace, which provides robust carrier capacity and transparent pricing, backed by 24/7/365 logistics experts. Ascent’s offerings include air charter and ground expedited solutions as well as truckload, less-than-truckload, global forwarding, brokerage, and managed transportation services. The experienced Ascent team solves customers’ most challenging logistics needs by providing industry-leading service and top-tier satisfaction.

Our Guiding Principles

At the core of Ascent's culture is a strong commitment to excellence, driven by the passion and dedication of every team member. We're equally dedicated to going above and beyond for our customers, ensuring this commitment extends beyond our team and brings exceptional value to those we serve. We aim for perfect execution in everything we do and ‘play hard’ by creating an environment where tasks are performed with a can-do attitude from start to finish. We ‘play smart’ by delivering on our commitments in an honest, fair and ethical manner. We treat every person with whom we interface with the utmost dignity and respect. We understand that our teammates are our most valuable assets, so we ‘play together’ by making every effort to provide a professional and enjoyable experience, enabling careers to flourish and personal growth to be achieved.

What You’ll Do

We’re seeking a Product Owner to guide the discovery, delivery, and adoption of enterprise supply-chain and transportation platforms. You’ll translate business strategy into outcomes, own and order the product backlog, and ensure each increment delivers measurable value to operations and customers. The role blends logistics/TMS domain fluency with strong product execution in an Agile environment. The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing value and for effective backlog management (vision, ordering, clarity), working closely with engineering, design, QA, data, and integration teams. You’ll be part of a cross-functional product team supported by a Scrum Master; you own the vision, prioritization, and acceptance of increments.

Backlog Ownership & Execution

• Translate product strategy into actionable user stories with clear acceptance criteria and supporting context.
• Maintain and prioritize a well-groomed backlog in Jira, balancing technical dependencies, user needs, and business priorities; keep 1–2 sprints of “Ready” work.
• Own value and ordering—make timely scope and priority calls; accept or reject increments against acceptance criteria and Definition of Done (DoD).
• Partner with engineering, QA, and UX to ensure items meet Definition of Ready/Done (DoR/DoD).
• Participate in Scrum events (Planning, Refinement, Review, Retro); keep the team focused and sequence cross-team dependencies.

• Act as the voice of the customer during development; define acceptance tests and validate increments to ensure valuable, usable outcomes.
• Validate releases through UAT, operational testing, and post-deployment feedback loops.
• Support release readiness and communicate new functionality to business users (release notes, SOP updates, self-serve guides).
• Monitor flow and quality (e.g., cycle time, defect escape rate) and drive timely corrective actions.

• Serve as the central point of contact between delivery teams and business stakeholders across operations, sales, and customer service.
• Communicate progress, risks, and scope decisions to stakeholders; make trade-offs explicit and evidence based.
• Document functionality, workflows, and user impacts in Confluence and other shared knowledge bases; enable field teams with concise how-to and change notes.
• Coordinate with the Scrum Master to support effective Reviews and a healthy team cadence.

• Partner with stakeholders to align Sprint Goals to broader roadmap milestones and strategic initiatives.
• Analyze and report on feature adoption, quality metrics, and sprint outcomes to inform future iterations; update the backlog rapidly after Reviews.
• Contribute to process improvements that enhance delivery efficiency and team collaboration; refine DoR/DoD as the product evolves.
• Coordinate cross-team dependencies through established Agile ceremonies and forums.

What You’ll Bring

• 3+ years in a Product Owner or Product Manager role delivering software products or platforms.
• Domain fluency in supply chain and transportation (planning → execution → visibility → financials), with practical experience supporting or evolving TMS/visibility or adjacent systems.
• Demonstrated skill in user story writing, backlog ordering, acceptance/validation, and Agile delivery with cross-functional teams.
• Strong stakeholder facilitation and communication; comfortable with executives, operations, and engineers.
• Data literacy: able to define metrics, read dashboards, and use insights to shape priorities.
• Proficiency with Jira/Confluence (or similar Agile delivery tools).
• Experience coordinating work across multiple business units and multiple systems (TMS, visibility, WMS, ERP, CRM).
• Familiarity with EDI/API concepts and logistics data flows; comfort partnering on data quality and eventing.
• Exposure to scaled delivery (e.g., PI/quarterly planning, dependency management) and outcome-based roadmaps.
• Certifications (e.g., CSPO/PSPO, SAFe PO/PM) are a plus.

Ascent’s Competitive Benefits

• 401(k) and employer matching

• Life Insurance

• Health, Dental, Vision Insurance

• Short- & Long-Term Disability

• Paid Time Off (PTO)

• Employee Assistance Program

• Paid Parental Leave

• Employee Wellness Program

• Paid Holidays

• Employee Recognition Programs

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

• Tuition Reimbursement

• Health Savings Account (HSA)

• Overtime, Differential & Bonus Pay

Additional Considerations

• Fully remote role aligned with Eastern or Central Time Zone hours.
• Some cross-functional or global meeting participation may be required.
• Close collaboration with Operations, Customer Experience, and IT.

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