Product Owner - AI Software Solutions

Thales is a global technology leader trusted by governments, institutions, and enterprises to tackle their most demanding challenges. From quantum applications and artificial intelligence to cybersecurity and 6G innovation, our solutions empower critical decisions rooted in human intelligence. Operating at the forefront of defence and security, aerospace and space, cybersecurity and digital identity, we’re driven by a mission to build a future we can all trust.

In Romania, we are advancing innovation through software engineering, research and development, delivering solutions in key markets in which Thales Group operates. Our engineers design, develop and integrate solutions that impact global industries – from fully operational systems and subsystems for naval warfare and maritime security operations, to air traffic management systems, satellite-based solutions, tactical indoor simulations, identity and biometric technologies and more.

Thales, a global technology giant, stands out in the Defense & Security, Aeronautics & Space, and Cybersecurity & Digital Identity sectors. With an annual investment of nearly 4 billion euros in Research & Development, Thales positions itself at the forefront of innovation in key areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, and cybersecurity. The group employs 81,000 people across 68 countries and generated revenues of 18.4 billion euros in 2023.

The Organisation

The Engineering & Digital department defines, develops, and deploys processes, tools, and infrastructures to address the challenges faced by systems, software, and hardware engineers at Thales Group. You will join our Engineering Competence Center Romania department, more specifically the team associated with CortAIx activity. CortAIx is the group’s new entity dedicated to innovation in defense AI. It is composed of three pillars: CortAIx Labs focuses its efforts on research, CortAIx Sensors aims at integrating AI into sensors, and finally CortAIx Factory seeks to industrialize advanced AI solutions within the systems of armed forces, aircraft manufacturers, and airports. This initiative reflects Thales’s ambition to significantly enhance data analysis and decision-making in critical contexts, meeting high requirements for cybersecurity, embeddability, and efficiency. CortAIx relies on the expertise of over 600 AI specialists and annually engages around one hundred doctoral candidates, demonstrating the importance placed on research and innovation. With an extensive network of industrial partners, start-ups, and academic institutions, Thales establishes itself as a leader in AI for critical systems, leading in patent filings in this field in Europe. This approach is part of Thales’s long-term vision for transparent, explainable, and ethical AI, affirming its role as a pioneer in developing embeddable and secure solutions that address the sovereignty and security challenges of its clients.

Who are you?

• You hold a master’s degree in engineering, computer science, or a related field.
• You have at least 5 years of experience supporting agile teams in a software environment
• You are pragmatic in your approach and focus on the "why" and on measuring the objectives to be achieved.
• You know how to review technical deliverables from engineering teams (customer needs, OCDs, requirements, architecture choices, etc.).
• You can lead and manage technical engineering projects, meeting requirements with a clear vision of risks and opportunities.
• You can engage and influence a diverse range of stakeholders around clear and achievable goals.
• You can make decisions even in uncertain contexts.
• You excel in maintaining a well-refined backlog, ensuring stories are clear, actionable, and aligned with business goals

Skills

• Jira (how to use and administrate project/board/workflow), Miro
• Organization of quarterly planning / PI planning
• Roadmap follow-up tools
• Ability to communicate the right elements to the right people
• Expert in value driven Product Management
• Knowledge of techniques for (vertical) functional slicing of requirements into Epics/User Stories
• Knowledge of prioritization techniques (MOSCOW, RICE, ...)
• Proficiency in writing Epics, User Stories, acceptance criteria, test scenarios (knowledge of BDD a plus)
• You have a basic understanding of software development processes, architectures, and technologies to facilitate effective communication with the team
• You can balance competing priorities and negotiate trade-offs
• Knowledge of DDD (Event storming, ...) or Service Blue print workshop a plus
• Pragmatism
• Pro-activity

What we can accomplish together:

By joining the CortAIx / ECC-Romania team, you will play a crucial role in revolutionizing AI technologies within the industry, addressing real-world challenges to support the armed forces, civil aviation, and aerospace sectors. These challenges include real-time detection and identification of mobile units, data fusion and situation simulation, detection of hazards, intrusions, and threats, decision support for operators, as well as monitoring and control of triggered actions. As a Product Owner for cortAIx Annotation Tools, your missions will notably include:

Collaborate with stakeholders, the development team and CortAIx Factory Head of Assets

• Collaborate with the stakeholders and team to ensure alignment between business objectives, product vision and technical delivery
• Manage stakeholder expectations regarding releases, timelines and priorities
• Translate business goals and user needs into actionable product requirements
• Collaborate with CortAIx Head of Assets on the product vision and strategy
• Give regular updates to stakeholders (client and CortAIx management)
• Make progress and risks visible to all
• Collaborate with the team to plan and coordinate iteration deliverables, focusing on the right priorities and ensuring appropriate quality and documentation
• Work closely with the development team to ensure that objectives and backlog elements are clear to the team

Define release objectives and manage the product roadmap

• Define and maintain a clear product roadmap aligned with business strategy, user needs and team capacity, balancing short-term delivery with long-term innovation
• Update the roadmap based on business milestones, value metrics and emerging priorities
• Define and communicate clear release objectives, ensuring they align with the overall product vision and business strategy
• Define and monitor regularly the impact and performance of the product through metrics
• Manage the tradeoffs of scope change inside the allocated budget
• Manage risks and mitigations
• Follow up on action plans (make sure actions are defined, with an owner and due date, manage action follow up)

Manage & prioritize the product backlog driven by objectives

• Create and maintain the product backlog (Jira)
• Breaking down product needs into backlog elements providing customer/user value at different granularities (epics, user stories)
• Define epics and user stories at the right level with: description (for who, why, what), business rules, acceptance criterias, test scenarios
• Refine backlog items (user stories, features, bugs) with the team to ensure clarity and readiness for development
• Work with the development team to ensure backlog items are feasible, well-defined, and aligned with sprint goals
• Keep the prioritization of the backlog elements up to date
• Validate User Stories continuously during the sprint

Product Leadership

• Champion the vision for Annotation Solutions, leveraging all the possible mechanisms to accelerate time to annotate while making annotation a task people want to do
• Stay abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies to continuously improve the product capabilities
• Adopt user-centric design and data-driven decision-making approaches to ensure stakeholders satisfaction

At Thales, we’re committed to fostering a workplace where respect, trust, collaboration, and passion drive everything we do. Here, you’ll feel empowered to bring your best self, thrive in a supportive culture, and love the work you do. Join us, and be part of a team reimagining technology to create solutions that truly make a difference – for a safer, greener, and more inclusive world.