Technical Product Owner [Brand Planning]

Digital & Technology Team (D&T) is an integral division of HEINEKEN Global Shared Services Center. We are committed to making Heineken the most connected brewery. That includes digitalizing and integrating our processes, ensuring best-in-class technology, and embedding a data-driven culture. By joining us you will work in one of the most dynamic and innovative teams and have a direct impact on building the future of Heineken!

Would you like to meet the Team, see our office and much more? Visit our website: Heineken (heineken-dt.pl)

 
At HEINEKEN, we are on a journey to become the best‑connected brewer in the world, with Digital Commerce playing a central role in this ambition. Digital Commerce is responsible for designing, developing and scaling the IT solutions that serve our customers better, faster and smarter across the entire Route‑to‑Consumer ecosystem. After successfully building our software engineering organisation, we are now entering the next stage of our evolution by accelerating the growth of Digital Commerce. We deliver digital products that directly support company revenue while elevating customer experience. Join us in shaping the technological capabilities that power HEINEKEN’s global Commerce strategy.

The Technical Product Owner (TPO) acts as the primary interface between business strategy and engineering execution. Unlike a Business Analyst, the TPO owns the "What" and "How" from the technical perspective of the product, ensuring that the engineering team builds high-impact, scalable solutions that align with the Heineken EverGreen strategy. The TPO is responsible for maximising the value of the technical product by maintaining a healthy, prioritised backlog and making critical trade-off decisions between new features and technical health.

Your responsibilities would include:

• Backlog Management & Prioritisation: defining and (in collaboration with Product Owner) ranking technical user stories and requirements based on business value and technical dependency

• Stakeholder Orchestration: Acting as the bridge between Business Analysts (demand) and Technology Specialists (execution) to align expectations

• Product Roadmap Ownership: Defining the 6-12 month vision for the technical product (e.g., API platforms, Data Lakes, or Cloud Infra)

• Technical Decision Making: Partnering with Architects to make trade-off decisions between "speed to market" and "technical debt/sustainability”, working on the detailed design / low level architecture

• Acceptance & Quality Control: Defining "Definition of Done" and "Acceptance Criteria," ensuring delivered increments meet high functional and technical standards

• Value Tracking & Reporting: Defining and monitoring KPIs to measure the success, adoption, and performance of the technical product

• Leadership: For complex products within the responsibility scope, managing a team of analysts supporting the development and maintenance of the product. 
  

You are a good candidate if you have:

•  Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, IT, or Business

• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or equivalent is highly preferred

• 5+ years of experience as a Technical Product Manager or Technical Product Owner, specifically within a high-growth tech environment or a large-scale digital transformation

• A deep understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is required. We are specifically looking for candidates with a background as a Software Engineer, Technical Architect or Systems Lead. This background is essential for the TPO to validly challenge technical estimates, understand architectural trade-offs (e.g., monolith vs. microservices), and earn the respect of the engineering team

• Proven track record of delivering impactful digital solutions within a global, matrixed organisation, managing dependencies across multiple "Tribes" or Product Teams

• Proven hands-on experience in application development (web and/or mobile), with a strong understanding of modern development frameworks, APIs, and system architecture

• Ability to translate marketing needs into scalable technical product features and integrations

• Deep understanding of modern IT systems, modular architecture, and modern data stacks

• Ability to understand how individual technical features impact the broader digital ecosystem and enterprise architecture

• Analytical mindset with sharp problem-solving skills and a history of structured thinking to resolve complex technical blockers

• Backlog & SDLC Tooling: Expert-level proficiency in Agile/Scrum methodologies and lifecycle management tools like Jira or Azure DevOps

• Proven experience in product performance optimisation, utilising product experimentation and data-driven insights to measure success

• Ability to take full ownership of the product lifecycle from ideation to launch, ensuring every technical increment aligns with the overall product roadmap and value proposition

• Skilled in defining and ranking technical user stories and requirements based on a balance of business value, technical dependency and long-term product health

• Ability to connect and translate commercial strategy and high-level capabilities into actionable technical tools that drive business growth and user productivity

• Experience working with design systems and UX/UI design principles to ensure technical products remain user-centric

• Proven track record of building and maintaining strong collaborative relationships with stakeholders and leaders across a global, matrixed organisation

• Ability to manage the "Push-Pull" between demand (Business Analysts) and execution (Tech Specialists), using negotiation to defend the roadmap and manage expectations

• A connector who can inspire and align cross-functional, dependent product teams or tribes around a unified vision

• Excellent verbal and written English skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business-impact language for diverse audiences

• Understanding of route to market typologies, specifically within the FMCG sector or the HEINEKEN landscape

• Specialist understanding of how digital solutions drive commercial success in consumer engagement and acquisition portfolio.
   

You are a perfect match if you also have:

• Proven experience transitioning from a BA or Senior Technical role into a leadership/ownership position. 
  

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  At HEINEKEN Kraków, we take integrity and ethical conduct seriously. If someone has concerns about a possible violation of legal regulations indicated in the Polish Whistleblowing Act or our Code of Business Conduct, we encourage them to speak up. Cases can be reported to the global team or locally (in line with the local HGSS Whistleblowing procedure) by selecting the proper option in this tool or by communicating it on the hotline.

We offer:

• Flexible work from home scheme

• Attractive performance bonus

• Parking space for employees

• Flexible working hours

• Pluxee card

• Life insurance

• Employee referral programme

• Job opportunities within HEINEKEN

• Private medical healthcare

• Social events

At HEINEKEN Kraków, we take integrity and ethical conduct seriously. If someone has concerns about a possible violation of legal regulations indicated in Polish Whistleblowing Act or our Code of Business Conduct, we encourage them to speak up. Cases can be reported to global team or locally (in line with the local HGSS Whistleblowing procedure) by selecting proper option in this tool or by communicating it on hotline.