Data Science Manager

The Industrial System Analytics (ISA) team within GDIA develops cutting-edge cloud analytic solutions using GCP tools and techniques to drive strategic insights across Ford. As a Product Owner (Supervisor) you will be a critical leader within our product-driven organization. You will be responsible for defining prioritizing and delivering high-value data products and analytical solutions that directly address key business challenges. This role requires a strong blend of strategic product thinking hands-on agile execution and the ability to lead mentor and guide your team (or cross-functional teams) to achieve exceptional outcomes in a dynamic data-intensive environment.

Product Strategy & Vision:

• Translate high-level business objectives and customer needs into clear product vision strategy and measurable outcomes for your product area.
• Communicate product vision and strategy effectively to the development team stakeholders and leadership ensuring alignment and buy-in.
• Gather and analyze customer/internal feedback to continuously refine the product roadmap and drive improvements.

Backlog Management & Prioritization:

• Own define and prioritize the product backlog ensuring it is well-groomed with clear actionable user stories and acceptance criteria.
• Collaborate closely with engineering data science and UX teams to refine requirements and ensure technical feasibility and optimal solution design.
• Manage interdependencies across features and product releases identifying and proactively mitigating risks to delivery.

Stakeholder Collaboration & Communication:

• Act as the primary liaison between business stakeholders customers and the development team fostering strong relationships.
• Translate complex technical concepts into understandable business language and vice versa facilitating effective decision-making.
• Manage stakeholder expectations and provide regular transparent updates on product progress risks and achievements.
• Act as a strategic consultant to the business guiding them towards optimal data-driven solutions rather than just fulfilling requests.

Product Delivery & Quality Assurance:

• Ensure that delivered software and analytical solutions meet desired business outcomes quality standards and compliance requirements (e.g. security legal Ford policies).
• Collaborate with the team to define relevant analytics and metrics to track product performance adoption and realized business value.
• Facilitate user acceptance testing and feedback loops to ensure product adoption and satisfaction.

Agile Leadership & Process Improvement:

• Champion Agile software development principles culture and best practices within your team and across the organization.
• Lead and facilitate team ceremonies (e.g. sprint planning reviews retrospectives) to ensure efficient and effective delivery.
• Mentor coach and guide team members (including junior Product Owners if applicable or cross-functional team members) in product ownership best practices problem-solving and continuous improvement.
• Ensure effective usage of agile tools (e.g. Jira) and derive meaningful insights for continuous improvement of processes and delivery.
• Drive adoption of DevSecOps and software craftsmanship practices (CI/CD TDD) where applicable.

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Youll have

• Bachelors degree in a quantitative field such as Computer Science Engineering Information Systems Business Analytics or a related discipline.
• 5 years of experience as a Product Owner Business Analyst or similar role managing digital products or data solutions.
• Demonstrated experience in defining product roadmaps managing backlogs and prioritizing features.
• Proven experience working within an Agile software development environment.
• Experience gathering and translating business requirements into technical specifications and user stories.
• Strong understanding of data analytics AI/ML concepts and how they can drive business value.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms preferably Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services (e.g. BigQuery GCS Dataflow).
• Excellent communication interpersonal and stakeholder management skills.

Even better you may have

• Masters degree or PhD in a quantitative field.
• Experience supervising or mentoring other Product Owners or team members.
• Hands-on experience with data visualization tools (e.g. Tableau Power BI Looker).
• Proficiency in SQL and/or scripting languages (e.g. Python) for data exploration.
• Knowledge of Fords internal data ecosystems or IT systems.
• Experience with DevSecOps practices and tools (e.g. CI/CD pipelines Jira GitHub).
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or similar Agile certification.
• Proven ability to balance doing it right with speed to delivery in a fast-paced environment.
• Inquisitive proactive and interested in learning new tools and techniques.

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