Product Owner - Development Program 2026
84.51°
Product & Design - Product Owner – Development Program
Location Option(s): Cincinnati, OH & Chicago, IL
This program is in-office, with no remote options.
Cohort Start Date(s): June 15, 2026
This is a strict start date; you must be able to start working full-time on the above date.
Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United Stated and with the Kroger Family of Companies (i.e. H1-B visa, F-1 visa (OPT), TN visa or any other non-immigrant status).
SUMMARY:
The Product Owner is the business champion and team translator, responsible for maximizing the product's value alongside the development team. You own the assessment of your product’s business value, collaborating with your team to continuously improve. You translate business requirements into product requirements to ensure that the product delivers on user needs. You will regularly collaborate with teammates across software engineering, agile delivery, experience design, leadership, and more – ensuring that you’re balancing needs across stakeholders while delivering the best product possible for our users.
At 84.51°, we design & build products that make our users’ lives easier. We accomplish this through research, design, analysis, and testing in an iterative delivery environment – identifying the right problems to focus on and the ideal end state. The 84.51° Product Owner team uses a multidisciplinary approach (incorporating product, agile, and design principles) that allows you to leverage your strengths and improve your weaknesses in a highly constructive, highly collaborative environment.
If this sounds like you, join the 84.51° Product team and be part of the next wave of products that bring together industry-leading data science and customer insights.
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:
Product Owners in the Development Program start in June with positions available in both our Cincinnati, OH Headquarters and our Chicago, IL office, located in the Old Post Office.
For the first 12 weeks, you will participate in an onboarding program where you will receive technical and contextual training around who we are, what we do, and how we do it – with extensive training, immersive case studies, and shadowing & mentorship opportunities across the business.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Contribute to the prioritization and ordering of the product backlog items based on the product roadmap
- Participate in the management of the team’s product backlog and ensuring it’s transparent, visible and clearly communicated
- Assist in translating business desires/requirements into effective features and stories that are ready for development
- Outlines clear acceptance criteria with the support of a more senior PO, to clearly communicate the definition of “done”
- Stakeholder management – effective in building and managing stakeholder relationships to influence and drive change
- Entry level knowledge in the development and use of product data to influence product decisions/roadmap – both quantitative and qualitative
- Learn the business domain, stakeholders, business processes and constraints in which your product(s) play
- Learn customers/users' problems, how they think and operate and the platforms/technology they use
- Understand and assist in communicating organization objectives, strategies and solution needs to the team to facilitate results (where collaborative/as colleague)
- Manage and communicate dependencies and risks
QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE WE VALUE:
- Bachelor’s degree or higher from a four-year accredited university
- Must be graduating by the time the program starts - or looking for an early career change to our industry (0-3 years of experience)
- Awareness of how to effectively manage cross-functional software development teams in an agile environment
- Balance business priorities against design/user needs while delivering against product roadmaps
- Learn effective ways to manage end-to-end software product development
- Stakeholder management skills – effective in building and managing stakeholder relationships to influence and drive change
- Problem solving, critical thinking and analytical skills
- Planning, organizational and time management skills
- Comfort with ambiguity – remains confident, positive and resourceful in the face of ambiguity and unexpected results; recovers quickly from setbacks
- Exhibits qualities of and have proven to be a great teammate
- Verbal and written communication skills, ability to translate between business and technical
- Technical acumen – grasps the technical details to lead a team
#LI-DNI
Pay Transparency and Benefits
- The stated salary range represents the entire span applicable across all geographic markets from lowest to highest. Actual salary offers are structured and will be determined by multiple factors including but not limited to function, office location and education level, in alignment with market data and cost of labor.
- Below is a list of some of the benefits we offer our associates:
- Health: Medical: with competitive plan designs and support for self-care, wellness and mental health. Dental: with in-network and out-of-network benefit. Vision: with in-network and out-of-network benefit.
- Wealth: 401(k) with Roth option and matching contribution. Health Savings Account with matching contribution (requires participation in qualifying medical plan). AD&D and supplemental insurance options to help ensure additional protection for you.
- Happiness: Hybrid work environment. Paid time off with flexibility to meet your life needs, including 5 weeks of vacation time, 7 health and wellness days, 3 floating holidays, as well as 6 company-paid holidays per year. Paid leave for maternity, paternity and family care instances.
Pay Range for Development Program
$80,000 - $84,000 USD
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