Senior Associate – Product Owner (Banking & Finance Consulting)
Location: Washington, DC, USA (Hybrid – 3 days/week onsite)
About the Role
As a Senior Associate – Product Owner, you will drive product strategy and Agile delivery, ensuring alignment between business objectives and execution. You will act as the key bridge between stakeholders and delivery teams, enabling scalable, customer-centric digital solutions.
Key Responsibilities
Product Ownership & Backlog Management
- Define and drive product vision, roadmap, and strategy aligned with business goals
- Own and prioritise the product backlog to maximise business value
- Create and refine user stories with clear acceptance criteria
- Make data-driven prioritisation and trade-off decisions
Agile Delivery & Execution
- Lead and participate in Agile ceremonies (sprint planning, grooming, demos, retrospectives)
- Support sprint execution by providing clarity and removing blockers
- Ensure alignment between product vision and delivery outcomes
Program Planning & Coordination (SAFe)
- Contribute to Program Increment (PI) Planning and align team objectives with ART goals
- Break down features into deliverable user stories
- Identify and manage cross-team dependencies and risks
Stakeholder Collaboration
- Act as the primary voice of the customer
- Partner with Product Managers, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams
- Facilitate workshops, gather requirements, and validate solutions
- Build strong relationships and drive stakeholder alignment
Value Delivery & Continuous Improvement
- Ensure delivered features meet business outcomes and acceptance criteria
- Track product performance using KPIs and user feedback
- Drive continuous improvement through retrospectives and feedback loops
Key Skills & Competencies
- Strong knowledge of SAFe and Agile methodologies (Scrum/Kanban)
- Expertise in backlog prioritisation and value-driven delivery
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
- Ability to translate business needs into technical requirements
- Analytical and data-driven mindset
- Experience with JIRA, Confluence, Azure DevOps
What You Must Have
- 6+ years of experience as a Product Owner
- Strong experience in Agile delivery and backlog ownership
- Consulting or client-facing experience
- Proven ability to define product strategy and roadmap
Nice to Have
- Experience in digital transformation or product-led initiatives
- Exposure to data-driven decision-making
- Ability to influence without authority
Work Model (Hybrid)
We believe hybrid work is the way forward as we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a hybrid position requiring 3 days per week onsite at a Cognizant office in Washington, DC (downtown). We remain committed to supporting work-life balance through our wellbeing programs.
Salary and Other Compensation
The annual salary for this position is expected to be between $85,000 – $101,000 USD, depending on experience and qualifications. This role is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary incentive programs and a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, paid time off, and retirement benefits.
Why Cognizant?
- Work on high-impact consulting engagements with leading global clients
- Be part of a collaborative culture built on Work as One, Own It, and Raise the Bar
- Grow your career through continuous learning and development opportunities
- Contribute to innovative, product-led transformation initiatives
Application Details
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship.
What we offer
- The chance to work with impact. Here, you’re empowered to bring your biggest thinking to help our company and clients improve everyday life.
- Ownership over your career. Stay at the top of your game through our award-winning learning and development ecosystem. And when your ambitions change or we offer new opportunities, we help you pivot by providing reskilling, on-the-job learning and guidance to find new roles that might be a better fit.
- The opportunity to thrive on a high caliber team with heart. We celebrate each other’s experiences and perspectives and promote a sense of belonging through our affinity groups and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
- A comprehensive total rewards package, including a competitive salary and a pension plan with matching contributions.
- Flexible health and financial benefits to support you and your eligible dependents—from day one.
- True work-life balance. Be at your best through paid time off, flexible work arrangements, volunteering opportunities, social events, and so much more.
About us
Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, building the bridge between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization’s unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, realize tangible returns and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.com or @cognizant.
Other employment-related information
Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial or local laws.
If you have a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or submit an application, please email [email protected] with your request and contact information.
Language requirements vary depending on roles, but we ask that all candidates have basic English proficiency for company-wide communications purposes. For roles based in Quebec, professional English proficiency is required, as you’ll deliver services to and collaborate with stakeholders outside the province who may not speak French.
