Technical Product Owner

About Language Testing International (LTI)

At Language Testing International (LTI), our people are our greatest asset and the driving force behind our success. Since 1992, LTI has been a global leader in language assessment and certification, helping individuals, educational institutions, corporations, and government agencies achieve their language proficiency goals across the globe. We are passionate about advancing multilingualism, fostering innovation, and creating an environment where employees can thrive, grow, and make a meaningful impact.

Position Summary

The Technical Product Owner will lead the planning, prioritization, and delivery of AI-powered scoring and learning initiatives. This role is responsible for translating product strategy into actionable development plans, managing and refining the product backlog, facilitating Agile delivery processes, removing obstacles, and driving alignment across cross-functional teams.

Working closely with Product Management, Engineering, Data Analytics, Assessment, Operations, and Customer Success teams, the Technical Product Owner will ensure products deliver measurable business value while maintaining high standards of quality, scalability, and user experience.

This position will begin as a three-month contract engagement at 40 hours per week and transition into a full-time, exempt position reporting to the Vice President of Technology.

Key Responsibilities

Product Ownership & Strategy

• Lead technical product ownership for AI-enabled scoring and learning products, including:
• Machine scoring workflows
• Assessment delivery and scoring model integrations
• Scoring quality monitoring and analytics
• Rater review workflows
• Learner practice experiences
• Reporting and data visualization
• Commercialization initiatives
• Customer-facing product capabilities
• Serve as the voice of the customer, operational teams, and business stakeholders, ensuring product decisions balance user needs, business objectives, and assessment quality requirements.
• Conduct market, customer, and competitive research to identify opportunities, validate priorities, and inform product strategy.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to define product vision, align roadmaps with strategic goals, and drive successful execution.
• Develop, maintain, and communicate product roadmaps across multiple product lines.

Agile Delivery & Execution

• Own the product backlog and define epics, features, user stories, and acceptance criteria that guide development teams.
• Prioritize work by balancing business value, customer impact, technical dependencies, and strategic objectives.
• Partner with Agile teams throughout sprint planning, backlog refinement, standups, reviews, and retrospectives.
• Create detailed functional requirements and specifications to support iterative software development.
• Identify and remove delivery blockers while facilitating effective cross-functional collaboration.
• Evaluate tradeoffs and make informed product decisions to maintain delivery timelines and business commitments.

Stakeholder & Team Leadership

• Serve as a key liaison between business stakeholders, technical teams, and leadership.
• Present product concepts and proposed solutions through workflows, diagrams, wireframes, prototypes, and other documentation to gather feedback and drive alignment.
• Collaborate with leadership to improve product development processes, governance, and delivery standards.
• Assist in evaluating and selecting technical solutions, platforms, and vendor partners when applicable.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and operational excellence.

Product Performance & Innovation

• Define and monitor key product objectives, success metrics, and outcomes.
• Leverage data and user insights to inform product decisions and continuous enhancements.
• Maintain a strong understanding of customer journeys, system integrations, and cross-functional dependencies.
• Stay informed on emerging technologies, AI trends, competitive offerings, and industry best practices to drive innovation.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience as a Product Owner, Product Manager, Technical Product Manager, or Program Manager.
• Demonstrated experience delivering AI, machine learning, conversational AI, or data-driven software products.
• Experience working within Agile product development environments.
• Strong understanding of software development lifecycles and modern product management practices.
• Experience collaborating with engineering teams on technical products and platform capabilities.
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO), Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), or equivalent certification preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Proven ability to manage product roadmaps, backlogs, and sprint priorities across multiple initiatives.
• Experience defining and delivering Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and Minimum Marketable Features (MMFs).
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
• Exceptional written, verbal, presentation, and facilitation skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with a data-driven decision-making approach.
• Ability to effectively collaborate with remote, cross-functional teams.
• Deep understanding of Agile methodologies, particularly Scrum and Kanban.
• Experience with product and project management tools such as Jira, Confluence, Asana, and similar platforms.
• Technical fluency with the ability to engage in architectural discussions, understand system dependencies, and identify technical risks and blockers.
• Familiarity with cloud computing concepts and platforms, preferably AWS.
• Experience in EdTech, language assessment, testing, certification, or learning technologies is highly desirable.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time, with or without notice.

Compensation & Benefits

• Contract hourly range: $75 - $90 per hour for the three – month contract engagement.
• Anticipated annual salary range upon full-time conversion: $125,000 to $140,000 , commensurate with experience, skills, location, and qualifications.
• Comprehensive benefits package.
• 401(k) plan with a 4% company match, fully vested from day one.
• Generous paid time off program, including:
• Vacation time
• Personal time
• Sick leave
• Family leave
• Floating holidays
• Volunteer day

Physical Requirements

• Ability to remain seated and work at a computer workstation for extended periods.
• Ability to communicate effectively in a virtual and in-person work environment.

Why Join LTI?

• Be part of a mission-driven organization with global impact.
• Collaborate with talented professionals in a supportive and inclusive environment.
• Work on innovative products that help individuals and organizations achieve language proficiency and certification goals.
• Access opportunities for professional growth, continuous learning, and career advancement.
• Contribute to a culture that values innovation, teamwork, integrity, and excellence.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Language Testing International is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.