Product Owner

Overview

KiwiRail connects New Zealanders sustainably, powering economic growth and ensuring vital freight and passenger services run smoothly.

Our mission, "Stronger Connections, Better New Zealand," highlights our dedication to sustainability and community well-being.

Our people make KiwiRail exceptional.

By fostering a diverse, inclusive, and supportive workplace, we empower everyone to contribute their best.

If you're passionate about innovation and safety, we'd love to welcome you aboard.

This role is part of KiwiRail's Digital Infrastructure team, which focuses on enabling innovation and increases to productivity, improvements in safety, value for money spending and new ways of working.

As the Product Owner you'll play a pivotal role in shaping both the vision and execution of your allocated products.

You'll be responsible for managing end-to-end product lifecycles from new ideas, through discovery, and on to change and implementation.

You will focus on maximising product value – defining features, setting priorities, and ensuring outcomes meet real user needs while driving business objectives.

Success in this role goes beyond backlog management and sprint planning.

We're looking for someone with strong emotional intelligence who can build trust, listen deeply, and engage authentically with a wide range of stakeholders.

You'll facilitate conversations that bring clarity from complexity, helping teams and partners co-design solutions that deliver measurable value.

Design thinking and facilitation will be at the heart of how you work—whether you're guiding a discovery workshop, mapping user journeys, or balancing competing priorities.

You'll combine strategic insight with hands-on execution, empowering cross-functional teams to move ideas from concept through to delivery.

Responsibilities

Shape and own the product vision - define and communicate clear product goals that align user needs with organisational objectives.

Facilitate discovery and design - lead workshops, design thinking sessions, and user journey mapping to co-create solutions with stakeholders and customers.

Lead change and implementation - plan for adoption, engage stakeholders, and support change activities so that new solutions are successfully embedded.

Champion the user - apply empathy and user-centred design practices to ensure delivered solutions are intuitive, accessible, and valuable.

Enable agile delivery - guide sprint planning, backlog refinement, and iteration reviews, ensuring teams remain focused and aligned.

Measure and improve - track product performance, capture feedback, and continuously adapt to enhance product health and impact.

Foster strong relationships - act as primary liaison between business stakeholders, ICT and development team.

Qualifications

A tertiary qualification in software engineering, computer science, business management or a related field

Two to five years' experience working with products and agile delivery

Experience in the infrastructure sector

Strong written and oral communication skills with an ability to translate technical requirements into practical solutions

Demonstrated effective planning, organisational and problem-solving skills in complex environments

Benefits and culture

Nou te rourou | What\'s in it for you :

25 annual leave days

Commitment to continued learning and development

Access to discounted travel, health insurance & holiday houses across NZ as part of our Staff Welfare Trust

Kua rite, kia rite | Ready to Make a Difference?

Internal candidates please apply through the internal portal using your KiwiRail email address

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