Job description

Job Title: Senior Principal Product Owner – Cloud & Observability. Location: Washington, DC (On-site). Employment Type: Contract (W2 through ZipStaff — No C2C or 1099). About the Opportunity: ZipStaff is seeking a Senior Principal Product Owner – Cloud & Observability to drive the strategic evolution of enterprise platform services for a major transportation organization. Operating within the Enterprise Platforms & Enablement (EPE) portfolio, this high-impact role serves as the authoritative voice of the customer to champion “Platform as a Product” across Cloud, Observability, Disaster Recovery (DR), and CloudOps value streams. You will bridge business strategy, technical architecture, and cross-functional engineering teams, leading the transition from traditional project models to an agile, product-centric approach that ensures enterprise-grade resiliency, compliance, and operational excellence. What You’ll Do: • Define, communicate, and execute the product vision and strategy for Cloud and Observability platforms, establishing a robust “Platform as a Product” delivery model. • Own, prioritize, and refine the product backlog based on business value, technical feasibility, and strategic EPE portfolio goals using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). • Act as the strategic liaison between business stakeholders, CloudOps, enterprise architecture, and technical teams to translate complex business needs into clear user stories and acceptance criteria. • Champion deep technical alignment across cloud services, observability, and disaster recovery, treating them as an integrated ecosystem rather than isolated silos. • Contribute to multi-year platform roadmaps and establish key performance metrics to continuously measure value delivery, platform adoption, and operational efficiency. • Collaborate with Product Managers, portfolio leadership, and frontline technical teams to ensure continuous capability delivery supporting mission-critical enterprise operations. Required Qualifications: • 5+ years of experience as an Agile Product Owner or Product Manager in a large-scale enterprise environment, with proven experience leading cloud-focused or CloudOps teams. • SAFe 6.0 Product Owner / Product Manager (POPM) certification required (or equivalent 3+ years of Scaled Agile experience in a large organization). • Deep functional understanding of cloud infrastructure, observability frameworks, disaster recovery ecosystems, and IT Service Management (ITSM). • Hands-on experience managing enterprise backlogs and roadmaps using Jira Software, Confluence, FigJam, and Jira Align. • Exceptional leadership, stakeholder management, and analytical skills with a demonstrated ability to independently drive strategy and facilitate complex technical discussions. • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business, or a related field; relevant work experience accepted in lieu of a degree. • Ability to work on-site in Washington, DC. Preferred Qualifications: • ITIL certification. • Prior experience driving Platform as a Product models for cloud, observability, or CloudOps platforms in a large enterprise or transportation environment. • Background contributing to multi-year roadmaps and establishing platform metrics for adoption and operational efficiency. • Experience facilitating complex technical discussions across architecture, operations, and business stakeholders. Benefits • Health Insurance. • Dental Insurance. • Vision Insurance. • 401(k) + 401(k) matching. • Paid time off. • Referral Program. About ZipStaff ZipStaff partners with leading organizations to connect skilled technology professionals with high-impact contract opportunities. We focus on quality matches, clear communication, and long-term success for candidates and clients. To apply, submit your resume highlighting your Agile Product Owner experience (especially SAFe POPM or equivalent), cloud/observability/DR domain knowledge, backlog and roadmap ownership, and stakeholder leadership. Pure research or junior experience will not be considered. Pay: $54 - $55 per hour

Requirements

Must-haves

Job Title: Senior Principal Product Owner – Cloud & Observability.
Location: Washington, DC (On-site).
Employment Type: Contract (W2 through ZipStaff — No C2C or 1099).
Define, communicate, and execute the product vision and strategy for Cloud and Observability platforms, establishing a robust “Platform as a Product” delivery model.
Own, prioritize, and refine the product backlog based on business value, technical feasibility, and strategic EPE portfolio goals using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).
Act as the strategic liaison between business stakeholders, CloudOps, enterprise architecture, and technical teams to translate complex business needs into clear user stories and acceptance criteria.
Champion deep technical alignment across cloud services, observability, and disaster recovery, treating them as an integrated ecosystem rather than isolated silos.
Contribute to multi-year platform roadmaps and establish key performance metrics to continuously measure value delivery, platform adoption, and operational efficiency.
Collaborate with Product Managers, portfolio leadership, and frontline technical teams to ensure continuous capability delivery supporting mission-critical enterprise operations.
5+ years of experience as an Agile Product Owner or Product Manager in a large-scale enterprise environment, with proven experience leading cloud-focused or CloudOps teams.
SAFe 6.0 Product Owner / Product Manager (POPM) certification required (or equivalent 3+ years of Scaled Agile experience in a large organization).
Deep functional understanding of cloud infrastructure, observability frameworks, disaster recovery ecosystems, and IT Service Management (ITSM).
Hands-on experience managing enterprise backlogs and roadmaps using Jira Software, Confluence, FigJam, and Jira Align.
Exceptional leadership, stakeholder management, and analytical skills with a demonstrated ability to independently drive strategy and facilitate complex technical discussions.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business, or a related field; relevant work experience accepted in lieu of a degree.
Ability to work on-site in Washington, DC.

Nice-to-haves

ITIL certification.
Prior experience driving Platform as a Product models for cloud, observability, or CloudOps platforms in a large enterprise or transportation environment.
Background contributing to multi-year roadmaps and establishing platform metrics for adoption and operational efficiency.
Experience facilitating complex technical discussions across architecture, operations, and business stakeholders.

Application prep

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Keywords to mirror

agilejira

Platform: betterteam
Effort: medium

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Health Insurance

Dental

Vision

401(K)

Paid Time Off