About the Company
Our client is an international aviation technology company developing an innovative IoT-enabled asset tracking and digital intelligence solution for the global aviation sector.
The technology combines tracking devices installed on Unit Load Devices (ULDs) and other aviation equipment with a software platform that converts real-time location, condition and utilization data into operational intelligence.
The business is now strengthening its Digital Solutions function and is looking for a Product Owner – Digital Solutions to take ownership of an active software development program and drive its next phase of development and commercialization.
The Role
This is broader than a traditional Agile Product Owner position.
You will own the product roadmap, requirements and delivery governance, while managing external software development partners working across multiple international locations.
A critical part of the role is understanding how aviation customers actually manage ULD and cargo assets and translating those operational requirements into software and IoT solutions that deliver measurable value.
You will need the technical credibility to challenge development partners, the commercial awareness to manage external suppliers and the aviation knowledge to engage directly with customers.
Key Responsibilities
Own the Product
- Own the software platform roadmap, release plan, scope and schedule
- Translate customer requirements and commercial commitments into a prioritised, buildable backlog
- Maintain a credible view of overall program status for senior leadership
- Escalate early when commitments or delivery milestones are at risk
- Manage dependencies between software releases, device firmware, connectivity and hardware
Manage External Development Partners
- Act as the principal interface with external suppliers and software development teams
- Define statements of work, deliverables, acceptance criteria and milestone structures
- Support supplier contract negotiations alongside Procurement and Legal
- Lead supplier governance including sprint reviews, acceptance testing, defect triage, SLA performance and change control
- Own acceptance of supplier deliverables against agreed requirements
- Resolve issues falling between multiple suppliers and ensure clear accountability
- Protect the business around source code, data ownership, IP, escrow, documentation and transition arrangements
- Establish appropriate standards around AI-generated code, including licensing, review and quality assurance
Software & Technical Governance
- Set expectations around modern Agile and CI/CD practices
- Evaluate automated build and testing processes, release cadence, rollback procedures and test coverage
- Establish non-functional requirements covering availability, latency, scalability, data retention and observability
- Understand and manage cloud infrastructure costs and platform unit economics
- Ensure appropriate security and data-protection standards, including GDPR and customer security requirements
Own Customer Requirements
- Work directly with internal stakeholders
- Understand operational and commercial processes involved in managing aviation cargo assets
- Translate challenges including stock positioning, utilization, demurrage, damage and repair workflows into clear software requirements
- Determine where IoT, sensor and telemetry data can realistically improve customer decision-making
- Support Sales and Product teams with technical input for proposals, RFPs, security questionnaires and roadmap discussions
- Feed lessons from live customer deployments back into the development backlog
During the early stages of the program, the role will also have some hands-on involvement in customer implementations until dedicated implementation resources are fully established.
Requirements:
- Strong working understanding of aviation cargo asset management, including positioning, utilization, control activities, demurrage and repair workflows
- Good understanding of how sensor, IoT and telemetry data can improve operational decision-making
- Proven track record managing significant software development programs delivered through external suppliers
- Experience covering supplier contracting, acceptance, governance and commercial escalation — not simply sprint coordination
- Experience managing multiple teams or suppliers with interconnected deliverables
- Experience taking ownership of an existing program and establishing control
- Practical familiarity with Agile software development, CI/CD and modern software delivery practices
- Working familiarity with AI and its applications within telemetry platforms and software development
- Experience working with distributed international teams across different cultures and time zones
- Strong stakeholder management skills and ability to influence without direct authority
- Professional fluency in English.
- Ability to travel internationally as required
Highly Desirable
- Hands-on understanding of cloud hosting, solution architecture and database design
- Familiarity with AWS or comparable cloud environments
- Experience with AI-assisted software development and understanding of its implications for code quality and governance
- Familiarity with IATA ULD Regulations and ULD messaging standards, including UCM/SCM and Cargo-IMP/Cargo-XML
- Exposure to IoT device fleets and technologies including LTE-M, NB-IoT, Cat 1 bis and BLE
- Experience with large-scale telemetry ingestion and firmware release coordination
- Experience with IoT telemetry and device-management platforms
- Experience within a scale-up or new-product environment where processes had to be built rather than inherited
- Additional European languages advantageous
