Product Owner

Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

• Serving as the primary customer and stakeholder proxy for one or more agile development teams operating within an established SAFe Agile Release Train (ART).
• Leading requirements elicitation and gathering by interviewing mission stakeholders, end users, subject matter experts (SMEs), and systems engineers to capture functional, operational, and non-functional requirements (NFRs).
• Decomposing high-level features, capabilities, and epics into actionable, granular user stories, enabler stories, and spikes with clear, testable acceptance criteria formatted to industry standards (e.g., Given/When/Then).
• Owning, refining, and prioritizing the team backlog in alignment with product management priorities, system roadmaps, and Program Increment (PI) objectives using Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) and value-driven prioritization techniques.
• Translating complex technical and mission requirements into clear, digestible tasks and functional user stories for developer and engineering teams, ensuring complete alignment on scope, objectives, and technical constraints.
• Collaborating daily with developer teams, system architects, and scrum master's during iteration planning, daily stand-ups, backlog refinement, iteration reviews, and retrospectives to clarify requirements, resolve ambiguities, and mitigate blockers.
• Validating and accepting completed user stories, verifying that deliverables fulfill all defined acceptance criteria and adhere to the Definition of Done (DoD) and organizational built-in quality guidelines.
• Actively participating in PI Planning, collaborating with product management to review the vision and roadmap, establish iteration goals, determine team capacity, and identify cross-team dependencies and delivery risks.
• Partnering with system architecture and engineering to incorporate architectural runway requirements, cybersecurity controls (including DISA STIGs and NIST standards), and technical debt reduction into iteration cycles.
• Coordinating and facilitating system demos and iteration reviews to showcase working software and capability enhancements to stakeholders and sponsors, capturing feedback for iterative backlog refinement.
• Managing requirements lifecycle and traceability across enterprise agile tooling suites (such as Jira, Confluence, and Azure DevOps), maintaining real-time documentation and metric reporting (burn-down/burn-up charts, velocity, and cumulative flow).
• Preparing and coordinating transition documentation, user personas, operational concept documents, and training/release support materials in support of capability fielding and lifecycle management.

Multiple positions may be hired from this announcement.

This position is contingent on contract modification.

This is a Technical Representative position in Naples, Italy. Candidate must meet legal, technical, and status accreditation/SOFA requirements.

Work Environment:

• Moderate noise (i.e. business office with computers, phone and printers) and /or occasional Loud noise (airfield, large equipment).
• Ability to sit at a computer terminal for an extended period of time.

Physical Demands:

• While performing the responsibilities of the job, the employee is required to sit, stand, talk, and hear.
• Employee is often required to sit and use their hands and fingers to operate a computer.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Ability to drive a motor vehicle in environments including city, highway, and rural roads CONUS and OCONUS.

Travel:

• 10-20% / Occasional travel.

CeLeen, an operating firm of Command Holdings, a Pequot company, is a tribally-owned firm providing management consulting services to U.S. government agencies.

Pursuant to PL 93-638, as amended, preference will be given to qualified Native Americans and spouses in all phases of employment.

At CeLeen, our employees are the embodiment of our success as a firm. Our team is comprised of a tenacious group of professionals located across the globe. It includes military veterans and spouses of active duty troops, former federal employees, policy experts, academics, attorneys, and technical and business experts, all of whom share a strong work ethic and the skills to succeed in both collaborative and independent environments. CeLeen is invested in the long-term success of both our clients and colleagues for the right reasons. Our dedication to putting good government into practice is underpinned by a merit-based culture that measures success by productivity and credibility.

CeLeen will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants who are unable to utilize our online application system due to a disability. Please send your request to the Human Resources Team.

CeLeen is committed to equal employment opportunity based on merit. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, and in accordance with EO 14173 and Federal Employment Laws: Equal Employment Opportunity and Employee Polygraph Protection Act.

CeLeen's Affirmative Action Program is available to any employee or applicant for employment for inspection upon request, to the extent required by federal regulations. The Affirmative Action Program can be accessed during normal business hours by making an appointment with the Human Resources Team.

Requirements

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree.
• Current, active secret security clearance.
• In-depth knowledge of Agile principles and modern systems development life cycle (SDLC) practices, with direct proficiency operating within a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) environment.

• Expertise in requirements management, user story drafting, backlog grooming, and scope definition for complex software, IT, network, and command-and-control (C4ISR) systems.

• Demonstrate strong technical literacy to interface effectively between non-technical mission stakeholders and technical software engineers, database administrators, and systems integration teams.

• Proven experience leveraging enterprise agile lifecycle tools (such as Atlassian Jira/Confluence, Azure DevOps, or VersionOne) is required.

• Candidate must meet legal, technical, and status accreditation/SOFA requirements.
• Valid driver’s license (proof of which will be required after hire) and ability to qualify for and maintain company liability insurance through a clean driving record.
• Outstanding communication skills, influencing abilities, and client focus.
• Demonstrated proficiency in using all Microsoft Office applications.
• Professional proficiency in English is required.
• Ability to access federal facilities in compliance with Real ID. More information about Real ID can be found here: and at .
• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. CeLeen will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree.

• Carrying out the required experience in an OCONUS environment, across multidisciplinary teams.

Benefits

CeLeen offers a competitive benefits plan including:

• Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Life and Disability Insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Employee Assistance Program
• Pet Insurance

Eligibility requirements apply.