EDGEWING - CYS - Product Owner (Project Management)

Description

The company is a defence joint venture formed by UK, Italian and Japanese partners, and you would help build it from the ground up, including its ways of working.

This is a hybrid product owner and project manager role. You set product direction and priorities, and you also run planning, governance and delivery so the work lands on time.

You sit between users, stakeholders and the delivery team, turning business goals into a clear product vision and explaining why each feature matters.

Selection: the CVs that best match the required qualifications are shortlisted. You will first have an introductory interview with HR on motivation and soft skills, then a technical interview with the hiring team. All candidates receive feedback, whatever the outcome.

Responsibilities

• Shape and maintain a clear, user-focused product vision that supports business objectives.
• Keep a transparent, prioritised backlog that weighs strategy, stakeholder needs, technical factors and user outcomes.
• Break business goals into well-defined features, epics and user stories, and make sure the team understands the purpose and value of each.
• Lead project planning, delivery governance and milestone tracking, keeping the work aligned with the wider programme.
• Identify and handle risks, issues and dependencies early to keep delivery predictable and of high quality.
• Act as the main liaison between users, stakeholders and delivery teams, keeping communication consistent and understanding shared.
• Coordinate work with architecture, engineering, security, business analysis, testing and other delivery partners.
• Check that each delivered increment meets acceptance criteria, user needs and programme expectations.
• Oversee progress, escalate blockers and make decisions based on evidence.
• Use retrospectives, feedback and delivery data to improve processes, team performance and product results.

Requirements

• Strong product management skills, including setting vision, prioritising and making value-driven decisions.
• Excellent backlog management, with the ability to break work into clear, actionable features, epics and user stories.
• Ability to weigh technical, business, compliance and risk factors when setting priorities.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and communication, bridging users, business teams and technical delivery.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional collaboration across architecture, engineering, security, testing and business analysis.
• Strong analytical thinking to turn business problems into structured product and delivery needs.
• Ability to handle conflict, resolve ambiguity and bring clarity to complex delivery environments.

Conditions

The Italian National Collective Labour Agreement (CCNL) for the Private Metalworking Industry and Plant Installation Sector applies.

Hybrid working model.

Executive-level employee.

Permanent contract, with Italy as the base location.

Secondment of at least two years to Reading, the joint venture's headquarters.

Seniority: senior.

Primary location: Roma, Via Laurentina. Additional locations: Chieti Scalo, Firenze (Campi Bisenzio), Genova (Fiumara), Napoli (Pomigliano) and Torino (C.so Marche).

Total base pay range: 60-75k.

The company sets grade and pay using objective criteria from the selection process, such as seniority, experience and role requirements, in line with fairness, transparency and equal opportunity under applicable law.

Benefits

• 13th-month salary.
• Performance bonus linked to business results.
• Annual welfare benefits worth €250.
• Training and professional development in both technical and soft skills.
• Well-being support for economic, physical, social and psychological health, tailored to individual needs.