Data Product Owner / Domain Lead

Job Title: Data Product Owner / Domain Lead

Location: On-site ( Newport Beach, CA )

Job Type: Full -Time / Contract

Job Description:

Must-Have Skills

• 8 years in data analytics, data management, or data product roles — with at least 3 years in a product ownership or domain lead capacity on a data modernization program
• Strong SQL fluency — ability to validate data product outputs, write acceptance queries, and review dbt model logic with the engineering team
• Experience working in Agile delivery environments — sprint planning, backlog refinement, story writing, and sprint demos
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex business requirements from domain SMEs into clear, actionable data specifications for engineering teams
• Hands-on experience with data governance tooling (Collibra, Alation, or equivalent) — business glossary, data cataloging, certification workflows
• Excellent stakeholder communication skills — able to engage credibly with both business executives and senior data engineers

Good to Have

• Insurance domain knowledge — life insurance, annuities, actuarial, claims, or distribution operations
• Familiarity with ACORD Life & Annuity data standards
• Experience with Profisee MDM or enterprise master data management concepts
• Exposure to Snowflake as a data platform (not required to be a Snowflake engineer)

Role Summary

We are looking for an experienced Data Product Owner to own the definition, prioritization, and business validation of data products across a Fortune 500 insurance and financial services enterprise's multi-wave data modernization program. You will serve as the business authority for data quality and semantic accuracy — sitting at the intersection of the customer's domain SMEs and WinWire's engineering teams, translating business intent into certified, analytics-ready data products on Snowflake. This is not a passive backlog management role — you will make consequential decisions about what gets built, in what order, and what "done" means.

Why This Role Matters

The success of the Data Forward program is ultimately measured in business outcomes, not just data pipelines. Someone needs to ensure that each of the 9 Wave 1 data products — from Policy & Contract Management to Actuarial & Reserves — is semantically correct, trusted by the business, and adopted by its intended consumers. Without strong domain leadership, technically correct data products still fail to deliver value. This role is the bridge that prevents that failure.

What You'll Do

Data Product Definition & Backlog Ownership

Define and own data product specifications for all Wave 1 domains: Policy & Contract Management, Premium & Billing, Claims & Benefits, Actuarial & Reserves, Financial Accounting, Agent & Distribution, Customer & Party, Product Master, and Compliance & Regulatory

Prioritize the delivery backlog across transformation waves in collaboration with the Delivery Manager, Technical Architect, and the customer Product Owners

Translate business requirements from the customer domain SMEs into validated data specifications, acceptance criteria, and dbt model definitions that the engineering team can execute against

Define data product SLAs — availability, freshness, and quality expectations — in partnership with the DRE Engineering team

Business Validation & Quality Authority

Serve as the final business authority for data quality, semantic accuracy, and adoption readiness for each certified data product before it exits the governance certification workflow

Lead UAT planning and coordinate the customer business user participation — ensuring test coverage is grounded in real business scenarios, not just technical row counts

Review and approve Collibra business glossary definitions, data product documentation, and domain ontologies for accuracy and business relevance

Identify and escalate data quality issues that require business rule clarification from the customer SMEs, ensuring engineering is unblocked

Stakeholder Collaboration & Communication

Act as the primary point of contact between WinWire delivery squads and the customer's domain stakeholders (Policy, Claims, Finance, Actuarial, Distribution)

Participate in sprint demos, backlog refinement, and retrospectives — representing the business perspective in all delivery rituals

Communicate delivery progress, data product readiness status, and risk items to the customer Product Owners and the WinWire Delivery Manager in a clear, business-friendly manner

Drive adoption of certified data products by working with the customer analytics teams and consumption layer stakeholders (Tableau/Power BI consumers)

Governance & Certification

Own the data product certification lifecycle in Collibra — coordinating sign-off by Domain Data Stewards and the Data Governance Council

Define and document business rules, transformation logic, and domain-specific data contracts in Collibra's business glossary and metadata catalog

Ensure all data products meet governance requirements (lineage completeness, PII/PHI tagging, quality SLO thresholds) before certification sign-off