Role Overview :

We are looking for a Product Owner / Delivery Lead Data & AI to take local ownership of an offshore development squad and act as the key bridge between business stakeholders, product teams, Data & AI specialists and software developers.

This is an exciting opportunity to work with one of our long-standing retained clients and a pioneer in applying Artificial Intelligence to the hospitality sector.

The role is based in Kolkata, India, with mandatory travel to France for a minimum of 40 days as part of the engagement. You will work closely with international stakeholders and development teams, making strong communication, ownership and cross-cultural collaboration critical to success.

We are looking for someone who goes beyond traditional Product Owner responsibilities someone who is genuinely passionate about technology and product development, keeps up with emerging IT products and AI trends, researches problems deeply, and can translate business challenges into practical technology solutions.

Key Responsibilities :

Product Ownership & Backlog Management :

- Translate business requirements, user needs and pain points into epics, user stories, business rules and clear acceptance criteria.

- Own, structure, prioritise and continuously maintain the product backlog.

- Prioritise features and initiatives based on business value, technical feasibility, risks and dependencies.

- Develop and maintain a realistic product roadmap in collaboration with stakeholders.

- Make prioritisation decisions and trade-offs clear and transparent.

- Facilitate Agile ceremonies including Sprint Planning, Backlog Refinement, Sprint Reviews, Retrospectives, and Daily/Squad Synchronisation.

Delivery Leadership :

- Act as the day-to-day Product Owner and Delivery Lead for the India-based development squad.

- Work closely with developers to ensure requirements are sufficiently clear before development begins.

- Remain available to resolve functional and business-related questions during sprints.

- Track delivery progress, quality, capacity, dependencies, risks and blockers.

- Coordinate with Data & AI, IT, Security, Architecture and Business teams.

- Drive demonstrations, business acceptance testing and production-readiness activities.

- Follow up on post-production issues and ensure successful adoption of delivered solutions.

- Provide concise and effective delivery reporting to stakeholders.

- Identify and escalate delivery risks and blockers at the appropriate time.

- Build strong team dynamics and maintain delivery discipline across geographically distributed teams.

Stakeholder & International Collaboration :

- Serve as the primary bridge between Indian development teams and international business stakeholders.

- Work effectively with stakeholders across different countries, cultures and time zones.

- Communicate complex business and technical topics in a simple and structured manner.

- Build strong working relationships with business, technical and management stakeholders.

- Challenge requirements constructively and help stakeholders make informed decisions.

Product Adoption & Continuous Improvement :

- Work with Change Management teams to support user communication, training and adoption activities.

- Collect user feedback and translate it into product improvements.

- Monitor product usage and delivered business value.

- Continuously improve product features, delivery processes and ways of working.

- Contribute to best practices across Data & AI product development and delivery.

Preferred Skills :

- Experience working with Data & AI products, AI / Machine Learning / Automation, Microsoft technology ecosystems, offshore or distributed development squads, and international teams.

- Exposure to SaaS / Enterprise Software products.

- French language proficiency is a strong advantage.

- Experience working with European/French stakeholders.

Candidate Profile :

- 6 - 11 years of overall experience, with meaningful experience in Product Ownership, Product Management, Business Analysis or Delivery Leadership.

- Ideally 3+ years of hands-on experience in Product Owner / Product Manager / Delivery Lead responsibilities.

- A strong understanding of how software products are conceived, developed, tested, deployed and continuously improved.

- Proven experience working directly with software development teams.

- Strong ownership of product backlogs and delivery outcomes.

- Excellent ability to convert ambiguous business requirements into structured and actionable requirements.

- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

- Confidence in interacting with senior business and technology stakeholders.

- Excellent professional English communication.

- Ability to work independently and take ownership of decisions.

- Willingness and ability to travel internationally, including mandatory travel to France for a minimum of 40 days.

Why Join This Opportunity? :

- Work directly with an international Data & AI product organisation.

- Opportunity to take ownership of a development squad and influence product direction.

- Exposure to AI-driven innovation in the hospitality industry.

- Regular interaction with international business and technology stakeholders.

- Opportunity to work closely with teams in France and India.

- International travel exposure with a minimum 40-day France assignment.

- High-visibility role combining Product, Technology, Data & AI and Delivery Management.