Product Owner - Cloud Hosting

Product Owner - Cloud Hosting

Rate: £80-£84 per hour (Inside IR35)
Contract: Initial 6 months, rolling extension
Location: Reading (Hybrid - 3 days onsite per week)
Security Clearance: Active MOD SC Clearance Required

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Product Owner with a strong background in Cloud Hosting, Defence, and secure technology environments to join a major aerospace and defence programme.

This is an excellent opportunity for a Product Owner who can bridge business and technical teams, drive cloud platform strategy, and deliver secure, scalable cloud hosting solutions within highly regulated environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the Cloud Hosting product vision, strategy, and roadmap.
• Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to gather and prioritise requirements.
• Translate business needs into Epics, Features, and User Stories.
• Manage and prioritise the product backlog, balancing business value, dependencies, and team capacity.
• Lead delivery of cloud hosting platform enhancements and new product increments.
• Ensure cloud solutions are secure, compliant, resilient, and aligned with organisational standards.
• Act as the Voice of the Customer, driving an excellent user experience and self-service capabilities.
• Monitor and improve product performance, delivery velocity, and operational effectiveness.
• Support platform engineering teams with testing, validation, and acceptance activities.
• Manage cloud-related risks, compliance requirements, and security considerations.
• Work closely with Solution Architects and delivery teams to ensure successful end-to-end solution delivery.
• Provide guidance on emerging cloud technologies, industry best practices, and innovation opportunities.

Essential Experience

• Active SC Clearance (current and transferable).
• Proven experience as a Product Owner, Product Manager, or similar role within Defence, Aerospace, or secure government environments.
• Strong experience delivering cloud hosting platforms and cloud-based services.
• Demonstrable experience managing the full product lifecycle from requirements gathering through to release and continuous improvement.
• Strong understanding of Agile delivery methodologies, including Scrum.
• Experience managing and prioritising product backlogs and roadmaps.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to engage senior business and technical audiences.
• Understanding of cloud integration, platform services, and enterprise-scale cloud environments.
• Experience working with security, compliance, and governance requirements within regulated environments.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

Desirable Experience

• Experience with AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Knowledge of hybrid and multi-cloud strategies.
• Understanding of cloud governance, FinOps, and service catalogues.
• Familiarity with SQL, Python, or other development technologies.
• Experience managing medium-sized technical delivery teams.
• Knowledge of enterprise architecture frameworks and cloud transformation programmes.

Desirable Certifications

• AWS, Azure, or GCP Professional Certifications
• ITIL Foundation
• CISSP or equivalent security certification
• TOGAF
• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or a related discipline

Key Attributes

• Strategic thinker with strong commercial awareness.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to operate effectively in complex stakeholder environments.
• Passion for delivering customer-focused technology solutions.
• Strong leadership and influencing skills.
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced, mission-critical programmes.

Please note: Active SC Clearance is mandatory for this position and candidates must be eligible to work onsite in Reading three days per week.