Senior Technical Product Owner, Technology Platforms

We are looking for a Senior Technical Product Owner, Technology Platforms to help shape and deliver the future of digital banking platforms in Canada. This role owns a multi-quarter platform roadmap and backlog, translating business and technical strategy into clear, prioritized, and actionable work for delivery teams. You will work closely with engineering, architecture, risk, security, and operations partners to ensure platforms are secure, scalable, resilient, and aligned with enterprise and regulatory expectations. At Manulife Bank Technology, we are reimagining digital banking with a cloud-first mindset, agile delivery practices, and a strong focus on customer outcomes. Millions of Canadians rely on the platforms we build, and we prioritize reliability, performance, and continuous improvement. Position Responsibilities: Own and manage a multi-quarter platform roadmap and backlog aligned to business outcomes and technology strategy. Partner with business and technology stakeholders to understand needs and translate them into epics, features, and user stories. Act as a strong voice of the customer, driving value-based prioritization and active backlog management. Collaborate with engineering leaders, architects, SRE, and risk and regulatory partners to align priorities and manage dependencies. Define clear functional and non-functional requirements, including measurable success criteria such as reliability, resiliency, performance, cost-to-serve, and reduction in operational toil. Provide technical leadership to delivery teams by clarifying requirements, addressing dependencies, and removing delivery blockers. Support vendor evaluation and partnerships, ensuring external deliveries meet agreed quality, integration, and security standards. Continuously identify improvement opportunities through data, workflow, and market analysis. Required qualifications: 5 or more years of experience in a Technical Product Owner, Platform Owner, or Technical Program Manager role. Experience owning and prioritizing platform backlogs and roadmaps in Agile or SAFe environments. Demonstrated ability to translate non-functional requirements into actionable work with measurable outcomes. Strong collaboration skills with engineers and architects to shape technical solutions and delivery plans. Strong analytical, problem-solving, and documentation skills. Experience using product and delivery tools such as Jira and Confluence (or equivalent). Preferred qualifications: Experience in financial services, technology consulting, or digital product organizations. Familiarity with AI-enabled or low-code/no-code development tools (for example, Microsoft Copilot Studio or GitHub Copilot). Agile or SAFe certifications (e.g., CSPO, SAFe POPM). Knowledge of software architecture concepts or certifications (e.g., TOGAF). Comfort working in environments with some ambiguity and evolving priorities. When you join our team: We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want. We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words. As part of our ditributed team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see. The role being advertised is an existing vacancy. About Manulife and John Hancock Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html. Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law. It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact hr@manulife.com. Referenced Salary Location Waterloo, Ontario Working Arrangement Hybrid Salary range is expected to be between $113,000.00 CAD - $163,000.00 CAD Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact hr@manulife.com for the salary range for your location. Manulife offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence. If you are applying for this role in the U.S., please contact hr@manulife.com for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions. We use data and analytics technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and automated processing tools, to analyze and process the information you provide to us or third parties in the application process. For more information, please refer to our personal information collection statement. We're Manulife. And we’re on a mission to make decisions easier and lives better. Better is what drives us. It’s what inspires us to find new ways to support customers and colleagues in living longer and healthier lives. It’s the reason we’re dedicated to investing in digital innovation and accelerating a sustainable and economically inclusive future. Joining us means you’ll be empowered to learn and grow your career. We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words. And as part of our global team, you’ll help shape the future you want to see – and discover that better can take you anywhere you want to go. We’re proud of our accomplishments and recognitions. Recent awards include: 2024 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award Winner Manulife Named one of Forbes World’s Best Employers 2023 Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2023 We’ve been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers (2024) Manulife included in Bloomberg’s 2023 Gender-Equality Index To receive our latest job opportunities directly to your inbox, create an account or sign in and navigate to the ‘Job Alerts’ section located in the top right corner of the page. From there, you can sign up to receive job alerts. Our ambition is to be the most digital, customer-centric global company in our industry. Learn more at https://www.manulife.com/.