Product Owner - KSB Customer Suite

KSB is a leading supplier of pumps, valves and related service. Our reliable, high-efficiency products are used in applications wherever fluids need to be transported or shut off, covering everything from building services,industry and water transport to waste water treatment, power plant processes and mining. Founded in 1871 in Frankenthal, Germany, the company has a presence on all continents with its own sales and marketing organisations and manufacturing facilities. Around the globe, more than 190 service centres and around 3,500 service specialists are on hand to provide local inspection, servicing, maintenance and repair services under the KSB SupremeServ brand. Innovative technology that is the fruit of KSB’s research and development activities forms the basis for the company’s success.
People. Passion. Performance. It is these three success factors that make KSB the company it is today.
At KSB, we recognise that it is people who actually make the difference – the people we employ and the people we serve. This is why we are committed to equal rights and treatment worldwide and never lose sight of the aspects ecology and sustainability when manufacturing our products.

Overview:

The Product Owner is at the forefront of KSB North America's strategic initiative to revolutionize customer engagement through the digital KSB Customer Portal suite. This role is integral to the growth strategy of KSB in North America, focusing on creating an outstanding and innovative platform that will serve as a pivotal hub for customer interactions. The customer portal aims to streamline processes such as product and parts selection, inventory viewing, order placement, know-how transfer, and access to KSB services making it a vital tool for enhancing customer satisfaction and driving business growth.

The Product Owner will lead the charge in defining the product vision for the Customer Suite, developing and optimizing this platform, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams—including IT, sales, marketing, and product management—to ensure the portal meets and exceeds customer expectations. This role will drive higher sales efficiency and reduce transaction times by delivering portal's ability to offer personalized recommendations, facilitate cross-selling and up-selling, and improve customer support to directly contribute to increased sales performance and revenue growth for KSB in North America. By transforming how customers interact with KSB, this role will help position the company as a leader in digital solutions within the industry.

Location: Richmond, VA – United States (Remote/Hybrid)

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Define and implement the product vision for the customer portal, aligning with market demands, customer expectations, and business objectives of the KSB market segments, and including the aftermarket business.

• Lead the product development roadmap for the portal, prioritizing releases, features and enhancements based on customer feedback, market trends, and business priorities.

• Create and maintain intuitive, user-friendly and state of the art user interfaces and optimize the user experience of the partner portal.

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, such as sales managers, the product portfolio manager, and external customers to gather requirements, solicit feedback, and ensure alignment with stakeholders' needs.

• Work closely with IT teams and external vendors to oversee the development, testing, and deployment of portal features and functionalities.

• Manage the transition from existing customer-facing tools, and rollout of the new platform to all KSB companies of KSB North America.

• Respond to customer inquiries, troubleshoot common technical issues, assist with user onboarding, create and manage support tickets, and provide support to the sales organization.

• Assist in the onboarding process for new KSB partners, while maintaining close collaboration with the sales managers.

• Conduct user research, usability testing, and gather feedback through surveys, interviews, and observation. Continuously iterate on the partner portal based on user feedback, industry best practices, and data analytics and metrics to monitor portal performance. Report results to key stakeholders on a regular basis.

• Ensure the portal complies with relevant regulations and standards, including data privacy and security requirements, as well as KSB policies.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as Software Engineering, Computer Engineering or a related field is required. Certification in agile digital product management such as Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or Project Management Professional (PMP) is beneficial.

• Minimum 5 years of experience in digital product development: Proven experience in digital product development, or a similar role, ideally within the technology or industrial sectors.

• Ability to create wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes. Experience in prototyping tools like Figma, Familiarity with UX/UI design principles and frameworks.

• Proficiency in data analytics and the ability to use data to drive decisions and improvements.

• Strong project management skills to oversee the end-to-end development and optimization of the portal, particularly Scrum or Kanban.

• Experience in engaging and managing multiple stakeholders, including IT, sales, marketing, and customer service teams. Strong leadership and strategic thinking capabilities.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to collaborate with cross-functional teams and provide clear instructions and support to customers and partners.

• Ability to troubleshoot technical issues and provide effective solutions.

• A customer-centric mindset with the ability to understand and address customer needs and expectations.

Drug and background screens required. (EOE/M/F/D/V) Drug-Free Environment

KSB Group is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. KSB makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time. 

We value employees who take the initiative and are committed to our company; Employees who take responsibility and for whom business success is the focus of their actions. In return, we offer fair framework conditions for collective wages and pensions, flexible working time models, individual training opportunities and the best career prospects.