National Oceanography Centre
Digital Product Owner
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Digital Product Owner
Digital Product Owner
Location Southampton or Liverpool | Function Digital Science | Group Software Engineering & Artificial Intelligence | Salary £43,703 - £47,941 | Duration Permanent (Full-time: 37 hours per week)
About the National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is the UK’s leading institution for integrated coastal and deep ocean research. Combining ground-breaking research, collaboration, and innovation, we aim to reduce global challenges through ocean science, underpinning policy, business, and societal outcomes.
Our mission:
- Harness the ocean’s solutions to social, economic, and environmental challenges.
- Place ocean research, science, and discovery at the heart of our culture.
- Democratise critical environmental data to empower every living thing on the planet.
We are a vibrant community united by a mission beyond profit—delivering impact through collaboration and discovery.
About the Role
Digital Product Owner (Permanent, Band 6)
Location: Southampton or Liverpool
The NOC is seeking a Digital Product Owner to lead the vision and delivery of transformative software and infrastructure. This project sits at the intersection of environmental science and AI innovation, enabling researchers worldwide to democratise access to massive datasets.
Your responsibilities include:
- Drive the strategic direction of digital tools leveraging AI to compress, process, and analyse environmental data at unprecedented scales—without heavy computational demands.
- Collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team of Research Software Engineers, AI Scientists, User Research, and Product Designers to align complex scientific needs with technical feasibility and usability.
- Facilitate design thinking and agile methodologies to shape backlogs, manage stakeholder expectations, and deliver the highest-quality software and AI capabilities.
- Champion a user-centric culture, ensuring our oceanographic tools are accessible, intuitive, and impactful for a global community.
This is a mission-driven opportunity to merge cutting-edge technology, sustainability, and product leadership—advancing ocean science to tackle global challenges while shaping a tech-for-good legacy.
Key Responsibilities
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Define Product Vision:
- Translate scientific challenge into a clear, actionable product strategy.
- Set measurable outcomes, prioritising deliverables to support global sustainability goals.
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Collaborate Across Disciplines:
- Bridge the gap between researchers, engineers, and stakeholders to align on technical constraints and user needs.
- Use design thinking and data-driven insights to guide decision-making.
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Backlog Management:
- Define, prioritise, and refine the product backlog based on user feedback, technical feasibility, and business value.
- Ensure shifts in scope are handled agilely and transparently.
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Stakeholder Engagement:
- Maintain strong partnerships with international scientists, policymakers, and users.
- Drive product democratisation—ensure technology is inclusive and scales responsibly.
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Tech-for-Good & Impact:
- Actively demonstrate legacy and impact throughout delivery cycles, ensuring social impact is central to work.
- Advocate for accessible, ethical, and scalable solutions in response to climate change.
About You
Essential Requirements
- A degree-level qualification (or equivalent experience) in product management, computer science, data science, or a related field.
- Proven track record of leading complex digital projects through full delivery cycles (conception to scaling).
- Exceptional problem-solving skills with the ability to:
- Turn ambiguous scientific challenges into clear product strategies.
- Work cross-functionally with researchers, engineers, and development teams.
- Strong ability to collaborate empathetically; fostering inclusivity and open dialogue.
- Experience in AI/ML-driven product optimisation or research tools, with a deep understanding of data sizing/compression and scalability needs.
- Demonstrated commitment to user-centric design principles.
Desirable Requirements
- Experience working in environmental science, data-intensive domains, or academic research is advantageous.
- Knowledge of AI model deployments, large-scale data infrastructure, or deep learning pipelines.
- Familiarity with cloud, distributed systems, or big data tools.
- Certifications in Agile Product Ownership, Scrum, or Design Thinking.
Values Alignment
We seek candidates whose values align with our purpose: democratising ocean data to empower the planet. Key traits we prioritise:
- A mission-driven mindset focused on social impact over commercial profits.
- Openness to learning about Emerging fields in oceanographic AI.
- Passion for bridging gaps between scientific curiosity and technological capability.
Benefits
Join us in a role that merges product innovation, global sustainability, and science-driven leadership—with a supportive workplace focused on flexibility, growth, and furthering ocean discovery. Our benefits include:
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Hybrid Work Model:
- Typically 3 days in-office, with flexible arrangements (up to 2 WFH days/week).
- Officer-side: 40 EV charging points (with on-site parking) or cycle parking in Southampton.
- University campus in Liverpool with short walks to city centre/Lime Street.
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Workplace Culture & Growth:
- Summer and Christmas team celebrations, plus diverse social events.
- Lifelong Learning: Access to conferences and training sessions.
- Living Wage Employer commitment.
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Financial & Wellbeing Benefits:
- 10% employer pension contribution (save 15% on tax/eke incluso of NI).
- £3M Death in Service coverage from day one.
- Flexible Benefits Portal with discounts, cashback, and cycle-to-work scheme.
- Employee Assistance Programme for mental, physical, and financial support.
How the Role Climbs Impact
- Scaling the seas of data: Directly bridges gaps in sustainability analysis, climate modelling, and user accessibility that scale worldwide.
- Experimenting with AI/ML: Contribute to forefront of software as a catalyst for breakthrough research.
- posable role model: Indirectly inspire fellow practitioners in ethical and scalable AI adoption.
How to Apply
Submission Requirements:
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Upload CV/portfolio (where applicable) and a cover letter.
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Address the Application Question (max 300 words):
‘Describe a product you owned—from initial discovery to scaling. Explain: Vision-setting, backlog prieties, collaboration with dev teams. Methods for *stakeholder alignment, scope changes, and metrics-based optimisation.’ Focus on where your role added value—what wouldn’t have been possible without you?’
Closing Date: 30 July 2026 (no CV-only submissions accepted).
Web Portal: *apply via *NOC Careers Portal
Additional Contact:
For support on applications, disability declarations, or flexible working requests:
- Email: careers@noc.ac.uk
- Phone: +44 (0) 7955 851648
Diversity, Inclusion & Guaranteed Interview
We are committed to fostering a diverse and equitable work environment. Applications are assessed by qualifications, skills, and experience only—not by age, gender, race, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic.
Guaranteed interview scheme: If you fulfil basic role requirements and declare any impairment/disability, we’ll guarantee a step in the preliminary interview.
Join us and lead where oceanic truth meets technological vision.
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