Technical Product Owner in Reading

About XPS Group: XPS Group is a prominent and growing UK consultancy and administration firm within the pensions and insurance sectors. As a FTSE 250 company with over 2000 employees, we leverage expertise alongside advanced technology to serve over 1,400 pension schemes and their sponsors. Our goal is to foster a workplace where diverse talents thrive.

About the Role: XPS Group IT provides IT services to all XPS offices located across the UK and Ireland. This role sits within the IT Development and Delivery team (part of XPS IT); a centralised technical team that specialises in the management and maintenance of the core software used to deliver pension services to XPS customers and clients. We develop software in-house that we can tune to our own processes to give ourselves a competitive advantage. We run a development team that is focused on pragmatic approaches to real business needs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Technical Product & Solution Leadership: Own the end-to-end product lifecycle for the Aurora platform, from discovery through to delivery and live service operation. Provide technical oversight of solution direction, ensuring all designs align with defined principles including: Azure-first, Serverless-first, API-first and event-driven integration. Act as a design checkpoint for engineering teams, validating that proposed solutions follow agreed Azure reference patterns and avoid unnecessary complexity or technical debt. Collaborate with developers to shape solutions while ensuring consistency across the platform.
• Azure Architecture Alignment: Maintain strong working knowledge of Azure services and ensure their appropriate use, including: API Management, Azure Functions / App Services, and Service Bus / event-driven patterns. Enforce standard integration, security, and data access patterns. Work with external or internal architecture support (where required) to ensure alignment to wider enterprise standards.
• DevOps & Delivery Model Ownership: Own and evolve the Azure DevOps delivery process, including: backlog structure and refinement, flow optimisation, and release and deployment practices. Ensure all solutions are deployable via CI/CD pipelines, observable and supportable in production. Drive improvements in delivery predictability, quality, and speed.
• Non-Functional Requirements & Quality: Define and own non-functional requirements, including: performance and scalability, resilience and availability, security and auditability, and cost efficiency within Azure. Validate that delivered solutions meet both functional and non-functional expectations before release.
• Stakeholder & Domain Translation: Work with SMEs, operations, and compliance teams to understand business requirements. Translate complex regulatory and process requirements into clear, implementable delivery items. Ensure regulatory and audit obligations are embedded within solutions.
• Performance & Continuous Improvement: Define and monitor key delivery metrics, including: lead time for change, deployment frequency, and defect rates and rework. Drive continuous improvement across engineering and delivery practices.

Your Profile:

Essential:

• Proven experience as a Product Owner, Technical Product Manager, or similar role within a software engineering environment.
• Strong experience working with Microsoft Azure-based solutions, including practical understanding of cloud-native and serverless architectures.
• Experience working in Agile delivery teams, with ownership of backlog management and delivery outcomes.
• Demonstrable ability to shape and challenge technical solutions in collaboration with engineering teams.
• Experience working with Azure DevOps (or similar tools) for backlog management, release tracking, and delivery governance.
• Experience delivering solutions within regulated or data-sensitive environments (e.g., financial services, pensions, insurance).

Desirable:

• Experience working with API-led and event-driven architectures, and Azure services such as API Management, Functions, and Service Bus.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines and release management.
• Experience in platform modernisation or legacy system transformation programmes.
• Understanding of data-driven systems (e.g. SQL Server or similar).
• Experience within pensions or financial services (desirable but not essential).
• Exposure to integration with third-party platforms or enterprise systems.

What We Offer: Enjoy a competitive salary, annual discretionary bonus, and 25 days' holiday with buy/sell flexibility. Benefits include pension matching, healthcare plans, life assurance, and retailer discounts. We support our team with a flexible benefits scheme, employee assistance, and digital GP service. Participating in volunteering events is encouraged with paid volunteer days available. Referral bonuses are offered for introducing suitable candidates to XPS.

How to Apply: Interested candidates should submit applications via Apply Now option or contact for more information. Join XPS Group and contribute to a dynamic and inclusive workplace.

Equal Opportunities Statement: XPS Group is committed to diversity and equal opportunities. We welcome applications from all candidates, irrespective of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or belief. As a Disability Confident employer, we ensure accessible and supportive work settings for all employees.

Eligibility: Any employment offer made will be conditional upon you satisfying DBS Disclosure checks, Employment or educational references, Satisfactory credit checks and eligibility to work in the UK before an offer can be made. XPS Group is not able to provide sponsorship to employees.