Product Owner
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Benchmark Analytics
Chicago, IL, US
Summary
Own a specific product surface end-to-end, producing engineering-ready specifications and managing scope and priority. Partner with engineering trios to deliver features and drive post-launch adoption through user feedback and iteration.
Job Description
The Role:
We are looking for a Product Owner who will take full ownership of a defined product surface within our platform — whether that is shared infrastructure, a new product being built from scratch, a specialized law enforcement workflow, or a data-driven analytics experience. You will work as a trio alongside a lead engineer and a junior engineer, using our AI-augmented software development lifecycle to deliver at a pace that traditionally required much larger teams. This is not a traditional product manager role: you own scope, priority, and delivery accountability in one seat, and you produce complete, engineering-ready specifications that your engineering pair can build from directly.
Responsibilities:
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Own your product surface end to end — deciding what gets built, when it ships, and how it serves your users or consuming teams, with full accountability for scope, priority, and quality
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Produce engineering-ready specifications for all features — complete user flows, visual designs, data requirements, edge cases, and acceptance criteria — using AI tools as a core part of your workflow; engineering builds from your specifications directly, without ambiguity about what the experience should be
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Make priority decisions and defend them — customer success, sales, and leadership will bring you requests; you decide which enter the roadmap and which don’t, with clear reasoning and transparent communication
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Maintain deep fluency with your customers — whether they are law enforcement practitioners, agency administrators, internal platform consumers, or data science teams — through direct engagement, user research, and ongoing relationship-building
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Conduct or commission user research as needed — interviews, usability testing, workflow observation, product analytics review — and engage internal subject matter experts to ground product decisions in direct evidence rather than assumptions
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Partner directly with your engineering pair as a trio; bring clarity on what to build and why while they bring clarity on how to build it and what is feasible
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Own post-launch adoption and feedback — evangelize new capabilities, train internal teams, track feature adoption, gather user feedback, maintain documentation, and iterate based on real-world usage rather than handing off after launch
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Support enterprise sales conversations with substantive product and domain knowledge when needed — not just feature lists, but the depth that builds customer confidence
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Leverage AI tools and technologies across all aspects of your work — research, specification, design, analysis, prototyping, and documentation
Requirements:
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5+ years of professional experience in product management, technical product management, engineering, design, or another role where you owned both the what and the how of a product or technical surface
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Demonstrated ability to produce engineering-ready specifications — not just PRDs or user stories, but complete specifications including visual designs, user flows, data requirements, and acceptance criteria that engineering can build from directly
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Fluency with AI-assisted workflows; you already use AI tools daily in your professional work and can demonstrate how they accelerate your output and raise the quality of your work
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Strong written and verbal communication; you write clearly enough that engineers can build from your documents and customers or stakeholders can understand your roadmap
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Experience working directly with engineering teams in an agile or continuous-delivery environment as a genuine partner, not just a requirements source
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Strong analytical and quantitative skills — you think in terms of evidence, tradeoffs, and measurable outcomes; you use data to frame problems, evaluate options, and build the case for decisions
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Ability to synthesize information from multiple sources — customer feedback, user research, internal expertise, data, competitive context — into clear product direction and actionable plans
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Comfort with ambiguity and incomplete information; you make decisions with the data available rather than waiting for certainty
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Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience working in a software development environment
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Intellectually curious self-starter who proactively identifies problems and opportunities without waiting to be asked
Preferred Qualifications:
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Experience with formal user research methods — interviews, usability testing, workflow observation, product analytics
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Experience in law enforcement, public safety, or govtech domains
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Experience with products that serve regulated industries or specialized professional audiences where domain credibility matters
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Strong visual and interaction design skills — the ability to design clear, effective information displays and workflows, not just describe them
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Technical fluency sufficient to participate in architecture conversations — you understand tradeoffs in data models, API design, and system integration
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Experience taking a product from zero to one, not just iterating on an established product
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Experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred), modern web development stacks, and CI/CD practices
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Experience working in an early- to growth-stage startup environment
What We Offer:
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A competitive salary and benefits package.
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Unlimited Paid Time Off.
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Ability to work in a fully remote environment (must be based in the U.S. and willing to work in Central Time Zone).
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Summer Half-Day Fridays.
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Freed Up Fridays during Spring, Fall, and Winter months to promote productivity and dedicated heads-down work time.
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Medical, dental, and vision plan offerings along with 401(k).
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Employer-paid Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, and Life Insurance.
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Other Voluntary Benefits include additional Life Insurance, Spouse Life Insurance, and Accident Insurance.
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The satisfaction that comes with being part of a solution that has real impact in the world.
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A diverse workforce and inclusive environment that embraces unique contributions and experiences.
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An empowered culture that encourages creativity and professional growth.
Estimated Annual Salary Range:
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100k-160k; based on role, experience, and location
Additional Information:
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Benchmark Analytics is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity of all kinds in our effort to create a stellar workforce of committed and passionate team members.
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Unfortunately, we are not able to sponsor employment visas at this time, so we can only accept applications from candidates who are authorized to work in the U.S.
Benchmark Analytics® was founded by a group of dedicated professionals with years of experience in law enforcement — along with deep expertise in the power of Data Science, evidence-based research and advanced technology for developing solutions proven to evolve personnel management in modern policing.
With Benchmark Management System® (BMS), we close the current knowledge gaps in the marketplace by tracking, organizing and analyzing all data points associated with a police department’s sworn and non-sworn officers. We work with agencies to develop a comprehensive, top-to-bottom police force management system.
First Sign® Early Intervention is the only research-based, data science-driven EIS in policing available today. First Sign leverages the world’s largest officer performance database with over 20 million records — developed in collaboration with the University of Chicago to deliver the most effective tool to identify off-track officer behavior. First Sign goes well beyond standard early warning systems by establishing benchmarks that more accurately identify levels of at-risk behavior . . . alerting you to the real need of intervention and officer support.
Our Care Action Response Engine® (C.A.R.E) platform helps supervisors develop a deliberate, meaningful plan of action to help officers who have fallen off track get back on track — and out of C.A.R.E.
Our mission is to transform police force management through an all-in-one, data management and early intervention system that provides a holistic view of every officer — in police departments of every size.
Founded
2017
Company size
51-200 employees
Industry
Law Enforcement
Org type
Privately Held
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
Benchmark Analytics® was founded by a group of dedicated professionals with years of experience in law enforcement — along with deep expertise in the power of Data Science, evidence-based research and advanced technology for developing solutions proven to evolve personnel management in modern policing.
With Benchmark Management System® (BMS), we close the current knowledge gaps in the marketplace by tracking, organizing and analyzing all data points associated with a police department’s sworn and non-sworn officers. We work with agencies to develop a comprehensive, top-to-bottom police force management system.
First Sign® Early Intervention is the only research-based, data science-driven EIS in policing available today. First Sign leverages the world’s largest officer performance database with over 20 million records — developed in collaboration with the University of Chicago to deliver the most effective tool to identify off-track officer behavior. First Sign goes well beyond standard early warning systems by establishing benchmarks that more accurately identify levels of at-risk behavior . . . alerting you to the real need of intervention and officer support.
Our Care Action Response Engine® (C.A.R.E) platform helps supervisors develop a deliberate, meaningful plan of action to help officers who have fallen off track get back on track — and out of C.A.R.E.
Our mission is to transform police force management through an all-in-one, data management and early intervention system that provides a holistic view of every officer — in police departments of every size.
Founded
2017
Company size
51-200 employees
Industry
Law Enforcement
Org type
Privately Held
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois