Product Owner – Hardware Solutions

Work with cutting edge technology, making the world a safer and more secure place. DroneShield (ASX:DRO) offers an opportunity to solve some of the world’s most challenging technical problems in Electronic Warfare, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, RF sensing, Sensor Fusion and distributed systems. Working with high profile customers across militaries, government agencies, airports, critical infrastructure, law enforcement and many others.

With one of the largest listed defence company market capitalisations in Australia and having raised approximately $250m in 2024 alone, DroneShield is undergoing hypergrowth stage, fuelled by rapidly increasing use of drones for nefarious applications, from battlefield, to terrorism, to contraband delivery and commercial espionage.

This role is in the DroneShield Sydney headquarters in Sydney HQ. There are approximately 350 staff based in the 4,000sqm facility today, scheduled to grow to approximately 400 staff by end of 2025. Overseas on the ground presence includes USA, Denmark, Mexico, and UAE, as well as distributors in over 70 countries globally.

About the role

We are seeking a highly capable Product Owner for Hardware Solutions to play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering advanced hardware-enabled systems. This role demands both strong product ownership experience and a solid foundation in electrical hardware or systems development, enabling you to bridge technical engineering with product strategy.

You will guide products through their full lifecycle—from conception and design to launch and sustainment—while collaborating closely with Product Managers, engineering teams, and executive leadership. Ideal candidates will bring experience from defence or startup environments, where adaptability, rigor, and execution speed are essential.

Reporting directly to the VP of Products, this position offers an outstanding opportunity for a results-driven individual to thrive in a rewarding, fast-growing, and mission-driven market.

Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations

- Product Vision & Strategy: Support definition with Product Managers and communicate the product vision and strategy in alignment with company goals to technical staff during sprints and when supporting requirement development with system engineering teams.

- Roadmap Development: Support of refinement of product roadmap that outlines key milestones and deliverables, ensuring it reflects the overall business strategy.

- Backlog Management: Prioritise and manage the product backlog, ensuring that the most valuable features are delivered to customers based on understanding of most common user case studies.

- Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate with key stakeholders, including the CTO/CPO, VP of Products, VP of Embedded Systems, Product Managers, Project Managers, Systems Engineers, Sales Executive Directors, and Developers to gather requirements, define product features, and ensure alignment with business objectives.

- Business Strategy Alignment: Understand the company’s business strategy, end user needs to ensure alignment in product design execution.

- User Stories & Acceptance Criteria: Familiarise and support writing of clear and concise user stories and acceptance criteria to guide the development team.

- Product Launch: Support product launches, including beta testing, user feedback collection, and go-to-market strategies.

- Performance Monitoring: Support monitoring of product performance and user feedback to drive continuous improvement.

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

- 5+ years of Product Manager or Product Owner experience (must).

- 2–5 years in hardware development or systems development of hardware (strongly preferred)

- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or a related field.

- Skills:

- Strong understanding of software and hardware development processes.

- Understanding of requirements and requirement derivation / allocation

- Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

- Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.

- Proficiency in project ownership tools and methodologies.

- Strong understanding of business strategy and how to align product development with business goals.

- Familiarity with executing trade studies and providing recommendations that support the business needs and goals.

- Familiarity working with external suppliers.

- Attributes:

- Passionate about technology and innovation.

- Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

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