Product Owner – Agentic AI

In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow's possible.

Within the group, Thales Digital Solutions (TDS) is a technological innovation hub supporting all sectors of activity, both in the local Canadian market and internationally. Join us to contribute to the development of mission critical solutions. Our various cutting-edge projects use our expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Human Factors, Collaborative Autonomous Systems, Optimization, Knowledge Management, Cybersecurity and Design.

Role Summary

Our team carries out research and development (R&D) work to meet the needs of the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The projects focus on innovative digital solutions combining software development, systems integration, modern infrastructure, and generative artificial intelligence.

As part of accelerating our artificial intelligence initiatives, we want to develop a new generation of applications based on Agentic AI. These solutions go beyond traditional conversational assistants by allowing intelligent agents to analyze data, reason, make decisions, orchestrate complex workflows, and interact with multiple enterprise systems autonomously and securely.

We are looking for a Product Owner specialized in generative AI and Agentic AI to join our team in Quebec City, specializing in knowledge management. Our multidisciplinary team focuses on data collection, transformation, and enrichment. Our projects involve the definition and deployment of automated processing chains to make data accessible to users. With the support of our data scientists, the team designs, trains, and integrates artificial intelligence models, including generative AI (GenAI) based on large language models (LLMs), to improve data analysis. Our team also uses AI and machine learning (ML) concepts to increase analysis efficiency.

Essential Functions

The person holding the Product Owner position specialized in AI for defense will play a key role in understanding user and operational needs for topics applied to the defense domain. The person must be able to establish a product or service vision addressing these needs to feed product development teams focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions. The person occupying this position will contribute to strategic projects aimed at improving operational efficiency, decision support, and the automation of complex processes in environments where security, reliability, and traceability are essential. This person must be autonomous, curious, and comfortable in the fields of defense, software, AI, and R&D. They will work with clients, defense domain experts, architects, and software, data, and AI engineers.

The person occupying this position will have experience in the defense environment, either from the industry side and/or in uniform.

This person is part of a multidisciplinary team. A strong team spirit and teamwork skills are mandatory.

The ideal job holder is therefore able to demonstrate transversal skills that facilitate the transfer of work done to all stakeholders involved. Therefore, good communication skills are required.

Responsibilities of the Product Owner in Agentic AI:

• Act as a technical Product Owner between business users, defense domain experts, and AI development teams.
• Analyze operational needs, use cases, and business objectives to identify opportunities for value creation using GenAI, Agentic AI, and ML technologies.
• Define and maintain the product vision, roadmap, and priorities based on strategic objectives and user needs.
• Work closely with data and AI engineers to better understand a use case, a need, and an AI application potential by crossing operational needs, data, and AI.
• Translate business, technical, and contractual requirements into epics and user stories, then manage and prioritize the product backlog.
• Collaborate closely with developers, architects, AI experts, and stakeholders to ensure feasibility, consistency, and a common understanding of solutions.
• Contribute to the design and evolution of AI solutions by participating in functional and technological decisions.
• Define acceptance criteria, supervise the quality of deliverables, and participate in the functional validation of solutions.
• Ensure tracking of delivery, risks, product performance, and communicate progress, decisions, and orientations to stakeholders.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience as a Product Owner, technical Scrum Master, Team Lead, senior Business Analyst, or in an equivalent role within complex technological environments.
• Experience in the defense environment: land, air, naval; intelligence, logistics.
• Demonstrated experience in collecting, analyzing, and translating business needs and user requirements into technological solutions.
• Experience in defining and managing digital products, including writing epics, user stories, acceptance criteria, and backlog prioritization.
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams including developers, architects, domain experts, and stakeholders.
• Good understanding of data technologies, artificial intelligence, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), and machine learning (ML).
• Ability to analyze operational processes, define use cases, and translate complex technical concepts into business value.
• Mastery of Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, or SAFe) as well as product management tools such as Jira.
• Excellent communication skills, influential leadership, and technical popularization.
• Fluency in French and English, both orally and in writing.

This position requires a good knowledge of English to interact, support, and/or provide services to international clients, employees, and/or partners as well as foreign government authorities who do not speak French.

Desirable Qualifications

• Practical experience in application development, services, or other software solutions.
• Experience with C2IS (command and control information systems) and any service/function related to intelligence, data processing (ISR), planning, situational awareness (SA).
• Experience in the naval field (civilian or defense) at the maintenance and in-service support level.
• Experience and knowledge of AI/ML, GenAI, and Agentic AI technologies.
• Experience in data analysis.
• Experience in defense, maritime, naval, industrial, or mission-critical environments constitutes a significant asset.
• Intellectual curiosity and ability to drive complex projects in a fast-evolving environment.

Physical Requirements

This position may require the employee to set up equipment and conduct field experiments in an outdoor environment.

This position requires direct or indirect access to hardware, software or technical information controlled under the Canadian Export Control List, the Canadian Controlled Goods Program, the Canadian Industrial Security Program, the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR). All applicants must be eligible or able to obtain authorization for such access including eligibility to the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and able to obtain a Canadian NATO Secret clearance.

Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 24 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following:

• Company paid Extended Health, Dental, HSA, Life, AD&D, Short-term Disability, travel insurance, Employee Assistance Plan and Well-Being program.
• Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP, DCPP, TFSA) with a company contribution and a match to a DCPP, with no vesting period.
• Company paid holidays, vacation days, and paid sick leave.
• Voluntary Life, AD&D, Critical Illness, Long-Term Disability.
• Employee Discounts on insurance (home, and auto).

Thales is an equal opportunity employer which values diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Thales is committed to providing accommodations in all parts of the interview process. Applicants selected for an interview who require accommodation are asked to advise accordingly upon the invitation for an interview. We will work with you to meet your needs. All accommodation information provided will be treated as confidential and used only for the purpose of providing an accessible candidate experience.

This position requires direct or indirect access to hardware, software or technical information controlled under the Canadian Export Control List, the Canadian Controlled Goods Program, the Canadian Industrial Security Program, the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR). All applicants must be eligible or able to obtain authorization for such access including eligibility to the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and able to obtain a Canadian NATO Secret clearance.