Product Owner - e::Software Platform (m/f/d)

Evident Technology Center Europe GmbH (ETCE), based in Münster, Germany, has been developing and producing intelligent software and hardware solutions for microscopy as a global "Center of Excellence" for over 35 years. Originally, ETCE was part of Olympus Corporation. Olympus spun off the business unit in April 2022 and transferred the business activities of its Scientific Solutions division to the newly founded, independent company Evident.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Evident employs around 4,500 people at a total of 57 locations worldwide, where it develops, produces and distributes Olympus brand products and is constantly expanding its product portfolio. Evident offers a wide range of microscopy systems for clinical diagnostics, life science research and industrial applications. In addition, Evident develops and produces videoscopes, products for non-destructive material testing and devices for X-ray fluorescence analysis.

Serving both streams is the e:: Platform Team: a horizontal foundation team that builds and owns the shared C++ and Rust software components that every product team builds on. The e:: Platform is not a project within a stream — it is the foundation beneath all of them, and its quality, stability, and developer-friendliness directly determine how fast and reliably the whole organisation can ship.

Tasks

• Own and continuously refine the goals and technical roadmap for components of the unified Microscopy Software Platform, ensuring alignment with the global platform strategy and the needs of vertical product teams.
• Lead the consolidation of two existing software platforms (mainly based on C++, Java) into the new unified platform (C++/Rust), managing the migration path, legacy compatibility considerations, and stakeholder expectations throughout the transition.
• Elicit, analyze, and structure requirements from multiple stakeholders – including the global platform director and software managers, product owners for individual microscopy products, and software architects – and translate them into clear, prioritized backlog items (epics, features, user stories, acceptance criteria).
• Manage and maintain the platform product backlog: define, prioritize, and continuously refine backlog items in close collaboration with the scrum development team, balancing new feature development, technical platform improvements, and technical debt reduction.
• Understand and potentially develop high-level software architecture concepts as a basis for backlog discussions with the software architects
• Collaborate closely with software architects and engineers to evaluate technical feasibility, architectural implications, and component reusability, ensuring backlog items reflect sound technical decisions and support the platform’s long-term scalability and sustainability.
• Prepare sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives as the Product Owner within the scrum framework; provide timely decisions and clarification to unblock the development team during sprints and to ensure that the top priority items will be discussed and moved forward.
• Monitor and evaluate platform performance, adoption metrics, and user feedback; derive actionable insights to continuously improve the platform’s quality, coverage, and usability.
• Ensure platform components are well-documented, stable, and easy for product teams to integrate

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in software development/design/architecture of complex systems or software platforms
• Experience in product development, product ownership, requirements engineering in a software-intensive environment with a demonstrable track record of delivering complex technical software products enrich your profile
• Prior experience in the microscopy, life sciences, or scientific instrumentation domain is highly welcome.
• Experience in international and intercultural projects and communication settings with fluent written and spoken English skills
• Technical software literacy: Deep understanding of software architecture, design and platform principles to evaluate technical trade-offs and engage meaningfully with software architects and developers. Familiarity with concepts such as modularity, component reuse, versioning, and software integration patterns is expected.
• Microscopy application knowledge: sufficient understanding of microscope workflows including image acquisition, device and hardware control, image processing and analysis, data storage, and result sharing. The ability to speak credibly with domain experts, evaluate the relevance of platform features for specific applications, and anticipate user needs is essential.
• Structured thinking and analytical capability: Ability to decompose complex problems systematically, model requirements at the right level of abstraction, and structure the backlog in a way that is coherent, traceable, and strategically sound. Experience with requirements modeling techniques (use cases, user stories, acceptance criteria, process flows) is required.
• Stakeholder management and collaboration: Strong interpersonal and communication skills to align diverse stakeholders – including senior management, technical architects, and product teams – around a shared platform vision. Skilled at facilitating workshops, resolving conflicting priorities diplomatically, and building trusted relationships across organizational boundaries.
• Business sense and value orientation: Ability to evaluate platform investments from a business perspective, articulate the ROI of platform components in terms of development efficiency, time-to-market, and product quality, and make prioritization decisions that reflect both short-term delivery needs and long-term strategic value.
• Agile / Scrum proficiency: Thorough understanding and practical application of the Scrum framework, including backlog management, sprint ceremonies, definition of done, and velocity-based planning. Experience working with tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or comparable agile project management platforms.
• Fluent professional communication in English (written and spoken); proficiency in additional languages, particularly German and/or Japanese, is an advantage.

Benefits

• Flexible working hours, incl. mobile work
• 30 days of holiday time each year
• 13 salaries a year
• Regular training courses
• Extensive company pension scheme
• Job bike
• Preventive healthcare, free beverages & fresh fruit and vegetables daily
• Joint company events and activities
• Interesting, diversified field of activity in an international working environment

Evident Europe GmbH is an equal opportunities employer and we look forward to receiving your application.