Product Owner
in minutes from over 15,000 CVs with the power of AIAccelerate your development cycle with experts in Scrum, Kanban, Jira, and product roadmap definition. FRATCH connects you with vetted, available freelancers who bridge the gap between business strategy and engineering execution.
Meet FRATCH Product Owners
Vadim Romanenko
Last position:
Senior Business Analyst – Digital Products & Risk at Deutsche Landesbank
- Analysis, structuring, and prioritization of complex business and stakeholder requirements for a business-critical limit and risk system.
- Translation of business requirements into backlog items, user stories, acceptance criteria, and end-to-end scenarios.
- Facilitation of structured workshops and refinements with business, development, and QA to clarify complex issues and derive actionable product and system requirements.
- Optimization of requirements, testing, and quality processes, including automation, data quality, and CI/CD-related workflows.
- Discovery and evaluation of AI/GenAI use cases in terms of user and business value, data basis, feasibility, and potential capability impact.
Ornel Franck Wora Yeno
Last position:
Purchasing Manager, Logistics & IT Manager at Onlinehandler
Proactive support of management in business field development & innovation management
New development of a suite of business applications for analyzing valuation, P&L, and market price risk data
Automation of all internal and external business and work processes
Development of AI-based and AI-supported ETL processes as well as data analysis
Business use-case development
Business and work process optimization
Enterprise architecture management
Sales data analysis and forecasting as well as capture
Inventory management & reordering
Supplier management and communication
Customs processing & clearance
Shipping handling & warehouse coordination
Interface management
Technologies used: Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Teams, JTL-Wawi, JTL-WMS, OTTO Partner Connect (OPC), Amazon Seller Central, DHL Global Forwarding, Jira, Draw.IO, Java (8,17,21,25), Jenkins, SonarQube, Git, Gitea, Spring Boot, Spring Batch, Vaadin, H2, PostgreSQL, Docker, Local LLMs, Postman, JasperSoft Studio, JasperReports
Chrisabel Prischl
Last position:
AI Systems & Product Strategy Expert at Webmeisterin
I build. I advise. I think in systems. After years leading digital transformation at scale — Accenture, BP, Lidl — I made a deliberate choice: trade platform dependency for structural independence. My focus is at the intersection of AI systems, product strategy, and venture thinking. I work with operators and founders who want to move fast without losing control — of their data, their stack, their direction.
Maciej Sawicki
Last position:
Product Owner at Bundesagentur für Arbeit
- As part of the project, the further development of the identity management system was driven forward. This included a comprehensive refactoring of the interfaces to the connected target systems. In addition, several special systems were successfully connected to the IAM to ensure end-to-end identity and authorization management.
- Technical design and solution proposals for IAM system development
- Requirements analysis and requirements management (IREB, BABOK)
- Alignment of the strategy with the future target architecture (TOGAF)
- Prototyping of solutions
- Documentation of requirements (Innovator)
- Analysis and documentation of requirements and creation of process models (UML, BPMN, ArchiMate)
- Modeling of requirements and system functionalities (OOA/OOD, UML)
- Further development of interfaces (SOAP, REST)
- Carrying out architecture reviews
Thomas Polanski
Last position:
Project Manager & Product Owner – M&A Integration at voxa c/o IC Music and Apparel GmbH
- Project management of the legal and system-side integration of Taschenkaufhaus into the Voxa group: conversion of all contracts, accounts, and system access rights on the defined cutover date
- Migration from Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 to 2013: analysis of all existing interfaces, redefinition of processes, and coordinated go-live without interrupting operations
- Integration of the complaints and returns process into MS Dynamics NAV 2013; major process simplification through standardization
- Introduction of a new POS system (Shopify POS) in all stores: requirements analysis, configuration, rollout, and employee training
- Use of n8n automation workflows for data reconciliation between marketplaces and ERP; manual processes significantly reduced
Thorsten Huber
Last position:
Product Owner, AI Manager at crazyALEX.de GmbH
Digitalization of real places with 3D/LiDAR scans to make spatial data usable for AI applications and derive concrete use cases and prototypes from it.
- Digital capture of real places as a basis for faster planning and analysis
- Browser-based access to 3D data for easier use and coordination
- Turning spatial data into concrete use cases, prototypes, and AI training scenarios
- Planning basis for urban development and other digital future applications
Keywords: LiDAR, 3D scan, AI, use cases, AI training, prototyping, Python, web development, data models, architecture
Chintan Padaliya
Last position:
Product Owner and Technical Product Lead at Sustamize GmbH
LLM-based features for automated CO₂e data extraction from unstructured documents (70% reduction)
Agentic AI pipeline for automated Scope 3 emissions calculation with 150,000+ validated data records
Smart API workflows for real-time carbon footprint calculations in ERP and ESG systems
ML algorithms to predict emission hotspots and optimize product design
Automated data validation pipelines with NLP for quality assurance of CO₂e datasets
Led a 15-person cross-functional team to develop 10+ AI features
Strategic product planning and AI roadmap with 35% shorter time to market
Stakeholder management with DAX companies (40% higher satisfaction, 95% retention)
On-time project delivery with 95% budget adherence through data-driven backlog management
Agile methods (Scrum, Kanban) with continuous AI/ML integration (25% team velocity increase)
Product-market fit for AI features through A/B testing and analytics (60% higher adoption rate)
Bruno Petrovic
Last position:
Product Owner
Concept and implementation of a unified-commerce platform for SMEs for selling and building multi-product bundles
Successes: On-time concept, delivery, and customer acceptance of a 100% functional, CPQ-based buy flow process for configuring and selling multi-product bundles within the given 90-day time frame. Successfully tested integration of various interface services for the following areas: customer search, customer data enrichment, address validation, service qualification, phone number validation, credit check, appointment selection, and quote-to-order transition.
Responsibilities:
- Strategic target delivery: deriving and implementing strategic customer goals (e.g. release content, business value).
- Backlog management: creating and refining backlog items (initiatives, epics, user stories, defects) in close coordination with the project team and customer.
- Prioritization & releases: responsibility for prioritizing the product backlog and delivering defined release goals.
- Deliverable tracking: tracking work results on both the supplier and customer side.
- Roadmap & release planning: developing and implementing roadmaps and release plans together with the customer.
- Scope responsibility: responsibility for the contractually agreed scope of services.
- Claim management: active claim and change management toward the customer.
- Team coordination: steering and coordinating the development team.
- Using synergies: making use of synergies between customer projects and product development.
- Offer preparation: preparing offers (with supervision) and presenting them on site to customers and partners.
Skills: development, communication, and implementation of product visions; product backlog management; stakeholder management; regular reporting to management and steering committees; requirements analysis & engineering; planning and documenting workshops; functional leadership and coordination of (distributed) project teams and external service providers; epic management; user story specifications; creating use cases, support with software tests and user acceptance testing (UAT); release management and sprint planning; design of target processes; process optimization; planning, concept, and specification of interfaces to existing and new systems; identification, assessment, and steering of project risks; active claim and change management; facilitation of sprint planning and reviews; data migration; Scrum; Kanban; REST API; JSON; XML; BPMN; UML; Jira; Confluence
Thomas Kostrewa
Last position:
Agile Coach / Release Train Engineer (SAFe) – Product & Cross-functional Delivery Focus at Autonomous Driving / Connectivity (OEM, confidential)
- Orchestrate cross-functional delivery across organisational units in the Connectivity domain, aligning teams around integrated end-to-end, customer-testable value rather than isolated component delivery.
- Drive a shift from local component optimisation towards shared outcomes and a common delivery goal, increasing focus and enabling significantly faster integrated delivery.
- Coordinate across 15 cross-functional organisations in a highly complex OEM environment; bring Product, Engineering, Programme Management and specialist functions together to resolve dependencies and improve decision-making.
- Coach Product Managers, Product Owners and stakeholders on product responsibility, prioritisation, outcome orientation and aligned backlogs.
- Use Claude through an AWS Bedrock integration to analyse Jira and Confluence content, identify patterns, dependencies and quality gaps, and support structured product and delivery decisions.
- Establish AI-native requirements excellence with LLM-supported quality gates for epics, features, stories, acceptance criteria, roadmaps and task breakdowns; scale adoption through templates and prompt playbooks.
Carsten Rösner
Last position:
Enterprise Product Owner at opta data IT GmbH
- Product responsibility for the central platform "one" as a group-wide web-based customer portal
- Coordination of the connection of 20 group companies to the product platform
- Derivation and steering of a group-wide product strategy and roadmap aligned with company goals
- Prioritization and bundling of strategic requirements from the various group companies
- Harmonization of different interests and moderation of complex decision-making processes at management level
- Ensuring the technical and business integration of the product into existing system landscapes, business processes, and business models
- Building transparent governance and decision-making structures for group-wide product development
- Representation of the product towards internal and external stakeholders at leadership level
Asen Kyuchukov
Last position:
External Product Owner / Project Manager at Publicplan GmbH
- Overall project planning for resources, budget, costs, license and service contracts, cost optimization and negotiations
- Leading and managing the project team and achieving the project goals
- Leading digitalization projects and their phases such as concept, planning, change and requirements management, configuration, implementation, testing, interfaces, communication and approval
- Conducting planning meetings
- Organizing, planning and conducting team, customer and requirements workshops with up to 50 participants at operational and management level
- Main contact for technical and functional topics as well as project coordination
- Recording and maintaining backlogs (user stories and EPICs) in Jira and turning requirements into user stories and prioritizing them
- Approval and publication of online services in the Wirtschafts-Service-Portal.NRW (WSP.NRW)
- Creating and maintaining project documentation
- Planning and designing the nationwide rollout/reuse as part of the once-for-all principle via WSP/FIT-Connect
- Communication between stakeholders, customers, authorities and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy (MWIKE)
- Work according to the SCRUM method
Christian Frauer
Last position:
Department Head (Interim) at Municipal utilities and transport company
- Definition and setup of subject areas
- Building a governance model for the department with areas of responsibility
- IT strategy, project management, process management, as well as quality and sustainability management
- Developing a communication strategy for the group
- Creating an IT strategy
- Designing templates, guidelines, and processes for standardized working
- Capturing strategic guardrails and grouping ongoing projects – deriving a roadmap for strategic planning
- Reviewing ongoing projects
- Creating staffing calculations and volume structures
- Defining job profiles
Dennis Rall
Last position:
Business Analyst - Product Owner at Condor
- Capture and analyze stakeholder needs to define clear requirements and make sure the new website meets user expectations.
- Took on the role of Product Owner to lead the development team, set priorities, and monitor implementation progress.
- Coordinated the implementation of Optimizely as the new CMS, including adapting and integrating all required features to ensure a smooth user flow.
- Ensured the successful integration of features within the Condor lifecycle, such as flight booking, check-in, and other relevant services, to create a complete user experience.
- Actively communicated with stakeholders to gather feedback and make adjustments during the development process, continuously improving the user experience.
- Planned and carried out tests to ensure the quality of the implemented features and that all requirements were met.
- Methods used: Agile methods, SCRUM, SAFe
- Tools used: Optimizely, Jira, Confluence
- Result: Significant improvement in user experience, optimized booking and check-in processes, and a stronger digital presence for Condor in the market.
Lilian Feldmann
Last position:
Product Owner at IBM
- Led global automation projects in Hybrid Cloud, focusing on process standardization and service delivery optimization across international teams.
- Managed the product roadmap, prioritized backlogs, and aligned business goals with technical inputs using Jira.
- Fostered cross-functional collaboration to define project objectives and ensure alignment with strategic goals across departments.
- Defined and documented user stories and acceptance criteria with stakeholders.
Vadim Bünger
Last position:
Dozent Applied AI at Digital Institut des Mittelstands GmbH
- Instructor for applied AI in the courses "AI Implementation Architect" and "AI Business Innovator"
- Running remote training sessions to qualify participants as "AI Implementation Architect" and "AI Business Innovator"
- Building n8n-based automations for the Digital Institut des Mittelstands
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Product Owners statistics
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
18 years
Position duration
2.6 years
Positions per freelancer
12
Top business areas
Product Development, Information Technology, Project Management
Top industries
Information Technology, Professional Services, Banking and Finance
Certification focus areas
Project Management, Product Development, Information Technology
Bachelor's degree or higher
93%
Master's degree or higher
59%
Doctorate
5%
Certifications per freelancer
4
Most common languages
English, German, French
Speak two or more languages
95%
Based on our profile pool as of 21 Aug 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this role are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range.
Average rates for Product Owners
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 21 Aug 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
About the role
Defining the Product Vision and Strategy
A freelance product owner translates business objectives into a concrete, actionable product vision. They define the product strategy, create long-term roadmaps, and align stakeholder expectations with development team capabilities. By continuous market analysis and user research, they ensure the development effort delivers maximum business value.
Backlog Management and Prioritization
The core duty of the product owner is the grooming and prioritization of the product backlog. They break down high-level features into detailed user stories, define clear acceptance criteria, and ensure the engineering team always has a ready, well-structured backlog to work from.
Core Deliverables of a Product Owner
- Clear and prioritized product backlog with refined user stories
- Detailed product roadmap aligned with company milestones
- Defined acceptance criteria and definition of done for development sprints
- Stakeholder communication plans and regular alignment reports
- Release plans and post-launch product performance reviews
Collaboration and Stakeholder Alignment
Acting as the central point of contact, these professionals bridge the gap between business stakeholders, customers, and the development team. They manage conflicting demands, negotiate priorities, and communicate progress transparently. This ensures that developers can focus on execution without distraction while business leaders remain informed of timelines.
Tools and Methodologies
Experienced professionals utilize agile project management tools such as Jira, Confluence, and Azure DevOps to track progress. They facilitate agile ceremonies including sprint planning, backlog refinement, and product reviews, applying frameworks like Scrum, Kanban, or Scaled Agile Framework depending on the organizational setup.
When to Hire a Freelance Product Owner
Companies bring in external expertise when launching a new product, migrating legacy systems, or undergoing an agile transformation. A freelance expert provides immediate relief to overloaded internal teams, brings unbiased best practices from diverse industries, and ensures project momentum is maintained without the onboarding delay of a permanent hire.
Frequently asked questions
Not sure where to start with Product Owners? These answers cover the essentials.
While the roles often overlap, a Product Owner focuses primarily on tactical execution, backlog prioritization, and daily collaboration with the development team within an agile framework. In contrast, a product manager typically handles high-level market research, pricing strategies, and long-term business vision. Freelancers in this space are highly skilled at adapting to whichever definition your organizational structure requires.
A skilled freelance Product Owner integrates quickly by conducting initial stakeholder interviews, reviewing the current backlog, and establishing clear communication channels. They adapt to your existing sprint schedule, whether remote or hybrid, and respect the established team dynamics while introducing agile best practices to boost velocity.
While software development and e-commerce are the most common sectors, any industry undergoing digital transformation benefits from an experienced agile product owner. This includes automotive, finance, logistics, and healthcare, where complex systems require structured backlog management and clear prioritization.
A professional product backlog manager must be highly proficient in project management software like Jira, Confluence, Azure DevOps, or Asana. For roadmapping and prototyping collaboration, they frequently use tools such as Miro, Figma, Productboard, and Roadmunk.
Hiring a contract Product Owner provides immediate expertise for critical project phases, software migrations, or temporary parental leave coverages. It allows your organization to scale development capacity rapidly without committing to long-term overhead, bringing in fresh external perspectives and specialized industry knowledge.
Quality is evaluated by reviewing their track record of successful product launches, their mastery of agile methodologies, and their communication skills. A top-tier agile leader should demonstrate the ability to handle complex stakeholder landscapes and provide concrete examples of how they resolved backlog bottlenecks in past projects.
While it is technically possible, combining these roles is generally discouraged because of a fundamental conflict of interest. The product specialist focuses on what to build and why, while the Scrum Master focuses on how the team works and removing impediments. Keeping these roles separate ensures better project balance and team health.
Look for established industry credentials such as Professional Product Owner certifications from Scrum.org or Certified Scrum Product Owner designations from Scrum Alliance. While certifications prove theoretical knowledge, they should always be backed by practical project experience and strong communication skills.
The average hourly rate for Product Owners is 105 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 839 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers working as Product Owners, 93% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 59% hold at least a Master's degree, and 5% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers working as Product Owners have 18 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 2.6 years.
The most common languages among freelancers working as Product Owners are English (97%), German (92%), and French (12%).
The most common industries among freelancers working as Product Owners are Information Technology (87%), Professional Services (46%), and Banking and Finance (42%).
The most common business areas among freelancers working as Product Owners are Product Development (95%), Information Technology (95%), and Project Management (91%).
FRATCH Product Owners main locations
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
Request a free demo
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Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
