Product Owner, Digital Data Acquisition

Position Title: Product Owner, Digital Data Acquisition
Position Type: Regular - Full-Time
Position Location: Toronto HQ
Requisition ID: 35028
We know the importance that food plays in people's lives - the power it has to bring people, families and communities together. Our purpose is to bring enjoyment to people's lives through great tasting food, in a way which reflects our values. McCain has recently committed to implementing regenerative agriculture practices across 100 percent of our potato acreage by 2030. Ask us more about our commitment to sustainability.
OVERVIEW
McCain is embarking on a digital transformation. As part of this transformation, we are making significant investments into our data systems, structures and policies, and building digital products for our customers, key suppliers and McCain team members to enable digital processes and data-driven automation over time.
Our Technology team's goal is to inspire growth through innovative technology experiences. Our digital teams are key to delivering this ambition. McCain has established digital teams in Manufacturing and Commercial and we are now looking forward to expanding our investments in Digital Agriculture embedded in how we efficiently capture information about what happens on the farm and translate that into insights, recommendations and reports for our growers and internal functions.
McCain is looking for a Product Owner with a strong knowledge of the marketplace of agri-tech/science solutions with a proven track record of successfully delivering digital products in an Agriculture context for a global organization.
PURPOSE
Data is at the heart of how we do Agriculture at McCain. We are looking for a Product Owner to execute on our technology ambition to improve Growers experience working with McCain and deliver innovative and efficient ways to share information on sustainability practices and farm operations.
Product Owner develops and refines overarching strategy and sets courses for a specific use case creation and application. Working closely with growers and field representatives (end-users), our Agriculture business and technology teams, and the Sr. Director Digital Agriculture, the Product Owner identifies end-users needs to scope and iterate on specific use case development, leveraging technical input to develop and implement best-in-class solutions.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Reporting to the Sr. Director, Digital Technology Agriculture you will

• Partner with global and regional commercial leaders of McCain to co-create a multi-year vision & roadmap to digitally transform the way we interact with our growers and share information.
• Lead and direct Technology teams to support execution of the prioritized of initiatives
• Establish KPIs and measures to track the progress and report the deliverables of technology initiatives.
• Continually improve customer data quality & enrichment to enable prioritization of sales and service initiatives
• Digitize to simplify commercial processes and embed data-led decision making and insights to enable continual improvement.
• Look to replace any legacy solutions with global best practices and platforms.
• Infuse knowledge of technology trends and competitor activity into decision making
• Work closely with the Digital Technology teams for application development, data and AI, platform and infrastructure, and McCain's Commercial Product Management team and leaders to digitize agricultural practices.
• Data Strategy & Governance:
  • Proven experience in defining and implementing data acquisition strategies.
  • Strong understanding of data governance, data quality, and master data management principles.
  • Experience working with structured and unstructured agricultural data sources.
  • Experience in acquiring and managing satellite imagery, IoT sensor data, weather data, and soil health records.
  • Understanding of agronomic models and precision agriculture data sources.
  • Hands-on experience in AI/ML model development and deployment for agriculture (e.g., yield prediction, pest/disease detection, supply chain optimization).
  • Ability to integrate AI-driven insights into operational workflows.
  • Familiarity with data privacy laws and ethical AI practices in agriculture.
  • Knowledge of industry standards (e.g., GDPR, FAIR principles for agricultural data).

Technology Delivery

• Build user-friendly tools & solutions that will drive user adoption & engagement
• Understand key user pain points and current day-to-day processes that will be impacted by owned use cases
• Bring a UX/UI-centric approach to solution development and deployment, seeking iterative feedback from stakeholders and adjusting strategy accordingly
• Establish a clear vision and define success
• Work with business stakeholders to prioritize problems to solve and regions to deploy
• Establish a user feedback process with plants that gets incorporated into product plans
• Proactively Explore industry trends and advancements in technology to identify new and leading solutions that will significantly impact the achievement of the business objectives and move McCain ahead of the competition.
• Identify opportunities within the business to improve or provide data & insights to enhance decisions or facilitate agility.

• Develops, owns, and executes product roadmap.
• Translates product roadmap features into well-defined user stories and acceptance criteria
• Works in an Agile environment and continuously reviews the business needs, refines priorities, outlines milestones and deliverables, and identifies opportunities and risks.
• Participates in the development process with the development team and external partners to deliver product changes.
• Work closely with Data and Analytics teams to deliver Ai and data-led solutions.
• Prioritizes and maintains the backlog for assigned products, balancing the requirements of stakeholders.
• Partners with product stakeholders to define the user experience
• Identifies change management impacts to end-user community and collaborates with respective stakeholders to manage/mitigate
• Ensures data & Insights are available to create actionable outcomes to the ultimate customer.
• Develops and maintains appropriate tracking and reporting of product performance post-launch to evaluate future investment.
• Understands Product roadmap risks, issues, and blockers actively assists with issue resolution
• Proficiency in cloud-based data platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Experience in ETL pipelines, data lakes, and real-time data streaming.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Minimum of 5 years of experience working as a product owner or in a product management capacity in the agri-tech industry (with evidence of progressive roles)
• Minimum of 5 years of experience working in data handling, governance, and strategy; hands on experience in data engineering, with proficiency in cloud-based data platforms.
• Good business acumen, understands how to drive value using technology and data
• Experience managing complexity and ambiguity
• Experience in user-centric design and user interface development
• Knowledge of SAP/ Salesforce solutions, Outsystems, and custom application delivery
• Proven ability to work collaboratively across levels and functions internally and with third parties.
• Experience in leading projects preferably in a global environment
• Experience working within an agile project delivery framework and demonstrated skill in project management
• Behaviors and Attitudes
  • Experienced and can speak with credibility on Product Management principles, user centered design, and agile methodologies
  • Strong interpersonal skills; able to build strong relationships cross-functionally and build / foster trust in your technology deliveries
  • Strong communication skills: is able to effectively and persuasively communicate to various audiences including plant management or operators level
  • Strong time management skills, and ability to stick to pre-determined timelines

OTHER INFORMATION

• Hours of work are a regular 40-hour work week, Monday to Friday, with the potential for extended work hours based on business needs
• Travel: required
• Hybrid role: 2 days in office per week. This may fluctuate depending on work to be done.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in data science, computer science, Agriculture Technology, Business Analytics or a related field

CERTIFICATIONS (Nice to have)

• Data Management & Governance (e.g., DAMA Certified Data Management Professional).
• AI & Machine Learning (e.g., TensorFlow Developer Certificate, AWS Machine Learning Specialty).
• Cloud Data Platforms (e.g., AWS Certified Data Analytics, Google Professional Data Engineer, Salesforce).

#LI-McCain2025
Compensation Package : $97,500.00 - $130,000.00 CAD annually + bonus eligibility + Long Term Incentive eligibility
The above reflects the target compensation range for the position at the time of posting. Hiring compensation will be determined based on experience, skill set, education/training, and other organizational needs.
Benefits : At McCain, we're on a mission to create a winning culture that puts employee safety and wellbeing at the heart of what we do, every day. We understand and appreciate that each person's needs are unique and ensure our benefits & wellbeing programs reflect that. Employees are eligible for the following benefits: health coverage (medical, dental, vision, prescription drug), retirement savings benefits, and leave support including medical, family and bereavement. Wellbeing programs include vacation and holidays, company-supported volunteering time, and mental health resources. Coverages are aligned to country, provincial and state governing plans and can vary by work level, location and nature of the role. Additional benefit details available during the application process.
Your well-being matters to us, and we're here to provide you with the necessary resources to support you in being your best self at work - and at home.
McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. We see value in ensuring we have a diverse, antiracist, inclusive, merit-based, and equitable workplace. As a global family-owned company we are proud to reflect the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that diversity drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger.
McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.
Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with the Global Privacy Policy
Job Family: Information Technology
Division: Global Digital Technology
Department: Digital Ag
Location(s): CA - Canada : Ontario : Toronto || CA - Canada : New Brunswick : Florenceville-Bristol
Company: McCain Foods (Canada)