Product Owner II - API Platform & Open Banking

Overview

Serves as owner of a product or set of products by representing the voice of the customer and stakeholders to ensure the product provides value to the customer, while aligning with the business strategy. The Product Owner II defines the product vision and roadmap, prioritizes the product backlog, anticipates client and partner needs, and serves as the primary communicator between product stakeholders and agile delivery teams while evaluating product progress at each iteration.

This role will support API capabilities across areas such as Open Banking, Commercial Banking, Treasury Management, fintech and partner integrations, and emerging payment or digital asset enablement. The Product Owner II will partner closely with business, technology, architecture, risk, compliance, and other Product Owners to deliver secure, scalable, reusable, and compliant API products that support enterprise and line-of-business priorities.

Primary Responsibilities: Build and own the product or set of products vision and roadmap that aligns with the overall strategic intent and communicate them with the team and all stakeholders. Prioritize the backlog(s) based on the overall product vision and strategy. Translate business, customer, partner, and regulatory needs into clear product priorities, roadmaps, features, and backlog items aligned to measurable business outcomes.

Represent the voice of the customer, partner, developer, and stakeholder within the team and convey story details to the team; make autonomous decisions, quickly and thoughtfully, to move delivery forward in alignment with overall product vision and strategy. Write user stories and groom the backlog in partnership with the team.

Specify acceptance criteria for each user story in support of moving the team to Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD). Support API product delivery across capabilities such as external-facing REST APIs, OpenAPI/Swagger documentation, API versioning, backward compatibility, customer consent requirements, and secure integration patterns.

Partner with engineering, architecture, risk, compliance, and security teams to ensure API products are designed for reuse, scalability, resiliency, security, and regulatory alignment. Drive developer experience outcomes by helping define API documentation expectations, onboarding patterns, developer portal needs, sandbox requirements, and API catalog standards.

Work directly with the delivery team to create appropriate information radiators and other communication tools for internal team and stakeholder use to show progress on a product or set of products. Participate in all team activities and ceremonies. Use a matrixed influencing approach to work with essential business partners throughout the organization, often at a more senior level and irrespective of hierarchy or divisions, advocating for the benefit of the customer.

Understand and engage with customers, partners, developers, and internal stakeholders to gather feedback, validate needs, and inform product decisions. Focus on outcomes over outputs, incorporating metrics, feedback loops, design thinking methods, and analytics to inform product design and prioritization. Collaborate across teams and with other Product Owners to align customer journeys, dependent backlogs, API standards, delivery practices, and cross-team dependencies.

Support API governance and standards aligned with enterprise principles, security expectations, regulatory requirements, and internal control standards. Identify business, customer, partner, and/or regulatory opportunities and work with stakeholders to determine appropriate product solutions and resource needs. May act on behalf of the Senior Product Owner as required by absence.

Understand and adhere to the Company’s risk and regulatory standards, policies and controls in accordance with the Company’s Risk Appetite. Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management. Promote an environment that supports belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand. Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.

Complete other related duties as assigned. Managerial/Supervisory Responsibilities: No direct management responsibility, but while an individual contributor, the jobholder must manage activities through influence, accountability and ownership, functioning in an agile environment.

Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 6 years’ business, analytical, technical and/or product experience, or in lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 10 years’ higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 6 years’ business, analytical, technical and/or product experience Minimum of 4 years of experience in Product Ownership, Product Management, business analysis, technology delivery, or related experience supporting digital, platform, integration, or enterprise capabilities.

Experience translating customer, stakeholder, business, technical, and/or regulatory needs into product roadmaps, features, user stories, acceptance criteria, and prioritized backlogs. Experience supporting API, integration, digital platform, Commercial Banking, Treasury Management, Open Banking, fintech, partner integration, or related financial services capabilities.

Experience working with technology, architecture, risk, compliance, security, and business stakeholders to deliver digital or technical capabilities in a regulated environment. Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to clearly communicate priorities, tradeoffs, risks, and decisions to stakeholders.

Ability to influence without direct authority in a matrixed organization. Ability to focus on customer and business outcomes while partnering effectively with technical teams on delivery approach.

Education and Experience

Experience with bank APIs, external-facing REST APIs, API contract design, OpenAPI/Swagger, API versioning, backward compatibility, and/or API security practices. Experience with Open Banking, consent-driven data sharing, Dodd-Frank 1033, fintech integrations, partner platforms, or embedded banking. Background in B2B, Commercial Banking, Treasury Management, payments, digital assets, or emerging financial technology capabilities.

Experience with enterprise developer portals, API catalogs, sandbox environments, and API documentation standards. Prior experience prioritizing across competing priorities and a quickly changing landscape. Prior experience actively seeking out multiple opinions, yet making independent decisions and influencing positive outcomes.

Understanding of Design Thinking principles. Knowledge of product design and development best practices. Knowledge of Agile and Lean principles and practices. Experience working in partnership with user experience, technology, architecture, or developer experience teams on product design. Experience developing or managing digital capabilities.

Strong verbal and written communication skills. Specific subject matter expertise as required by assigned product. M&T Bank is committed to fair, competitive, and market-informed pay for our employees. The pay range for this position is $123,600.00 - $206,000.00 Annual (USD). The successful candidate’s particular combination of knowledge, skills, and experience will inform their specific compensation.

Location Buffalo, New York, United States of America